Melody A.M.

Come for the beeps, stay for the boops.

Experience being on hold with a modernist Scandanavian cell phone company, or watching a low energy Dr. Who chase scene, or perhaps a languid dialogue-free hand job video from a dubious "educational" VHS ordered from the back of a magazine... Is this where all these electronica tropes got invented? A fair bit of variety, but then a fair bit of monotony within individual songs.

While I dont dislike this, never hearing it wouldn't be one of my life's regrets.

AppleMusic says this album is dance music. I disagree. I think it’s electronic music to somewhat turn your brain off and enjoy the mood. This album is Brian Eno (the airport one) to me, but actually interesting. I listened several times, partly because I couldn’t get through the whole thing at once. I thoroughly enjoyed it more each time. A good find.

This was a pleasant surprise. Awesome downtempo dance music with some very unique sounds. Will definitely go back to it for background music.

Boring beep boop music. I'm never going to think about listening to this album again. I wish the entire album sounded like the first two songs - they generally get more and more boring as time goes on. I don't know if that's just my ears going numb or actually the music's fault but I don't give enough crap to go and listen again to make sure.

Should be used as placed on hold music for a brothel. Garbage.

This was my favourite album in college. It is like a time travel machine, immediately bringing me back to that time, the people and memories. Some bands and albums have lasted the test of time and I have listened to my whole life, and some serve a purpose for a time, and this was the latter. Listening back again though, its a great album, great melodies and 00s synthy beats, maybe even a hint of norwegian disco. I think it got overplayed and used too much in ads, but after a break, it still holds up.

This is a surprisingly good electronic album. I know it's basic to compare electronic bands to Moby but this album really reminds me of peak Moby. It's got a great down-tempo vibe, killer trip-hop groves, the vocals are sparse and textural, and the whole thing just oozes sophistication. You can tell these guys care deeply about making sure that everything is perfect and balanced. The attention to detail is astounding. This album is a whole feeling and I'm here for it.

There aren't enough words in the English language to truly express how I feel about this album, all the different emotions it elicits in me, how Sparks still makes me cry without fail. It's such a work of art, no track without reason, everything just beautifully in place. I adore this album and every single memory I have associated with it and its tracks. Just superb.

Evocative, and very pretty. Some great subtle textures. She's So is gorgeous and warm and is a nice cuddle.

Music for wine bar wankers.

Stanky-ass bass

It's an OK album with some interesting tracks but nothing too good. You can put it in the background and just forget about it.

I liked Eple when I first heard it. It’s one of my favourite songs to whistle. Fifty years ago, in an era when catchy instrumentals (like Hot Buttered Popcorn or Outta-Space) could become pop hits, I’m sure Eple would have made the charts. “So Easy” is interesting but they wear out the Burt Baccarat sample, though they elected to sample a version by a Swedish 60s pop-band, which probably saved them $$$. There are a number of well written tracks on the album and a couple are more forgettable rhythm or ambience based, typical of a lot of 90s downtempo. To quote one reviewer: “<Royksopp> combines the haunted atmospheres of Boards of Canada with the more traditional "song writing" sensibility of downbeat specialists like Groove Armada or Koop". With any musical genre, to me, it’s all about the song writing in the end. Boards of Canada got thumbs down from me due to a dearth of song writing, while I like the CDs I have by Groove Armada and Koop – and Royksopp.

Royksopp are Norwegian according to wiki. Norway is fucking cold. So its fucking remarkable that they manage to create quite such a summery vibe here! Chilled out Dance music with soul. not my Genre but a very pleasant listen. Press play and hear the snow begin to melt. 4/5

Очень крутая музыка для рекламы или для ТЦ. Захотелось аж в лифте покататься, минут 40 примерно.

Loved this - An amazing mix of Downbeat dance, synths and ambient vocals. A truly outstanding album that I will return to again.

Ultimate music to relax, beeps here, bleeps there and the sun shines

loved it! I've never heard of them before, amazing recommendation

Really liking this. It's hitting all the right spots for me. I can work to this and likely will often.

Timeless. Great Album

Fucking amazing. The perfect house album. Great top to bottom. Super revolutionary.

Awesome, loads of memories around this one. First saw the video to Remind Me early in the morning at Rachel’s flat down in London. Sparks was part of my chill out AV set for Shinobi at Welly. And the album as a whole takes me back to Jodie’s house down Morpeth st. The album stands up well, maybe tails off a little at the end?

I always confuse Royksopp and Sigur Ros, so I was a pleasantly surprised to find this poppy electronic album rather than sweeping orchestral post-rock (which I don't really care for). This is pleasant but slight. It's at its best when it is most uptempo, but it struggles to maintain its energy level. It's tasteful dinner party music. Better-than-average quality phone hold music. Dentist office music. Car commercial soundtrack. 'Sparks' is like Temu Portishead. I like the cover art. 2.5 stars, rounding up

I will never be a fan of ambient electro musix

Shoutout to the geico cavemen 🙂

Feeling nostalgic so 5 stars

I am down for some mellow repetitive yet interesting Electronica.

Discovered this the same day I discovered Illinoise from NME top chillout albums. Surprised by how much of this I knew back then. Classic.

I don't think I've heard the name Röyksopp before. From what I gather, they are a Norwegian electronic music duo, consisting of childhood friends Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland. Their music is often categorized as downtempo, featuring vintage synthesizers and multiple session vocalists. There's a very analogue approach to their style, and I think it paid off in dividends on their debut, Melody A.M.. The beauty of this album is that there's enough variety in composition track-by-track, such that it doesn't drag or overstay its welcome at a reasonable 45 minutes. For some tracks like opener "So Easy", "A Higher Place", and "She's So", the focus is placed on samples that are rarely used but purposefully utilized in context. Other tracks make the most of the session vocalists, such as Anneli Drecker's restrained delivery over the slowed-down trip hop of "Sparks" or Erlend Øye's easy-listening hooks over rich grooves on "Poor Leno" and "Remind Me". In some instances, organic instrumentation is given the time to shine, such as the cascading harps over sampled strings on "In Space", or the swooning saxophone play on "She's So". Finally, there are the tracks that go for broke with the synthesizer flair, from the tickling keys over a laidback drumbeat on "Eple", to the dreary chords over a stinging guitar loop on "A Higher Place", to the modulated lines over a squelching beat that fade into a spare melody on closer "40 Years Back/Come", and the centerpiece of this record "Röyksopp's Night Out" that's a free-flowing techno-funk experiment over an extended runtime. This album kept getting interesting as it went on, and not once did it feel tiresome or uninspired to me. I was genuinely impressed with Röyksopp's debut here. It was an eclectic electronica experience to behold, and it makes me curious what they've done since.

This is some incredible electronic music. I'm speechless. Great production everything sounds clear and beautiful

I <3 Royksopp -- I discovered them way after the fact, but I'm excited to listen to an album top to bottom; it's really what I need to get today going. Easy 5*, but I agree with others that it peaks early on. Highlights: poor leno, so easy (catchy and understated), eple

Listening to "Melody A.M." is an experience that few albums can provide. It's magical. It's ethereal. It's enchanting. It's all of that at the same time mixed with the beats of the synths. An amazing moment of my life was spent listening to this and i have no regrets.

Love this album

Charming, fun, light. An enjoyable trip.

A very pleasant combination of soft disco beats/percussion and some very harmonically-focused synths. "Ahead of its time" is maybe a little strong, but you don't hear too many electronic artists from this era that obviously have musical chops too. You can hear these chops particularly in the chords being used. Love all the chords being thrown around in Eple. It sounds circle-of-fifths-ish, which is always a win. And that soft yet intense synth sound playing the melody scratches an itch in my brain I didn't even know was there. Poor Leno also has a pretty strong melodic hook and is funky as high heck. Speaking of funk, Röyksopp's Night Out is one of the funkiest electro-jam sessions I've ever heard. Swanky, even. Love the synth tones around the halfway point. The rise in intensity towards the end is great – in fact, there's a darn good sense of progression the entire time. I wish more tracks were like this, but unfortunately most are a lot more forgettable. Though they're all still likeable and rock-solid production-wise. Except for She's So, which is just so underwhelming for a penultimate track. My philosophy is that if you're going to end with something understated (40 Years Back Come), the penultimate track has to be energetic, and vice versa. There are countless examples of this being done well. Close To The Borderline / Through The Long Night (Billy Joel) is the first that comes to mind. Unfortunately, Röyksopp messes this up, making She's So the only miss for me. Definitely not a 5 (are you guys insane?) but it's up there. 4/5 Key tracks: Eple, Poor Leno, Röyksopp's Night Out

****A lovely instrumental album.

Yeah baby I'm playin SSX3 baby I'm in the zone baby

Fav: A Higher Place

This could bump up to 4.5 on repeat listens.

This really grew on me the more I listened, especially the middle of the record. Fun stuff!

Some really good music, it suits being chucked on in the background and just enjoying the mood. Very much of its era but a good change of pace. Fav tracks: Remind Me, She's So

Multiple vibes

Very good.

This was a surprise, I’d never heard of them, but really enjoyed this one

the album that convinced spongebob that mr krabs is a robot

So much to love about this record.The ambiance, the slight crackle and hiss throughout. The build up, slow down, build up, slow down, build up and up and then the epic moments of cinematic brilliance. The first track So Easy is a favourite. So many little quality production gems. The looping melody. The textures and grooves. The way they tour the keyboard hitting so many different sounds that all hit the sweet spot at the perfect moments. There are a few tracks i might consider filler. There are moments where they try to do something experimental that doesnt pay off for me. Some discordant , out of tune, weak guitar solos come to mind. But overall i really enjoyed this record. So many unique and interesting sounds and samples, intertwined to make some really catchy hooks. Favourite track - So Easy. 8.5/10

Very coool lo-fi and very 00’s music. It suited a bike ride to work very well, which has become one of the major factors in my ratings on this process. Quite a few moments in here where I recognised samples, or indeed whole songs, that i hadn’t heard for a long time. Which was cool. 4.0/5.0 Best Song: Eple - transported me straight back to 2001/2 in a great way

This was vibey.

Good ambient tunes, lots of recognisable ones

Great album

A masterclass in turn of the century downtempo, Melody A.M. is solid throughout. Most tracks make the smart choice not to outstay their welcome, but honestly, when “Royksopp's Night Out” drifts on for over 7 minutes, that’s not a problem either. So there is potentially an alternative-universe, more epic version of the album which stretches successfully beyond the compact 46 mins presented here. There’s a relentless flow of quality melody and interesting hooks. Against some of the heavyweights of the era in this realm (Boards of Canada, Air, Fourtet) it might not be still sounding quite as strong 20 years on, but nevertheless still an album worth a regular spin with some absolute bangers in the singles.

Actually really liked this. Very great production and it's kind of chill. Overall just a very good listen.

A sound I am more unaccustomed to but nothing to run from. Quite serene.

I liked this one. I already knew 'Remind Me,' but I didn't know any of the other songs. Very good background ambient music, but unfortunately no real stand out songs other than Remind Me.

(3/5) This reminds me of a European hotel lobby bar's background music... Inoffensive and not at all challenging. Middle of the road dance/club music that blends in with all of the rest. It stays out of '2' territory because it's so light and bouncy. The album cover art depicts it best, as it all feels like a sunrise or sunset on a crisp day. "..Night Out" was the only standout in the field with a funky through line, which helped to carry the track's excessive run time.

It's been a mixed bag on this list with bands that I've never heard of, but this one did a lot out of the gate to lay any fears to rest. "Eple" charting well in the UK in 2001 missed my radar completely here in the States, but I can definitely see the easy appeal and gave it an immediate second go. A few more groovy but generally unremarkable tracks followed before "Poor Leno" did its best not to sound like Daft Punk's "Around the World" and failed dramatically. "A Higher Place" failed to get beyond step-stool elevation, with some less than savory ambient shenanigans, but "Night Out" got the journey back on more solid footing and soared to heights it's predecessor failed to reach. "Remind Me" must have referred to Damon Albarn, because it did remind me a lot, in a complimentary way, of his work. "She's So" had a sultry noir vibe that did its best to lull me to sleep, and would have made a more fitting final track than "40 years," which crumpled some paper in my ear and laughed about it before meandering anticlimactically for another four minutes that did the album no favors. Overall, an album that started with more promise the the two Chemical Brothers albums we've had, but really fumbled in the middle, lacked in overall composition, and landed in the same 2.5/5 territory that I'll round up for its high points.

Those Norwegians know how to chill. This placid album is a 45 minute unhurried morning walk. The music fells detached from any thing. Be careful you don't float away. I enjoyed it, but these ambient downbeat albums usually have a ceiling of 3 for me.

One of the more pleasant polite bleepy bloopy trivialities from this era, before the world turned to shit the week of release rendering it irrelevant.

A very chill listen. I think I like music with a bit more structure, but this is great to relax to. Favorite track was Röyksopps night out.

Very redundant songs. With some interesting shifts here and there. Soothing tones, and calming, in general, decent background music for passive listening.

fist norwegian album?

Some fine melody, most particularly on “So Easy”, is buried under a quilt of innocuous synth wash, hold music as the engines of the apocalypse century warmed up.

Sprightly electronic music that is a little too active to be ambient and a little too repetitive, a little too dull to make you want to listen on its own. Not sure why we have this on the list and not Groove Armada.

So bland I genuinely forgot I was listening to it at times.

Some songs sound like it could be from a forgettable 90s video game soundtrack. Maybe 1 or 2 of the songs are fine but everything was very boring for the most part

More bleh 90s electronic

It was fun, but for the most part it faded into the background for me.

I don’t really know what to make of this one. Mostly electronic instrumentals. A couple of songs had vocals. Some of it sounds like porn background music, some more lounge-y. None of it memorable either for good or bad.

Reasonably pleasant meander through some of dance and electronica's mellower moods. Not my jam though, never will be. It almost feels like yacht rock for the beatheads.

Truly dire. Weirdly, it’s actually impressive to make electronic music this boring. Just entirely frictionless and with no emotional feeling at all.

Sounds like the shitty royalty free music used on so many YouTube videos.

should not be on this list

early 2000s norwegian electronic music. boy oh boy, do i have a lot of good to say about this one. simply delectable. marvelous. if i was stranded on a deserted island and i could only choose one downtempo album to bring, it would be this one. i love electronic music where you get lost into. like you turn it on, put headphones on, and the entire world is a blur. it's just you and the music... repetitive beats, bips and beeps all around your ears... it's super relaxing and energizing at the same time! it was honestly a little hard for me to pick a favorite track... but holy fuck is it up there with one of the top ten albums when it comes to 2000s electronic. like it's up there with daft punk's discovery.

Kovinkin orgaanista, rentoa, kiireetöntä, viipyilevää, mutta kuitenkin pohjimmiltaan maittavaa konemusaa. Röyksopp on tuoreemman tuotantonsa puolesta tutumpi, mutta herättää kiinnostuksen koluta muutakin tuotantoa läpi kun upposi sen verta hyvin tämä levy.

Love it. Saved.

REALLY liked the variety here, even heard a friendly, lo-fi face. easy 5 for me

BIG fan of this one very cool, like an ancestor to övningsköra

What an album, love this. Banger.

amazing

Nimi tuttu, musa ei. Ainoastaan biisi Poor Leno oli jotenkin tuttu. Mahtava löytö. Tunnelmointimusaa. Ei päivittäiseen kuunteluun mutta sopivaan fiilikseen täydellistä fiilistelymusaa. 5/5

Loved this - great to listen to while working

I had to listen twice to really take in everything this album offers. Its warm and smooth, has some nice chunk in all the right places. Just like my wife. Just like butter, this pairs well with just about anything.

Very nice.

It's an album that just makes my day better when I hear it. One of my favorites.

Beautiful album with chill and groovy atmosphere through the whole thing. Will definitely listen this one again.

I love Röyksopp and this album is the core of what they can do. Even though some songs on the album has dated a bit nostalgia made me give the final start. Will come back to listen to this album again.

Belleza de disco

Absolutely amazing electronic music. Eple, In Space, Poor Leno, and of course Remind Me (the only one I knew before this) are so good. All the right kinds of rhythmic, synths that are pleasant to jam to, great vocals when they appear, etc. Makes me want to play Mass Effect. Great vibes and one of my favorite electronic albums now.

Best of the best.

War cool würd ich wieder hören. Tatsächlich durchgehört

An absolute timeless classic of downtempo IDM/trip hop beats that not only defined an era but influenced a number of artists moving forward. Kinda wall to wall bangers (if you want to call them that) and to this day my favorite album they've released end to end. Some later records may have some better singular tracks, but this is their best "statement"

I think I listens to this 3 times back to back on a long flight. Still so chill and vibey yet just interesting enough, and just upbeat enough, to feel at once relaxing and enlivening. Happy to come back to this after so many years.

It's really all about Sparks for me. A restrained, distressed lofi beat forged long before it was an AI slop-stuffed keyword on YouTube. It's a smokey cyberpunk pastiche that could easily be mistaken be for Portishead, if not for the bleak bit of euro-pop sunshine that is Royksopp's hallmark. Heaven for 22 year old me. I'm twice that age but it still makes me smile. It's not a wall-to-wall new sound, but it's polished as hell, and personally it's deeply woven into a special time.

soothing, relaxing, really enjoyed.

Love Röyksopp. Both Junior & Senior could easily be on the list as well.

Are you in need of gentle vibes, playful weirdness, and an entirely mellow outro to a long evening of sp...spe...spe...spell ...spell...spellcasting...casting...casting...ting...ting...ting? Then this downtempo, electronica forward Röycksopp album is for you.

Where has this been all my life

REALLY LOVED IT MROE THAN I INITIALLY THOUGHT