There is so much humanity within Robyn's music — not just longing and heartbreak, but absurdity, the connections and contradictions that are all part of life's panoply. Her crystal-clear voice, honed over 30 years, sparkles in this Tiny Desk.
Every choice here is a tender one, down to the teardrop glued to her cheek. Every move is confident, yet comes from a place of vulnerability. Most of these arrangements play up the quiet desperation in her outsized songs, though on "Ever Again," Robyn pulls off a magic trick by inviting us into the conversation, opening a broken heart to defiant resilience. "Light Up," in particular, sounds revelatory, a glitchy synth banger reborn as a piano ballad. "I was looking at you like a mirror," she sings with a catch in her throat, like an old memory surfacing for a split second, as she builds to a moment of emotional release.
Robyn was 16 years old when "Show Me Love" appeared on her debut album, Robyn Is Here. "For me, this is where it all started, in a way," she tells the audience, understating the foundational impact the hit would have on late-'90s pop. Behind the Desk, its lite new jack swing slows to something more spacious and reflective, if no less flirtatious. She lets the music age with her.
If softness is the move throughout this set, "Sucker for Love" shakes loose the feels and revels in the sensuality that permeates this year's Sexistential. Her steely blue eyes dare us, and her, not to hold back from expressions of desire — to trust in the mess and find something real.
SET LIST
- "Ever Again"
- "Light Up"
- "Show Me Love"
- "Sucker for Love"
MUSICIANS
- Robyn: vocals
- Markus Jagerstedt: piano
- Povel Olsson: keys, electronics
- Janne Manninen: bass
- Nils Törnqvist: drums
- Taj Sapp: background vocals
- Melody English: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producers: Dora Levite, Lars Gotrich
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Creative Director: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Copy Editor: Daoud Tyler-Ameen
- Photographer: Michael Zamora
- Director, Music Visuals: Becky Lettenberger
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- VP, Music: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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