Robyn/I Blame Coco
Heaven, London
17/06/2010

Heaven feels hot tonight. It’s not even 8pm and the London venue is packed with an armada of hipsters – mostly men – already sweating at the thought of seeing Swedish electro pop pixie Robyn. Here to promote her latest album ‘Body Talk Pt. 1’, the singer hasn’t graced a British stage in nearly two years.
The main room gets even busier as opening act I Blame Coco take to the stage and deliver their harmless blend of rock à la Blondie with vague electronic arrangements (read: there’s a guy playing a synth here and there). The whole set is punchy, very catchy and great at times, although Coco Sumner’s distinctive voice hasn’t got the widest range and some songs sound really samey. They still get a great reaction from the audience though and hits such as ‘Caesar’ (unfortunately sans Robyn tonight) provoke a fair amount of applause.
Something miraculous happens when Robyn takes over shortly after nine, however, something that one wouldn’t possibly imagine just by looking at her album artwork or by watching her videos. For starters, she is smiling; given the warm welcome she’s receiving, it’s clear why. She kicks festivities off with the Vocoder-infused ‘Fembot’ and instantly gets the room raving, followed by ‘Cry When You Get Older’. Not only has Robyn got a great voice and an inimitable vocal technique but she’s also a skilled dancer. Or mime artist. Or boxer. Each song has its own moves and she’s absolutely relentless. When the first notes of her latest single ‘Dancing On My Own’ kick off, the party rises to another level. Heaven becomes the nightclub it usually is – the climax being her strobe-lit rendition of Royksopp’s ‘The Girl And The Robot’ followed by ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’.
The new songs translate well onstage, thanks to two drummers (whom Robyn is eager to assist by occasionally banging a drum or a cymbal) and two talented guys handling the synths. Although she sometimes relies on backing tracks and voice samples – it’s no biggie given the genre - the only problem tonight actually comes from older songs (‘Who’s That Girl’ and ‘Be Mine’), both of which are reworked into odd techno versions for live purposes. They seem to confuse even Robyn, as she misses a cue on one of them.
As she ends her hour-long set with the anthemic ‘With Every Heartbeat’, Robyn confirms her place as the queen of intelligent electronic pop. If Body Talk Pts. 2 and 3 offer up the same musical quality there’s no doubt upcoming live appearances will be some of the best and most sought-after this year. Welcome back!

Christian Pambrun