Continuing with our ongoing love affair with all things from Sweden, this week we caught up with ROBYN. The sassy Scandinavian songstress is taking the world by storm with the release of her new self-titled album. After finding herself disillusioned with major record labels all too eager to turn her into someone else, Robyn took matters into her own hands by creating her own record label and seeking out a variety of amazing musical collaborators to help realize her perfect pop vision. We caught up with her at this years SXSW festival in Austin, Texas to discuss just how big time success is even sweeter when you're doing things your own way.
Hey Robyn! How do you like Texas so far?
Robyn: I like it. It's very relaxed here. I like the food.
I'm so happy that your record is totally blowing up. It must be so gratifying.
Robyn: Yeah, it's very gratifying. I feel very lucky. You know, most people are lucky if they get to have one chance to be a success. I sort of thought that my moment had passed, so it feels really amazing that this record is doing so well. Especially since I put the record out on my own label. It all feels very different this time.
Your shows in the states have been really huge. Are you surprised?
Robyn: Totally surprised. The reception has been really amazing. You know I've always had this small American fanbase who have followed me and who have checked me out on Myspace or whatever, but I never expected people to already know all the words to the songs. Pitchfork had been really supportive of the record and I knew that it had been downloaded a lot, but when I played in New York it was just crazy....it was like playing a show back home in Stockholm where everybody knows me.
American journalists are so obsessed with Swedish pop music. Do you get tired of people asking you about that? There seems to be so much great pop music happening in Sweden right now.
Robyn: Absolutely.
I know you had lots of troubles in dealing with the big record labels before you finally decided to just jump ship completely. At any point did you consider just giving up on music altogether?
Robyn: Well, not really. I mean, I have always had a nice career back in Sweden and I was still making music and playing shows there, it was just in the rest of the world that I sort of vanished. After a certain point I just became really frustrated with the major labels and I realized that I was working within a system that didn't really support my needs at all. I was really questioning whether or not there was any place for me in that industry. I guess there was a point where I thought about quitting and going back to school to get an education. I never got that far though. I remember calling my dad and telling him that I was going to quit making music. He listened to me and then just said, well, why don't you think about that and call me back in a few days....and by then I had already changed my mind. I think all creative people go through those moments when you think about maybe stopping. So, then in around 2004 I started researching and talking to people and forming this idea of what kind of music I wanted to make. I just sought out people that I liked and made the music that I wanted to make. I just assumed that I would put the record out myself and do it just for Sweden. I wasn't thinking about some sort of international career anymore, I just wanted to put the record out in the most simple way possible and see what would happen. The record actually came out there in 2005....and then things started to happen. I got new management. The record came out in the UK in 2007...and now it's coming out here...in 2008! I'm in a position where I can finally work with major labels again, but now it's much different. I'm delivering to them a finished record--the record I wanted to make--and they help get the record distributed.
Will you do a full cycle of touring here in the states now?
Robyn: Oh yeah. I'm constantly touring. I toured the UK all through 2007 and now I'll be over here in the states a lot. It's exciting.
I know that a lot of Swedish artists choose to sing in english rather than their native language, often because it allows them a much larger audience and it enables them to tour all over the world much more easily. Was that ever an issue for you?
Robyn: Well, I guess if I were truly making a record only for Sweden then I'd sing in swedish, but I don't. For me, when I think about making music, I assume that I'm making music for everyone. When you make pop music I like to think that you are trying to relate to people and culture all over the world. I think pop music can be this really universal language. I think there's this weird difference between being a pop artist and being in a rock band. If you play in a rock band then people expect to have privacy in the studio and you get more respect for your songwriting and stuff. Pop artists....especially if you are a woman, face a much different set of expectations. All the emphasis is placed on your image and your looks and I found that all that stuff really just destroyed my creativity. The important thing for me was to get rid of all these expectations and just be myself. I didn't want my music to be diluted by having a million different people's opinion.
People have this idea that pop music can't be interesting or smart, especially here in the states. I think you really represent someone who proves that pop music can be fun and intelligent at the same time.
Robyn: Oh, well thank you. You know, in Europe pop music is still very much the primary form of music. There is certainly a lot of dumb pop music getting made, but pop music in general doesn't have the same kind of reputation that it does here. I love the concept of pop music. It's like democracy--the idea of this music that can reach a lot of people at the same time and that lots of people can appreciate simultaneously, even if they have different reasons for liking it. I think of growing up with The Police and Madonna and Kate Bush....you know, even though the music was very commercial, it didn't expect the audience to be stupid. It was music that was catchy and fun and still communicated a real emotion. That's what great pop music should do--make you dance and feel something at the same time.
Robyn is released on April 29th by Cherrytree Records
more on ROBYN Here
check out ROBYN on Myspace
Hey Robyn! How do you like Texas so far?
Robyn: I like it. It's very relaxed here. I like the food.
I'm so happy that your record is totally blowing up. It must be so gratifying.
Robyn: Yeah, it's very gratifying. I feel very lucky. You know, most people are lucky if they get to have one chance to be a success. I sort of thought that my moment had passed, so it feels really amazing that this record is doing so well. Especially since I put the record out on my own label. It all feels very different this time.
Your shows in the states have been really huge. Are you surprised?
Robyn: Totally surprised. The reception has been really amazing. You know I've always had this small American fanbase who have followed me and who have checked me out on Myspace or whatever, but I never expected people to already know all the words to the songs. Pitchfork had been really supportive of the record and I knew that it had been downloaded a lot, but when I played in New York it was just crazy....it was like playing a show back home in Stockholm where everybody knows me.
American journalists are so obsessed with Swedish pop music. Do you get tired of people asking you about that? There seems to be so much great pop music happening in Sweden right now.
Robyn: Absolutely.
I know you had lots of troubles in dealing with the big record labels before you finally decided to just jump ship completely. At any point did you consider just giving up on music altogether?
Robyn: Well, not really. I mean, I have always had a nice career back in Sweden and I was still making music and playing shows there, it was just in the rest of the world that I sort of vanished. After a certain point I just became really frustrated with the major labels and I realized that I was working within a system that didn't really support my needs at all. I was really questioning whether or not there was any place for me in that industry. I guess there was a point where I thought about quitting and going back to school to get an education. I never got that far though. I remember calling my dad and telling him that I was going to quit making music. He listened to me and then just said, well, why don't you think about that and call me back in a few days....and by then I had already changed my mind. I think all creative people go through those moments when you think about maybe stopping. So, then in around 2004 I started researching and talking to people and forming this idea of what kind of music I wanted to make. I just sought out people that I liked and made the music that I wanted to make. I just assumed that I would put the record out myself and do it just for Sweden. I wasn't thinking about some sort of international career anymore, I just wanted to put the record out in the most simple way possible and see what would happen. The record actually came out there in 2005....and then things started to happen. I got new management. The record came out in the UK in 2007...and now it's coming out here...in 2008! I'm in a position where I can finally work with major labels again, but now it's much different. I'm delivering to them a finished record--the record I wanted to make--and they help get the record distributed.
Will you do a full cycle of touring here in the states now?
Robyn: Oh yeah. I'm constantly touring. I toured the UK all through 2007 and now I'll be over here in the states a lot. It's exciting.
I know that a lot of Swedish artists choose to sing in english rather than their native language, often because it allows them a much larger audience and it enables them to tour all over the world much more easily. Was that ever an issue for you?
Robyn: Well, I guess if I were truly making a record only for Sweden then I'd sing in swedish, but I don't. For me, when I think about making music, I assume that I'm making music for everyone. When you make pop music I like to think that you are trying to relate to people and culture all over the world. I think pop music can be this really universal language. I think there's this weird difference between being a pop artist and being in a rock band. If you play in a rock band then people expect to have privacy in the studio and you get more respect for your songwriting and stuff. Pop artists....especially if you are a woman, face a much different set of expectations. All the emphasis is placed on your image and your looks and I found that all that stuff really just destroyed my creativity. The important thing for me was to get rid of all these expectations and just be myself. I didn't want my music to be diluted by having a million different people's opinion.
People have this idea that pop music can't be interesting or smart, especially here in the states. I think you really represent someone who proves that pop music can be fun and intelligent at the same time.
Robyn: Oh, well thank you. You know, in Europe pop music is still very much the primary form of music. There is certainly a lot of dumb pop music getting made, but pop music in general doesn't have the same kind of reputation that it does here. I love the concept of pop music. It's like democracy--the idea of this music that can reach a lot of people at the same time and that lots of people can appreciate simultaneously, even if they have different reasons for liking it. I think of growing up with The Police and Madonna and Kate Bush....you know, even though the music was very commercial, it didn't expect the audience to be stupid. It was music that was catchy and fun and still communicated a real emotion. That's what great pop music should do--make you dance and feel something at the same time.
Robyn is released on April 29th by Cherrytree Records
more on ROBYN Here
check out ROBYN on Myspace
