Röyksopp goes America
They’re the hottest Norwegian export item these days, but the US market has been slow to pick up interest in Scandinavian electronica’s finest. This could be about to change after Röyksopp have completed their upcoming US tour in March.
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| Listen to a 30 second clip of Röyksopp’s A Quiet Life |
![]("/nmi.nsf/Files/cart/$file/cart.gif") | Listen to more tracks from some of Norway’s finest electronica acts on the Arctic Circles 3 compilation |
Tromsø duo Röyksopp are one of Scandinavia’s hottest acts for the moment. Rave reviews for their Melody A.M. album, MTV video awards, Brit Awards nomination and staggering international sales have put the charismatic electronica duo at the forefront of Norwegian music export.
Röyksopp have been very successful on the European stage with solid sales, radio play and heavy rotation of their award winning videos. Röyksopp’s parent label Virgin initiated a major re-launch of Melody A.M. following the victories at awards combined with hectic touring. The re-launching efforts have born fruit as Melody A.M. this week passed 200 000 units shifted in the UK. In the album charts Melody A.M. jumped from no. 58 to 31. and at Music Week’s Cool Cuts Chart Röyksopp’s Eple single jumped up to a second spot.
Up until now, the US market has been slow and sales have not equalled the European figures. However things are about to change as very positive reviews and radio play has led to an upcoming US tour. In March, Röyksopp are set to play seven gigs in key cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Melody A.M. is released on Virgin subsidiary Astralwerks.
Röyksopp’s Torbjørn Brundtland is reluctant when discussing expectations of the duo’s upcoming US activities. In a statement to Norwegian news wire NTB, Brundtland says he and colleague Svein Berge’s US aspirations are realistic and modest: I believe you have to tour for half a life-time to make an impact over there! At least we’ll not give up before we have tried. I think we can make a relatively good impact – with emphasis on relatively.
Go to MIC’s event calendar for a complete listing of Röyksopp’s US dates.
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