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Royksopp say farewell with fifth and final album

Norwegian electronic artists Royksopp said Monday that they would stop making albums with the release of a final, darker work.

Published: 1 October 2014 09:28 CEST
Royksopp say farewell with fifth and final album
Electronic artists from Norway Royskopp perform. Photo: Shutterstock

The duo – known for their down-tempo analogue synthesizers and elaborate shows in which they often wear futuristic masks – said they would still make music but would not produce any albums after the aptly titled "The Inevitable End," due out on November 11.

"We feel like this is a goodbye to the traditional album format," duo member Svein Berge said in a statement.

"In our consecutive run of albums, we have been able to say what we want to say and do what we want to do with the LP. We're not going to stop making music, but (in) the album format as such, this is the last thing from us," he said.

He said that "The Inevitable End," Royksopp's fifth album, probed "darker subject matter" with a greater emphasis on the lyrics.

Royksopp released a first track off "The Inevitable End" entitled "Skulls" which is dominated by a macabre synthesizer line reminiscent of horror films.

An electronically altered voice repeatedly intones over the song, "If you wish to ride with us tonight …"

"The Inevitable End" comes just months after Royksopp released an EP called "Do It Again" with the Swedish singer Robyn, who has repeatedly collaborated with the duo.

Royksopp has also repeatedly mixed versions of other artists' songs including Lady Gaga's "Judas."

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NOR

Fifth Millennium book is finished, author reveals plot details

Good news, Lisbeth Salander fans: Swedish author David Lagercrantz has revealed that the fifth book in the Millennium series is now finished.

Published: 17 February 2017 12:28 CET
Fifth Millennium book is finished, author reveals plot details
David Lagercrantz has been tasked with continuing original author Stieg Larsson's Millennium series. Photo: Vilhelm Stokstad/TT

The book, due to be released in September, has the Swedish title “The Man who Chased his Shadow” (Mannen som sökte sin skugga). Like all of the other books in the series, Salander will be the main character.

She will begin the novel serving a short sentence at a women's prison, where she is attempting to avoid conflicts between prisoners, and the tale will develop into a story of “state abuse, honour problems and shadows from a childhood that still haunts Salander”.


The cover of the new book. Photo: Norstedts

Lagercrantz wrote the fourth book in the series, The Girl in the Spider's Web, which was published in 2015. He followed on from original author Stieg Larsson, who died of a heart attack in 2004 before the first trilogy became an international smash hit, spawning movie adaptations and even a Hollywood blockbuster version of the first in the series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Continuing the series without Larsson was a controversial move, leading to childhood friends of the author criticizing the Swedish legal system for not protecting his work. Larsson’s longtime partner Eva Gabrielsson also vehemently opposed the move.

“They say heroes are supposed to live forever. That’s a load of crap, this is about money,” Gabrielsson said in 2015.

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter coinciding with the announcement that he has finished the fifth book, Lagercrantz said he has “to remain faithful to the universe created by Stieg Larsson”.

“The task of writing these books is an enormous responsibility, especially since the pressure from abroad is so huge. My job is to find a plot that will continue to make sense. In the end I have,” he added.

The Girl in the Spider's Web has sold six million copies since its 2015 release. Lagercrantz is also due to write the sixth book and complete the second trilogy in the series before moving on to a new project.