Røyksopp @ The Øya Festival
Oslo, Norway 15th August 2009
Røyksopp’s magical electro-fantasia with guests Anneli Drecker and Robyn scared the rain away with out-of-worldly force at Øya ‘09.
It had been raining cats and dogs non stop all day, and to be honest it didn’t look good for Norway’s number one export band. It was all well planned from Øya’s booking side had the weather just been on their side. UK’s Erol Alkan playing on the nearby Odden stage had warmed the crowd up but the festival area was definitely less crowded than the days before. However, about 10,000 dedicated and soaked fans were waiting in see-through raincoats, splashing around in the unforgiving Oslo mud. The atmosphere was charged with excitement, the field on the size of about two football fields well stacked and the applause that followed when Røyksopp entered the stage in super hero costumes were worthy of at least two stadiums.
Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge dressed as space hero and medicin man respectively kicked off the night with the well familiar “Remind Me” to roaring cheers. But the real extatic atmosphere rose to the hidden stars when Anneli Drecker entered the stage in a native American costume to perform the song “What Else is There”.
There is something magical about Røyksopp’s tunes, they’re dark, yet danceable, deep electro but still Norwegian pop at its best. Their growing popularity makes sense, Røyksopp has moved successfully towards a broader popular sound, with beautiful Nordic mysterious female vocals.
The set list was a mix of all the hits from their three albums, Melody AM, The Understanding and latest Junior. Although it could seem a bit random at first, it really worked — their fans seemed to love it and bodies and arms were bouncing like a flying carpet over the festival area.
The gig’s big surprise came when Swedish Robyn entered the stage to great applause and together they made the night truly memorable with the hit “The Girl and the Robot”. At this point a steep human wave spread from the front of the audience and straight to the Oslo fjord, a grand finale the Øya festival can be proud of.
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One Response to “Øya ‘09: Röyksopp”
Anne - August 22nd, 2009 at 12:13
Great photos! Amazing gig