Röyksopp – Profound Mysteries III
Now that 2022 has reached its end, I can confidently look back and say that, despite being released really late in the year, and even though it was a year that saw new releases from the likes of Alan Parsons, Midnight Oil, Tim Finn, Tears For Fears, Soft Cell, and a new single from the Queen vaults, the thing I listened to and fixated on the most in 2022 was the third volume of Röyksopp’s Profound Mysteries trilogy. And yes, this has gotten more listen time than the first two entries in the trilogy. This is just peak Röyksopp.
Rewinding a bit, one might remember that in 2014, this was a duo that said it was giving in to the market reality that albums were no longer a thing in the age of music streaming and downloads, and that albums belonged to the age of the CD and the vinyl LP. And when seemingly random Röyksopp singles like “Something In My Heart” and “Never Ever” compelled more repeat listening than some bands’ entire albums, even an old-school album fan like myself had to confess that maybe they had a point, and I’d prefer sporadic singles to them simply going silent. But Profound Mysteries III is proof that a Röyksopp album is always going to be better than a Röyksopp single, because, hey, more Röyksopp. But where the first two Profound Mysteries releases were a bit hit-or-miss from song to song, the third one is their best release since The Inevitable End.
Where this album has its advantage is in the all-star roster of guest collaborators, some we’ve heard from before (Jamie Irrepressible co-writing the atmospheric instrumental “So Ambiguous” and “The Next Day”, and Susanne Sundfør’s vocal elevating “Stay Awhile” to one of the album’s best tracks), some new voices (Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs’s breathy vocals on the upbeat-yet-wistful “Me&Youphoria”), and people that it’s hard to believe hadn’t already collaborated with them (Alison Goldfrapp on “The Night”). Röyksopp really seems to be best-suited to women doing the guest vocals, and just about every song with that element is a standout; surprisingly, as much of a slam-dunk as one would expect it to be, the Alison Goldfrapp collaboration makes the least impact of the bunch. “Me&Youphoria”, “Stay Awhile”, and “Lights Out” are the album’s highlights, with “Just Wanted To Know” featuring Astrid S and a slinky slow groove not far behind. “Feel It” featuring Maurissa Rose is no slouch either; I suppose I should just give in to the obvious and say there’s not a dud track on this album. Some just command more attention than others.
If you’re looking for something that leans into Röyksopp’s history of doing straight-up electro that isn’t quite so downtempo, the ten-minute epic “Speed King” is there for you. Jamie Irrepressible brings a bit of a somber tone to “The Next Day”, and the whole thing wraps up with “Like An Old Dog”, again featuring Pixx, a curious but compelling mix of moody electronics and a wide-screen orchestral backing, an element it shares with “So Ambiguous”, which means that you can shamelessly and almost seamlessly hit repeat on the whole thing.
If Susanne Sundfør’s “Tell Him” had been held over from Profound Mysteries II and added to this album, it’d probably be a strong contender for the best album that this decade will produce, and Röyksopp’s best album ever. But even without it, it’s easily the best thing I listened to in 2022. It’s that good. More like this, please, Röyksopp & friends.
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- So Ambiguous featuring Jamie Irrepressible (6:06)
- Me&Youphoria featuring Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs (4:41)
- Stay Awhile featuring Susanne Sundfør (6:11)
- The Night featuring Alison Goldfrapp (7:38)
- Lights Out featuring Pixx (5:27)
- Speed King (9:53)
- The Next Day featuring Jamie Irrepressible (4:16)
- Just Wanted To Know featuring Astrid S (4:13)
- Feel It featuring Maurissa Rose (8:14)
- Like An Old Dog featuring Pixx (3:55)
Released by: Dog Triumph Records
Release date: November 18, 2022
Total running time: 60:34
On the surface, it sounds like a neat idea – you ask a celebrity DJ or remixer to assemble a bunch of their formative favorites, those singles that got them interested in the business, and put their own spin on them, literally. That’s the idea behind the Back To Mine series, which has thus far cranked out a couple dozen of these compilations. They’re basically mixtapes on CD, assembled by the likes of Danny Tenaglia, Orbital, an so on. When a Back To Mine CD was announced, with a playlist personally picked out by those Norwegian masters of the downtempo genre, Royksopp, I thought I’d give it a try. 
and there isn’t that much Royksopp in evidence, it smacks of a cheaply licensed throwaway compilation. 
I’m generally not a huge fan of live albums – why bother, when studio albums deliver the meat and potatoes minus the screaming? – but every once in a while I’m either enthusiastic or curious enough about a specific act to go ahead and check out a concert recording. I was a little bit skeptical going into Royksopp’s Night Out, simply because Royksopp relies so heavily on technology, sampling and other studio techniques to create their sound – could they deliver the goods without that at their disposal?
This is one of those things that just sounds so unlikely the first time someone mentions it to you – oh, it’s a lounge/dance music outfit from Norway, you’ll love it. Sure, whatever, you think, and a couple of months after hearing it, you’ve got a copy of the bloody thing sitting on your CD shelf. Royksopp is actually a duo, though in this case it’s a duo of musical hermit crabs, both adept enough in studio trickery to make themselves sound like a full band, and sometimes more.