LISTEN: RÖYKSOPP Release New Single “Never Ever” featuring Susanne Sundfor

Röyksopp released their new single “Never Ever” today, featuring critically acclaimed Norwegian vocalist Susanne Sundfor. The track is a beautiful lovechild of electronic pop and late-80’s disco influences, closely related to the duo’s generally synth-pop electronic sound. Sundfor’s distinct voice is magically soft yet powerfully passionate, giving the track a subtle element of sensual stimulation perfect for the dance floor.

The band produced this track under the label Astralwerks, with whom they produced their seminal debut album Melody A.M exactly 15 years ago. In between, they have been signed with several labels, including Tellé, Wall of Sound, and Cherrytree.

The duo, comprised of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland, claimed that their last album The Inevitable End would live up to its name, being the final full-length album ever to be released by Royksopp. However, they promised to continue producing music in the form of singles. They believed this would allow them the creative freedom to explore different sounds and production techniques without the obligation of producing fifteen or so tracks of the same style. The band says that they plan to diverge and begin exploring the realm of acoustic sounds. They plan to abandon their familiar synthesizers and set out into an analog territory previously uncharted by the group.

“Never Ever” certainly lived up to their objective of musical diversity; this collaboration with Susanne Sundfor was one-of-a-kind, and grouping it with an album full of similar songs definitely would not have done it any justice. Even their last collaboration with Sundfor titled “Running to the Sea” seems inappropriate to compare to this track, as they both have their own sound and should be respected individually.

The group has always been a social butterfly of the music scene, collaborating with artists such as Jamie McDermott from the Irrepressibles, Depeche Mode, and most recently Robyn, with whom the group toured following the release of their single “Do It Again”.

If you thought “Never Ever” was out of this world, you should go check out the song they produced for Rick Rubin’s collaboration album Headspace, a Star Wars themed album on which a variety of artists including Cloud VonStroke and Flying Lotus utilized sound effects from the sci-fi movie series to create five spacey electronic dance songs.

It would seem as though there is no realm of sound that Röyksopp can’t conquer and make their own. Over the course of their nearly 20-year music career, the dynamic duo has received 7 Spellemannpiren awards, 2 Grammy nominations, an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Music Video, and a Brit nomination. They have headlined several shows and festivals, both as DJs and as Röyksopp, including Nocturnal Wonderland Festival in California and Urban Festival Istanbul.

You can catch the band in Mexico October 29^th and 30^th for the Festival Internacional de Día de Muertos, and at the Bankside Vaults in London on November 25^th.