Royksopp (a duo of school mates Trobjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge hailing from Bergen, Norway, offer highlights from Norway’s finest record collection for the unparalleled ‘Back To Mine’ compilation series. Reflecting the widescreen, cinematic sensibilities of their million selling debut album, ‘Melody AM’ and the dancefloor drenched grooves of the follow up, ‘The Understanding’, Royksopp have drawn on the obscure and sublime, hand-selecting tracks as rich in quality as they are in history. Kicking off with Talking Heads ‘Born Under Punches (The Beat Goes On)’, Brian Eno’s (perhaps finest) production for the band, Royksopp start slipping the stunners in early, dropping the electro welding strength of Harry Thumann’s ‘Sphinx’, with Knight Rider-esque classic early 80s charm. Post punk sounds, cute pop (Kasso), and Balearic business by Pino D’angino, along with classic bass maneuvers of Edgar Winter and shimmering electro disco of Ray Mang charge up proceedings, before dropping the tempo with Mike Oldfield’s ‘Charleston’ which segues into an exclusive track from Royksopp under their pseudonym Emmanuel Splice. The Low slung bass of Jesse G’s ‘That’s Hot’ and Art Of Noise’s ‘Breakers anthem ‘Legs’ up the pace as Royksopp cruise through a masterful lesson in Italo Disco, Hip house and P-Funk. Ginny’s deep slow jam ‘Can’t Be Serious’ settles the groove back before Funkadelic’s ‘I’m Never Gonna Tell It’ and the burning R’n’B of the New Birth’s ‘It’s Been A Long Time’ bring affairs to a soulful close. All fiddled and edited by the duo, its this kind of pedigree that Back to Mine looks for in its artists and in turn their integrity is reflected in this brilliant mix CD. This release is no exception, taking its listener on an journey that’s upbeat but soothing, eclectic but educational, cheesy in places but cool throughout – this is a must for any self respecting Back to Mine fan. ‘Royksopp Back To Mine’ celebrates the 25th release in this critically acclaimed series and on this evidence it just goes from strength to strength.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Martin Madigan
