PHOTOGRAPHY:MARKPECKMEZIAN.ILLUSTRATION:^ LALALIMOLASTART
The electro-pop innovator
programming emotion
Swedish musician Robyn has earned
a reputation as one of pop music’s
innovators, with her trademark
genre of electro-pop blending catchy
beats with often heart-rending lyrics.
Nowhere is this more evident than
on her 2018 album Honey, her first in
eight years, which saw her learn how
to use new tools. But Robyn’s tech
credentials stretch well beyond her
records: in 2013, she was awarded
the Stockholm KTH Royal Institute of
Technology’s Great Prize, and in 2015
launched Tekla Festival to encourage
women into technology.
Ahead of a tour, which comes to
London’s Alexandra Palace on April
12 and 13, Robyn spoke to WIRED.WIRED: What were you setting out to
do when you made Honey?
Robyn: I wasn’t in the happiest place
when I made this album. Getting back
into the studio required me to be soft
and sensual, and just get myself excited
about stuff again, which was counterin-
tuitive to me because I’m a person who
usually pushes through things. I had to
do the opposite, which was just to relax.
It was a wonderful time, actually.After eight years, how had your
approach to making music changed?
I didn’t know how to make the music that
I wanted to make by myself. I started by
working with [British producer] Joseph
Mount. At the same time, I was working
on my own productions or demos, at
least to be able to describe to him and
others what it was that I was thinking.You’ve been getting more involved in
the production side of music. Have
you had to learn new skills to do that?
Yes. The work I did was about becoming
fluent in it. I’m impatient, so a lot of times
when I sit down with new technology, I
decide to leave it because I don’t like
when it’s keeping me from doing the
things that I want to do. It’s easier for meFor her first album in eight years, Robyn balanced human
feelings with music from a new suite of digital music toolsRobyn: “Technology is the
culture we are in. For me, it’s
never been a nerdy interest”