Röyksopp albums, like all good things in life, come to those who wait. The duo of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland first began experimenting with synthesizers together as kids in their small, sub-Arctic hometown of Tromsø, Norway.
"I remember seeing this documentary when I was seven, I think, about robots. And the sound for that specific documentary was the track 'The Robots' by Kraftwerk," recalls Berge. "All that put together in the mind of a small child who was fascinated by Luke Skywalker and whatnot -- it kind of connected."
That cosmic, expansive take on music, as well as a habit of eschewing the latest studio tricks, has allowed Melody A.M., and its 2005 follow-up, The Understanding, to age particularly well.
Then, after an average four-year interval between albums, Röyksopp released not just another album, Junior, in 2009, but yet another, Senior, in 2010. Conceived as companion pieces, they differed widely in mood and composition. Where Junior was often relentlessly upbeat, heavy on chirping female vocals and danceable tempos, Senior was the polar opposite -- moody, dubby, almost minimal.
So which side of Röyksopp will come out when the band arrives to play Ultra Music Festival, its first Miami gig in about seven years? Well, probably both -- and some other side, too, considering the band's famous costumed onstage antics and its knack for surprise.
"Obviously, we're not in the Elton John league," Berge says. "We don't want it to turn into some kind of cabaret from 1926, or a rock opera kind of thing."
Röyksopp as part of the Ultra Music Festival with a performance on Friday, March 25. Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are sold out. Visit ultramusicfestival.com.
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