Robyn - Stripped (2010)

Robin Miriam Carlsson, known professionally as Robyn, was born on 12 June 1979 in Stockholm, the daughter of parents that led an independent theatre group, and so growing up in that environment influenced her sense of style. in 1989 she voiced the character of Miranda in the 1989 Swedish-Norwegian animated film 'The Journey to Melonia', and at age 12 she recorded 'Du an alltid bli nummer ett' ('You Can Always be Number One'), the theme song for the Swedish television show 'Lilla Sportspegeln'. She was discovered by Swedish pop singer Meja in the early 1990's when Meja and her band, Legacy Of Sound, visited Robyn's school as part of a musical workshop. Impressed by Robyn's performance, Meja contacted her management and a meeting was arranged with Robyn and her parents. At age 14, after completing middle school education in 1993, Robyn signed with Ricochet Records Sweden, where she collaborated with producers Max Martin and Denniz Pop, who gave the singer a gritty (but popular) sound. She began her pop-music career at age 15, signing with RCA Records in 1994 and releasing her debut single 'You've Got That Somethin'' in Sweden, but it was later that year that her Swedish breakthrough came with the single 'Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)'. The singles became part of the album 'Robyn Is Here', which was released in October 1995, and within two years she entered Sweden's pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 as co-writer and producer of 'Du gör mig hel igen' ('You Make Me Whole Again'), which was performed by Cajsalisa Ejemyr. 

Robyn's US breakthrough came in late 1997, when the dance-pop/R&B singles 'Show Me Love' and 'Do You Know (What It Takes)' reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Robyn's second album, 'My Truth', was released in Sweden in May 1999 and subsequently in Europe, and the single, 'Electric', was a commercial success and propelled 'My Truth' to the number-two position in Sweden. Despite her US success with 'Robyn Is Here', the autobiographical 'My Truth' was not released in that country, partly because it included two songs which referenced an abortion she had in her teens. In July 2001 she signed a worldwide deal with Jive Records, moving from BMG after she was "disillusioned with the lack of artistic control she had there. A year later Jive was acquired by BMG when it bought Zomba Records, and she was right back where she started. In October 2002, she released the album 'Don't Stop The Music' in Sweden, with the singles 'Keep This Fire Burning' and 'Don't Stop the Music' receiving airplay in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe. The decade-long relationship between Robyn and her label ended in 2004, when Jive Records reacted negatively to 'Who's That Girl?'s new electropop sound, and so the singer decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she announced that she was leaving Jive to start her own label, and Konichiwa Records was created to liberate her artistically. 

Robyn released the single 'Be Mine!' in March 2005, and her fourth album, 'Robyn', was her first number-one album in Sweden when it was released a month later. Influenced by electronica, rap, R&B and new-age music, Robyn was critically praised and it earned the singer three 2006 Swedish Grammy Awards. In December 2006 dhe Robyn released 'The Rakamonie' EP in the UK as a preview of her more-recent material, and this was followed by the March 2007 release of 'Konichiwa Bitches'. In 2009 she released 'The Cherrytree Sessions' EP, which consisted of live acoustic versions of three of her previous singles, and this stripped-back EP prompted visitor geofmcm to consider if there were any other acoustic versions of her songs out there. It turned out that she had done a number of radio sessions and live appearance where she performed acoustic versions of her songs, and so this album showcases what a fine singer/songwriter she can be, even without the electro-pop backing that we are used to. I added one track, which was an orchestral version of 'Indestructable', where I removed all the instruments apart from the cello and viola, to give it a much more intimate sound, and Geof also added a couple of edited tracks with stripped-back instrumentation, giving a really nice 40-minute album, and also a title for the post. 

Track listing

01 Dream On
02 Eveane
03 Dancing On My Own
04 Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart
05 Be Mine!
06 With Every Heartbeat
07 Bum Like You
08 Show Me Love
09 Hang With Me
10 Indestructable
11 Stars 4-Ever

Thanks to geofmcm for the idea and the music.