Röyksopp – Late Night Tales

RÖYKSOPP – Late Night Tales

01. RÖYKSOPP – Daddy’s Groove
02. RARE BIRD – Passing Through
03. LITTLE RIVER BAND – The Light Of Day
04. TUXEDOM – In A Manner Of Speaking
05. VANGELIS – Blade Runner Blues
06. RÖYKSOPP – Ice Machine (DEPECHE MODE cover)
07. JOHANN JOHANNSSON – Adi Et Amo
08. FR DAVID – Music
09. PRELUDE – After The Goldrush (Neil Young cover)
10. RICHARD SCHNEIDER JNR – Hello Beach Girls
11. ACKER BILK – Stranger On The Shore
12. THOMAS DOLBY – Budapest By Blimp
13. BYRNE & BARNES – Love You Out Of Your Mind
14. ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER – Hands And Clouds
15. JOHN MARTYN – Small Hours
16. XTC – The Somnambulist
17. THIS MORTAL COIL – Till I Can Gain Control Again
18. POPOL VUH – Aguirre I (Lacrime Di Rei)
19. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH – Flat Of Angles (part 2)

Waving the banner of Late Night Tales, RÖYKSOPP marches to the frontline armed with a diverse range of inspiration and sound. The last LATE NIGHT compilation was created by FRIENDLY FIRES back in 2012, marking the 30^th release of the critically acclaimed curated series. Whilst turning the Late Night in a new direction, RÖYKSOPP manages to shift the tone without losing the smoky cool sound the series is known for.

Balancing somewhere between lyric heavy tracks and airy instrumentals, this compilation showcases the eclectic repertoire of the Norwegian magnetic duo that is RÖYKSOPP. Formed in 1998, Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland have churned out four complete albums and 15 singles, including This Must Be It, Remind Me and The Girl and The Robot.

RÖYKSOPP take on the late night world begins with a track of their own which croons, Dinners in the oven/ Kids are in their beds/ Wife is in the shower/ Song is in my head/ Daddy’s groove. A seamless inception that burrows into your head, simultaneously kick starting your nostalgia and putting you at ease. An almost lazy tune, it trickles into a 70’s track, which Brundtland has described as, “inviting and sad at the same time”. This melancholic tone is carried toward its peak at VANGELIS’ Blade Runner Blues, a true cinematic masterpiece.

RÖYKSOPP loosens the reigns once more in their cover of DEPECHE MODE’s Ice Machine. SUSANNE SUNDFOR provides the wistfully mournful voice in this heady remix, both clear and haunting. She can also be heard in RÖYKSOPP new single, Running To The Sea. 

We float along with tracks ranging from the 70’s to the 80’s until we come to a cheeky bit by ACKER BILK. A heart-throb clarinet sways and carries the listener to a calm scene, calling to mind the gentle oscillation of waves on the shore. While not all of the tracks nestle comfortably into each other, the transitions do pay off in the end. Each track is lovingly cradled and given the time to breathe on its own while still lending a hand to the track that follows.

It is the freedom of option and time and choice that makes Late Night Tales such an amazing series. Almost like a window into the creative hearts of our favorite artists, it is both visceral and noetic. Each compilation is capped by a spoken word piece that emulates the tone created in each feature. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH animates a short story by Simon Cleary, a sort of convoluted peek at love that exclaims and whispers to the listener. It is both aggressive and soft but all the while nostalgic.

RÖYKSOPP‘s Late Night Tales compilation will conjure up many a tale that will always find a home in the dead of night.

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RÖYKSOPP