Melody A.M. [Enhanced]

Royksopp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Astralwerks Records/Emi
• ASIN: B000253IDO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (150 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,853 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > Dance & DJ > Trip-Hop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Arguably one of the best releases of 2002 and unquestionably one of the most original, the filmic, dreamy and mostly instrumental Melody A.M.--from Norwegian duo Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland, or Röyksopp--finds uncommon beauty in the study of contrasts. At once frosty and lush, austere and joyful, ambient and wildly detailed, Melody A.M. is equal parts classical, electronica and film score, but with way better optics. Yes, optics--or at least that's how it feels. Opening track "So Easy" lulls with a gently whispered chant casually draped over what sounds like plucked harp strings while technicolor gurgles and bloopy keyboards sputter in the background. The sweeping, beatbox-damaged "Eple"--its cascading piano notes exploding into tiny white flashes of light--is as panoramic as the Nordic vistas that inspired it. Cinematic strings flood through "In Space," creating a real sense of velocity. Like Philip Glass or Boards of Canada, Röyksopp are minimalists who wring every bit of juice out each note without ever losing sight of the emotional core. Melody A.M. is music as painting, in watercolor, and destined to be a sleeper classic for the ages. --Kim Hughes

From URB Magazine

With its blippy aesthetics and irresistible momentum, Röyksopp’a 2001’s Eple EP caused a minor scene to erupt around the Norwegian duo Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge. It was called a version of Boards of Canada you can dance to. Really though, the not-so-secret appeal of the track (as well as this brilliant full-length) is in the warm ‘70s synths that float melodies into the druggy stratosphere, giving the band’s shifty downtempo rhythms and vaguely experimental production a retro-sexy touch. Brundtland and Berge know how to drop a beat, making it feel like cold water thrown in your face on the Underworld-like track "Poor Leno." There’s also an unmistakably Parisian quality to their sound, not as light as Air’s Moon Safari, but with a similar theatrical edge. The forlorn saxophone sample that opens "She’s So" or the ‘20s-era lounge vocal that sets off "Sparks" are the sort of postmodern cabaret tricks that Serge Gainsbourg might be trying right now in the afterlife. The fey songwriting touch of "Remind Me" also makes it clear why Scottish mopers Kings of Convenience felt comfortable letting Röyksopp rearrange their material on last year’s tasty Versus record.

Whether sitting half naked on a beach or looking up at the Northern Lights in a parka, Melody A.M. would be a fine listening choice, and that distinguishes it from reckless Boards comparisons while also saving it from the Ibiza wanker pile.

Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REMINDS ME OF...PERFECTION, April 13, 2007

By 

Antonio Shaw "SHAWAM!!!" (Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Melody A.M. (Audio CD)

Where do I start with this wonderful little gem? This may be trite by now, but I too was introduced to Royksopp via the Geico Caveman commercial (those joints are funny, right?) Like a previous reviewer, I instantly flew to my computer trying to find the song ("Remind Me"). It wasn't long before I tried to buy the CD, but there was a problem: it was no where to be found within 70 miles of my location. I literally travelled to the capital of my state and still couldn't find it. I despaired, and that's no hyperbole. I could find copies of "The Understanding", their latest CD, in abundance. However, I was told by a DJ acquaintance of mine that Melody AM far out-shined The Understanding.

So about 2 months passed before it finally dawned on me to try Amazon.com (DERR!!) When I received my CD, I popped it in and immediately skipped to "Remind Me" and played it about 10 times before hearing the rest of the disk. I'd read the reviews and expected "Eple" to knock me off my feet...it really didn't, though. Don't get me wrong, it was good and quirky, but this CD didn't become magical for me until #4 "In Space". I heard the intro and was immediately fixated...when the rest of the song dropped in, my mouth hit the floor of my car. This orchestral, celestial music wrapped itself around my heart and as corny as this may sound, I think I teared up for a millisecond.

#5, "Poor Leno", continued to hypnotize me. The melancholy yet beat laden song sealed me as a Roysksopp fan forever. I could vividly imagine hearing the song while looking out at the frozen world atop a sheer cliff somewhere...or while viewing glaciers or something. #7, "Royksopp's Night Out" is another of my favorites. It's so weird...it puts me in the mind of a futuristic carny high, or a night of clubbing that can only be recollected in sparse moments and a blur of faces and drinks. Then comes my baby on the disk, "Remind Me". If you listen to the lyrics, it's such a touching song. I guess it has particular significance for me because I'm prior military and I had to suffer the pain of saying "goodbye" to friends all the time. Anyone who has ever fallen out of touch with a lover or close friend will appreciate this song.

The whole CD is without flaw. And as if that weren't enough, you get four bonus tracks and some music videos thrown in there. In my opinion, the version of "Remind Me" on the bonus disk is just a good, if not better than the original version. The video for it is cool, too. Even the bonus version of "Poor Leno" (#2 on the bonus disk) is awesome, even without the words. You rarely find such a beautiful and generous offering. A previous reviewer said this package was kind of pricey...no, my friend; this package is worth every penny. I dare anyone who is a music lover NOT to become smitten with this disk. Melody AM will forever by in my top 10, and that's not just lip service. Buy it and love yourself for doing so.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What electric Vikings listen to, December 20, 2006

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Melody A.M. (Audio CD)

Besides it's funky name which is a word for flufball in Norwrgian, Royksopp is an extraordinary group that really stops anyone who's ears grace the sound waves the music rides on. The Norwegian duo is well known for their quirky electronic music that is focused on soft and fuzzy sounds mixed with computerized melodies. If I play it at work, it's almost a guarantee that someone who comes to my office asks what I am listening to.

Eple is my favorite song, and after hearing it once on internet radio I had to track down the creator of it, thus finding all about Royksopp. The song makes me think of electric rain, dripping with illuminating sounds. Poor Leno is another fantastic song, dreamy, and sparkling with originality. It's hard to pick favorite songs are they are all magical in their own light and each one is just as memorable as the last.

Also the song "Eple" which means "Apple" in Norwegian was used as welcoming music to the MAC OS X Panther operating system. Röyksopp's first single "So Easy" became very well known in the UK after it was used in an a T Mobile advertising, so this is the kind of music people stop in their track to listen to yet they have no idea what it is.

Similar artists that can be grouped in Royksopp's category would include Tiga, Deep Dish, Paul Oakenfold, Massive Attack, Orbital, Groove Armada, Faithless, Mylo, Bjork and Telepopmusik.

The music definitely brings in some of it's Nordic roots, where people are so uniquely different as it's fun, catchy and definitely unusual, for lovers of new age, electronica or anything that is off the beaten path.


- Kasia S.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Frosty Soundscape with a Sunny Outcome!, February 1, 2003

By 

Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Melody A.M. (Audio CD)

So a new Norwegian group called Royksopp (aka, Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge) have arrived in the states with 'Melody A.M.', which was earlier released overseas. And while many foreign newcomers come into the united music scene every year as a sweet release from mainstream's wannabe punk acts and candy-pop dress dolls who turn naughty the next day because they claim to be "all grown up now", Royksopp rightfully and respectfully deserves the hype!

In a breathless slur of words I guess I'd label this band as being downtempo electronica with a chilled-out culmination of so many different styles that it's nearly impossible to describe! "So Easy" may be a funky song to open up with but it's great to wind down to, which is essential when it comes to healing your aching bones after listening to such songs as the 70s dance influence of "Poor Leno" and the heavy dub pounding of "Royksopp's Night Out", which is gonna get your adrenaline pumpin' as the mind grows delirious and turns your body into an all-night dance machine! It wasn't until I realized that Anneli Drecker from Bel Canto (another Norwegian group) was a guest vocalist on the laid-back grooves of "Sparks" that the coffin was sealed, so to speak, and I went out and purchased the darn thing!

I find this album great to loosen up to when I'm feeling stressed and long to escape from that shadowed veil of pain... The lush tapestries of beautiful synths, strings and keyboards with electronic, almost cinematic space blips drape themselves over heavenly melodies, which are quite soothing to this moonlit_stardreamer so I'm praying that Royksopp is here for the rotation of many moons to come! :-)