Anneli Drecker & Röyksopp / Photo by Amber Gregory
The last time Norwegian electronica duo Röyksopp graced San Francisco with their uniquely danceable and swoon-worthy electronic music, it was July 2005.
The quirky, underrated musical team, Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge, had just released their second full-length album, The Understanding, a more accessible and beat-laden follow-up to their award-winning 2001 debut, Melody A.M.. At that time it was only their second tour of North America, and in spite of Apple using their song "Eple" (Norweigian for apple, of course) in advertisements for Mac OS X Panther in 2003, the the band was still relatively unknown in the United States.
Flash forward to 2009, and Röyksopp has just released the follow-up to The Understanding. Many in America had no idea what they'd been up to over the previous four years, but the band's accomplishments include compiling a list of their favorite tracks for the Back to Mine album series and releasing a live album, Röyksopp's Night Out, in 2006. November 2009 marked the band's first visit to North America in four years.
The Regency Ballroom was packed on Thursday night for Röyksopp's San Francsico show, a larger venue than their last trip (when they played Bimbo's 365). The large room was filled mostly with eager, well-dressed twenty and thirtysomethings staying up late on a work night, and the excitement in the already-warm air was palpable.The band arrived on stage with a guitarist to screams and hollers, and immediately launched into "Royksopp Forever," a new song off of the recently-released Junior.
Over the course of the one-hour set, which included two encores, Röyksopp played several more songs off of Junior, but also played many popular old hits, much to the joy of the increasingly active crowd. On most of these, the trio was joined by vocalist Anneli Drecker, a frequent collaborator since The Understanding (and lead singer of dream pop band Bel Canto). The audience was slow to warm up, but once they did, the show took on the atmosphere of Mezzanine, with echoes of Coachella's Sahara Tent and warehouse parties thrown in.
The crowd came alive during "So Easy," the bouncing first track off of Melody A.M. and reacted with thunderous applause every time an older song was played. Others included a very danceable version of the normally slower "Remind Me," "Poor Leno," "What Else Is There?" and of course "Eple." The band changed into varios costumes throughout the show, including a giant bird beak, a robot and several abstract masks with flowing capes.
At the conclusion of the show, the audience filed out of the Regency Ballroom with grins on their faces, still bouncing from the new song (the name was not revealed to the audience) the band played to close the night. Though no one said it, it was clear that there was one thing on everyone's mind: hopefully Röyksopp will pay San Francisco another visit soon--because four years is a long time.
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