This article reads like a review rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve this article to make it neutral in tone and meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (December 2007)

Robyn Hitchcock
Live @ Iron Horse., Northampton, MA 28 March 2005
Background information
Born	(1953-03-03) 3 March 1953 (age 59)
Genres	Alternative rock, Jangle pop, Psych folk
Occupations	Musician, actor
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Associated acts	Soft Boys Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians The Venus 3 I Was A King
Website	http://robynhitchcock.com

Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar.

Coming to prominence in the late 1970s with The Soft Boys, Hitchcock afterward launched a prolific solo career. Hitchcock's musical and lyrical styles have been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Syd Barrett. Hitchcock's lyrics tend to include surrealism, comedic elements, characterisations of English eccentrics, and melancholy depictions of everyday life.

He was signed to two major American labels (A&M Records, then Warner Brothers) over the course of the 1980s and '90s, but mainstream success has been limited. Still, he has maintained a loyal cult following and has often earned strong critical reviews over a steady stream of album releases and live performances.

Biography[link]

Early life and recording career[link]

Born Robyn Hitchcock in London, England and educated at Winchester College,^[1] he began his recording career in 1976 with the Cambridge-based punk/New Wave band The Soft Boys, a local group with an interest in the odd concept of 'psychedelic punk'. After the group broke up in 1981, Hitchcock began recording as a solo artist.

1980s[link]

Hitchcock released his solo debut, Black Snake Diamond Röle in 1981, which more or less replicated the sound of his previous band, as it featured instrumental backing by several former Soft Boys. He followed it in 1982 with the generally critically maligned Groovy Decay, a record which he would ultimately disown.^[2] Following his solo acoustic album I Often Dream Of Trains in 1984, he formed a new band, The Egyptians, comprising former members of The Soft Boys (Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor, supplemented at first by early keyboardist Roger Jackson), resulting in their 1985 debut Fegmania!, which featured typically surrealist Hitchcock songs such as "My Wife and My Dead Wife" and "The Man with the Lightbulb Head". (A live album, Gotta Let This Hen Out!, was released at the end of that year.) Their popularity grew with the 1986 album Element of Light and they were subsequently signed to A&M Records in the U.S. The album Globe of Frogs, released in 1988, further expanded their reach, as the single "Balloon Man" became a college radio and MTV hit, followed in 1989 by "Madonna Of The Wasps" from their Queen Elvis album. In 1989 they also teamed up with Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Peter Holsapple of The dB's, playing two gigs as Nigel and the Crosses, mostly covers.^[3][4] The Crosses also had their cover of "Wild Mountain Thyme" included on a Byrds tribute album, though Hitchcock always alluded to the Bryan Ferry version when performing it live with the Egyptians.^[5]

1990s[link]

At the beginning of the decade, Hitchcock took a break from the Egyptians and A&M Records to release another solo acoustic album, Eye, then resumed with the band's Perspex Island release in 1991. 1993's Respect, influenced a great deal by his father's death,^[6] marked the last Egyptians release and the end of his association with A&M Records. Early in 1994, after disbanding the Egyptians, he embarked on a short reunion tour with The Soft Boys. His work received a slight boost in 1995 when his back catalogue (including both solo releases and Egyptians albums) were re-packaged and re-issued in the United States by the respected Rhino Records label. For the rest of the decade he continued recording and performing as a solo artist, releasing several albums on Warner Brothers Records, such as 1996's Moss Elixir (which featured the contributions of violinist Deni Bonet and guitarist Tim Keegan), and the soundtrack from the Jonathan Demme-directed concert film Storefront Hitchcock in 1998. The 1999 release Jewels for Sophia, also on Warner, featured cameos from Southern California-based musicians Jon Brion and Grant-Lee Phillips, both of whom often shared the stage with Hitchcock when he played Los Angeles nightclub Largo. An album of outtakes from the Sophia sessions called A Star For Bram, released on Hitchcock's own label, followed, and his subsequent albums appeared on a variety of independent labels.

2000s[link]

In 2001, Hitchcock reunited and toured with Kimberley Rew, bassist Matthew Seligman, and Morris Windsor for the Soft Boys' re-release of their best-known album, 1980's Underwater Moonlight. The following year they recorded and released a new album, Nextdoorland, which was accompanied by a short album of outtakes, Side Three. The reunion proved to be short-lived, although they did re-form again in 2006 to perform a live concert of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd covers in London, benefiting Médecins Sans Frontières.

During a short tour with Grant-Lee Phillips of Grant Lee Buffalo, Hitchcock co-produced and co-starred in a concert film of the tour shot in Seattle titled Elixirs & Remedies.

The 2002 double album Robyn Sings comprised cover versions of Bob Dylan songs, including a live re-creation (performed in 1996) of Dylan's so-called Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1966 concert. Hitchcock celebrated his 50th birthday in 2003 with a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London at which his then-new solo acoustic album Luxor was given away as a gift to all those attending, and an original poem of his was read by actor Alan Rickman.^[7] He continued collaborating with a series of different musicians, as on the album Spooked, which was recorded with country/folk duo (and longtime Hitchcock fans) Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. In 2006 Olé! Tarantula was released with The Venus 3, a band which consisted of longtime friends and collaborators R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Young Fresh Fellows' frontman Scott McCaughey, as well as Ministry's Bill Rieflin (by then also R.E.M.'s full-time drummer). The song "'Cause It's Love (Saint Parallelogram)" was written with Andy Partridge of XTC.

In 2007, he was the subject of a documentary Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death... and Insects directed by John Edginton,^[8] shown on the U.S. Sundance Channel and in the UK on BBC Four (and later released on DVD). "Food, sex and death are all corridors to life if you like. You need sex to get you here, you need food to keep you here and you need death to get you out and they’re the entry and exit signs."

The filmmaker eavesdrops on Hitchcock at work on his latest collection of songs with contributors including Nick Lowe, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Peter Buck and Gillian Welch. The film culminates with Hitchcock and the band taking the songs on the road in America. A live EP with The Venus 3, Sex, Food, Death... and Tarantulas, was released in conjunction with the documentary. The film also includes candid interviews with Hitchcock, who reveals much about the source of his work: "At heart I'm a frightened angry person. That's probably why my stuff isn’t totally insubstantial. I'm constantly, deep down inside, in a kind of rage."

Late in 2007, Hitchcock's music was again re-packaged and re-released in the U.S., as Yep Roc Records began an extensive reissue campaign with three early solo releases and a double-CD compilation of rarities, which would be available separately or as part of a new boxed set release, I Wanna Go Backwards.^[9]

In 2008, that boxed set was followed up with Luminous Groove, a boxed set of three early Egyptians releases and two further discs of rarities. In 2009, the electro-pop artist and remixer Pocket released an EP featuring Hitchcock called "Surround Him With Love", while Hitchcock released an entirely separate new album, Goodnight Oslo, with the Venus 3. At the end of the year, a live album called I Often Dream Of Trains In New York documented the late-2008 onstage re-creation of his acclaimed 1984 acoustic album (a limited-edition deluxe version also included the materials to construct a kind of moving-image generator called a phenokistoscope).

2010s[link]

Concurrent with the redesign of his official website in early 2010, Hitchcock began to offer an occasional series of "Phantom 45s" as downloads, each "45" being two newly-recorded songs that would initially be offered as a free download. He also released the Propellor Time album, containing new material partially based on the "Sex, Food, Death" sessions shown in the 2007 documentary, but mainly featuring the Venus 3. In 2011, he released Tromsø, Kaptein, an album of songs written in Norway, and released physically only in that country. Robyn was chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform "I Often Dream Of Trains" at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, to be curated by Mangum in March 2012 in Minehead, England.^[10]

Interests[link]

Additionally, Hitchcock has an interest in acting, literature and art. He writes short stories, paints (often in a whimsical, surrealist style) and draws in the cartoon-strip mode. Many of Hitchcock's album covers bear his paintings or drawings, and his albums' liner notes sometimes include a printed short story. His live concerts usually include a considerable amount of story-telling, in the form of imaginative and surreal ad-libbed monologues in his lyrical style.

Hitchcock collaborated with director Jonathan Demme in 1998 for a live concert and film Storefront Hitchcock, and later appeared in Demme's 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate, in which he played double agent Laurent Tokar. He also appeared in Demme's Rachel Getting Married in 2008, singing and playing guitar in the wedding-party band.

In September 2008 Hitchcock joined the Disko Bay Cape Farewell expedition to the West Coast of Greenland. Cape Farewell is a UK based arts organisation that brings artists, scientists and communicators together to instigate a cultural response to climate change. Other voyagers on the trip included musicians Jarvis Cocker, KT Tunstall and Martha Wainwright.

Personal[link]

Robyn is the son of novelist Raymond Hitchcock and the brother of artist Lal Hitchcock. He is not related to Alfred Hitchcock.

Album discography[link]

Releases marked "with the Egyptians" are credited on the album as by "Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians". Similarly, releases marked "with the Venus 3" are credited on the album as by "Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3". Others are credited as solo albums, although they may contain some group recordings.

Original studio albums[link]

• Black Snake Diamond Röle, 1981
• Groovy Decay, 1982
• I Often Dream of Trains, 1984
• Fegmania!, 1985 (with the Egyptians)
• Element of Light, 1986 (with the Egyptians)
• Globe of Frogs, 1988 (with the Egyptians)
• Queen Elvis, 1989 (with the Egyptians)
• Eye, 1990
• Perspex Island, 1991 (with the Egyptians)
• Respect, 1993 (with the Egyptians)
• Moss Elixir, 1996
• Jewels for Sophia, 1999
• Luxor, 2003
• Spooked, 2004
• Olé! Tarantula, 2006 (with the Venus 3)
• Goodnight Oslo, 2009 (with the Venus 3)
• Propellor Time, 2010 (with the Venus 3)
• Tromsø, Kaptein, 2011

Compilations of rarities, demos, alternate takes and out-takes[link]

• Groovy Decoy (A re-worked version of Groovy Decay, featuring demo versions of many of that album's songs), 1985
• Invisible Hitchcock (Outtakes and rarities, 1980–1986), 1986
• Gravy Deco (A compilation of the Groovy Decay and Groovy Decoy sessions), 1995
• You & Oblivion (Outtakes and rarities, 1981–1987), 1995
• Mossy Liquor ("Outtakes and prototypes" from Moss Elixir), 1996
• A Star for Bram (Outtakes from Jewels for Sophia), 2000
• Obliteration Pie (Japan-only collection of live tracks, rarities, and new studio re-recordings), 2005
• I Wanna Go Backwards (Boxed set of reissues and rarities), 2007
• Shadow Cat (Outtakes and rarities, 1993–1999), 2008
• Luminous Groove (Boxed set of reissues and rarities), 2008

Live albums[link]

• Gotta Let This Hen Out!, 1985 (with the Egyptians)
• Give It To The Thoth Boys - Live Oddities, 1993 (Cassette only release sold on tour 1993) (with the Egyptians)
• The Kershaw Sessions, 1994 (with the Egyptians)
• Storefront Hitchcock, 1998
• Storefront Hitchcock L.P., 1998
• Live at the Cambridge Folk Festival, 1998 (with the Egyptians)
• Robyn Sings, 2002 (Double live album of Bob Dylan cover songs)
• This is the BBC, 2006
• Sex, Food, Death... and Tarantulas (Live EP), 2007
• I Often Dream of Trains in New York, (CD+DVD), 2009

Best-of compilations[link]

• Robyn Hitchcock, 1995
• Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians: Greatest Hits, 1996 (with the Egyptians)
• Uncorrected Personality Traits (Rhino Records best-of compilation of solo material), 1997

Compilation appearances[link]

• Time Between - A Tribute to The Byrds (Imaginary Records), 1989
• Pave The Earth (A&M Records), 1990
• More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album (Birdman Records), 1999
• Ernie: Songs of Ernest Noyes Brookings (Gadfly Records), 2001
• Listen To What The Man Said – Popular Artists Pay Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney (Oglio Records), 2001
• Wig in a Box (Off Records), 2003
• Terry Edwards Presents Queer Street (Sartorial Records), 2004
• I Want You (She's So Heavy) – Abbey Road Now! (Mojo Magazine Free CD), Oct 2009
• Dark Globe – The Madcap Laughs Again! (Mojo Magazine Free CD), Mar 2010

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• "Robyn Hitchcock: I wanna go Backwards" — an article at Crawdaddy!.
• "The Barrett/Hitchcock Connection" — an article at Perfect Sound Forever.
• Interview with Robyn Hitchcock with Andy Carvin in 1993.

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

• The Museum of Robyn Hitchcock (official site)
• The Asking Tree: Robyn Hitchcock Discography and Gigography Database
• Otmoor Productions Documentary Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death... and Insects
• fegMANIA! – Robyn Hitchcock news and information listserv
• The Glass Hotel – comprehensive site including "Glass Flesh" tribute project
• Robyn Hitchcock collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Robyn
Robyn performing live at the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert
Background information
Birth name	Robin Miriam Carlsson
Born	(1979-06-12) 12 June 1979 (age 33) Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Electropop, Europop, synthpop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	1994–present
Labels	BMG, RCA, Jive, Konichiwa, Interscope
Associated acts	The Knife, Royksopp, Christian Falk, Snoop Dogg, Kleerup, I Blame Coco, Teddybears STHLM
Website	www.robyn.com

Robin Miriam Carlsson^[1] (born 12 June 1979), better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know (What It Takes)" from her debut album Robyn Is Here (1997). The popularity of her number-one hit "With Every Heartbeat" and subsequent album release Robyn (2005) brought her mainstream success worldwide. In January 2009 Robyn won a Swedish Grammis award for Best Live Act 2008.

Robyn released the first of a trilogy of albums to be released over the course of 2010 titled Body Talk Pt. 1, in June of that year, peaking at number one. It was her first album since Robyn. The album's lead single "Dancing on My Own" was released a few weeks prior to the album's release; it became a hit single worldwide and brought her a Grammy Award nomination for the category of Best Dance Recording in 2011. A follow-up album, Body Talk Pt. 2, was released on 6 September, entering straight at number one on the Swedish chart,^[2] and the final album of the trilogy, Body Talk, was released on 22 November 2010 with lead single "Indestructible". "Call Your Girlfriend" was the second single to be released from Body Talk.^[3] Robyn possesses the vocal range of a soprano.^[4]

Music career[link]

1989–1990: Voice acting[link]

Robyn voiced the character Miranda in the 1989 Swedish-Norwegian animated film The Journey to Melonia. The film, directed by Per Åhlin, is very loosely based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. She also did the Swedish voice of Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven.

1991–93: Musical beginnings[link]

In 1991, at the age of twelve, Robyn recorded the theme song for the Swedish television show Lilla Sportspegeln, named Du kan alltid bli nummer ett ("You can always be number one"). She performed her first self-written song^{[clarification needed]} at this age on another television show, Söndagsöppet.

Robyn was rediscovered by Swedish pop singer Meja in the early nineties. Meja and her band Legacy of Sound visited Robyn's school and were involved with a musical workshop. Robyn's performances impressed Meja so much so that she contacted her management and a meeting was arranged with Robyn and her parents. Following the completion of her middle school education, Robyn signed to Ricochet Records Sweden, a subsidiary of BMG. She collaborated with producers Max Martin and Denniz Pop, who provided the singer with a gritty yet popular sound. Writing duties were assisted by Ulf Lindstrom and Johan Ekhé, who also helped to produce the album, and they stayed on board with Robyn until the completion of her album Don't Stop the Music in 2003.

[edit] 1994–97: Robyn Is Here and success

Robyn started her career in the pop music industry at the age of sixteen. She signed a record deal with RCA Records in 1994 to release her debut single, "You've Got That Somethin'", in Sweden. Later that same year, her Swedish breakthrough came with the single "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)". These singles became part of the album Robyn Is Here, released in October 1996. Robyn contributed vocals to Blacknuss's 1996 single "Roll with Me." Robyn entered Sweden's pre-selection for Eurovision Song Contest 1997, as co-writer and producer of the song "Du gör mig hel igen," which was performed by Cajsalisa Ejemyr. In Melodifestivalen 1997 the song ended up in fourth place.

Robyn's US breakthrough came in 1997, when the dance-pop singles "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)" reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. She performed on the children's show All That in 1997, singing "Show Me Love," proving her growing popularity in the United States. The songs also performed well in the UK. Robyn re-released "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" internationally but it did not fare as well as the other releases. In the US, it was ineligible to chart because there was no retail single available, but it reached number thirty-two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song "Show Me Love" was prominently used in the 1998 Lukas Moodysson film Fucking Åmål, and the song's title was used as the film's title in English-speaking countries.

As Robyn's popularity grew across the globe, especially in the United States, she was diagnosed with exhaustion and quickly returned to Sweden to recover.

[edit] 1998–04: My Truth and Don't Stop the Music

Robyn on tour in 2003

Recording began on Robyn's second album in 1998. The album, My Truth, was released in May 1999 in Sweden, with subsequent releases elsewhere in the continent. The single "Electric" was a hit across Europe and propelled My Truth to number two position in Sweden. My Truth was an autobiographical release for Robyn and included the tracks "Universal Woman" and "Giving You Back," which explained her secret abortion. Despite her success in the US market with Robyn Is Here, My Truth did not receive an international release.

In 1999, Robyn contributed to Christian Falk's debut solo album Quel Bordel, appearing on the tracks "Remember" and "Celebration." In 2000, she appeared on the track "Intro/ Fristil" on Petter's self-titled album. In 2001, Robyn performed the song "Say You'll Walk the Distance" to the soundtrack for the film On the Line.

In November 2002, Robyn swapped labels at BMG (from RCA to Jive Records) and released the album Don't Stop the Music in Sweden. Singles "Keep This Fire Burning" and "Don't Stop the Music" graced playlists in Scandinavia and mainland Europe. The title track (a subsequent single) was later covered by Swedish girl group Play, and the lead single, "Keep This Fire Burning," was covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight.

In May 2004, the album Robyn's Best was released in America. It is essentially a condensed version of her debut album; containing no material from her later releases. In 2006, following her departure from BMG, Det Bästa Med Robyn (The Best of Robyn) was released in Sweden. It included material from her first three albums. Notable omissions from this release were the singles "Don't Stop the Music" and "Keep This Fire Burning".

[edit] 2005–08: Konichiwa Records and Robyn

Robyn performing in Karlskrona, Sweden in 2005

Robyn performing live at the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize concert

The decade-long relationship between Robyn and her label ceased in 2004. When they reacted negatively to "Who's That Girl?", which showcased a new electro-pop sound, Robyn decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she announced she would be leaving Jive Records to start her own record label.^[5] Konichiwa Records was created, with its aim firmly set on liberating Robyn artistically. Robyn revealed on her website that her new album would be released earlier than anticipated, and noted several fabled collaborators on the album, including Klas Åhlund from Teddybears STHLM, Swedish duo The Knife and former Cheiron producer Alexander Kronlund.

Robyn released the single "Be Mine!" in March 2005. A month later, her fourth studio album, Robyn, became her first number-one album upon its release in Sweden. Sampling influences from electronica, rap, R&B and new age, Robyn received rave reviews, and gained the singer three Swedish Grammy Awards in 2006 for "Årets Album" (Best Album), "Årets Kompositör" (Best Writer, alongside Klas Åhlund) and "Årets Pop Kvinnlig" (Best Pop Female). It also garnered Robyn interest on a global level. She gained recognition for co-writing the song "Money for Nothing" for Darin Zanyar, his debut single. Robyn released three more singles—"Who's That Girl?", "Handle Me" and "Crash and Burn Girl"—from the eponymous LP, which proved immensely popular in Sweden.

Robyn featured on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from their album Crazy Itch Radio, released in 2006. The year also marked the release of Christian Falk's second album, People Say, on which Robyn contributed the tracks "Dream On" and "C.C.C".

In December 2006, Robyn released The Rakamonie EP in the UK as a preview to her more recent material. This was followed by the release of "Konichiwa Bitches" in March 2007. The revised edition of Robyn was released in the UK in April 2007, and contains two new tracks—"With Every Heartbeat" (a collaboration with Kleerup) and "Cobrastyle" (a cover of a 2006 single by Swedish rockers Teddybears)—alongside slightly altered versions of two of the original songs. It was removed from British stores to make way for an August re-release.^{[citation needed]}

The second single from the UK release was "With Every Heartbeat", released in late July and reaching number one on the UK singles chart. Robyn was featured on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 showcase show, Live Lounge, a reflection of her growing popularity in Britain. Follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who's That Girl?" and "Dream On" were top thirty hits. In Australia, where Robyn reached the top ten of the iTunes Store's album chart, "With Every Heartbeat" received substantial attention on radio and video networks in Australia. Also in 2007, Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet's single "This One's for You", from their album Voices of Eden.

Konichiwa Records signed an international licensing deal with Universal Music Group to launch and distribute Robyn's music globally. Releases in the UK are issued under the Island Records label. The Rakamonie EP was released in January 2008 under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and the US edition of Robyn was released in April 2008. "With Every Heartbeat", "Handle Me" and "Cobrastyle" were top ten club hits, and the former received airplay at US pop and dance radio stations. Robyn was visible in the US market in 2007 when Britney Spears released the single "Piece of Me", which contains Robyn's backing vocals. She was also featured on the Fyre Department remix of "Sexual Eruption" by rapper Snoop Dogg.

Robyn completed a short US tour to promote Robyn, and was the supporting act for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour at select European dates in 2008.^[6]

[edit] 2009–present: Body Talk and touring

Robyn performing live at the Heaven nightclub in London on 17 June 2010

In January 2009, Robyn won a Swedish Grammis Award for Best Live Act 2008; in her acceptance speech, she said that Madonna was to thank for the prize.^[7]

Robyn stated to Aftonbladet, a Swedish newspaper site, that she wanted to start recording a new album in the beginning of 2009 and that she will work with producers such as Kleerup ("With Every Heartbeat")^[8] as well as Klas Åhlund who she worked with on Robyn.^[9] Robyn is featured on Norway's premier electronic outfit Röyksopp's 2009 album Junior with the song "The Girl and the Robot". The song was accompanied by a music video featuring the artist and released internationally as the 2nd single from the album. It peaked at No.2 on the Norwegian singles charts. In 2009, she appeared together with International pop artist Dr. Alban on stage at Way Out West 2009, performing his hit single, "No Coke".

Robyn performing at Roskilde Festival 2010.

In March 2010 Robyn appeared on the Swedish television series Dom kallar oss artister. She said that her goal is to have the new album out in June. She also said that the album will be very personal, like a diary. The track listing was confirmed, including: "Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do" which is written by Robyn and Klas Åhlund, "None of Them" with Röyksopp, "Dance Hall Queen" with Diplo, "Fembot" and "Dancing on My Own", written by Robyn and Patrik Berger.^[10][11]

In an interview with Swedish magazine Bon, Robyn announced that she had plans to release three new albums in 2010.^[12] The first is due in the spring, with subsequent albums released in the summer and autumn/winter. In May Robyn said in an interview with Stereogum, "I think this splitting a full album up into different releases is, in a way, how people listen to music as well. It's more about songs now. But for me this is not an EP or a lesser version of an album. It's an album, but it's maybe not the normal length, so I can go back to the studio again and release these songs while they're actually fresh, and go back to the studio and work on more stuff while touring."^[13] To promote the forthcoming album Robyn released the songs "Fembot", "Dancehall Queen" and "None of Dem" (featuring Röyksopp) to digital outlets as promotional singles on 13 April 2010.^[14][15][16]

Robyn released the first part in the Body Talk series, Body Talk Pt. 1, on 14 June 2010 in the Nordic countries through EMI and on June 15 in the US through Interscope.^[17][18] It was preceded by the single, "Dancing on My Own", on 1 June 2010. The song became Robyn's first number one hit in Sweden, and her fourth top ten hit in both the UK and the US, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and at number three on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In July 2010 she sang a minimalist electro cover of Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" for a live performance on iheartradio.^[19] Robyn embarked on the All Hearts Tour in July–August 2010 with American singer Kelis in support of the Body Talk albums,^[20] as well as a four-date UK tour at the end of October.^[21]

On 6 September 2010 Body Talk Pt. 2 was released in the United Kingdom.^[21] It was preceded by the lead single, a dance version of the song "Hang with Me" from Body Talk Pt. 1, on September 5.^[22] The album contains a duet with American rapper Snoop Dogg, "U Should Know Better".^[23] Robyn appeared and performed "Dancing on My Own" with deadmau5 at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on 12 September 2010.^[24] In an interview with BBC Newsbeat Robyn reflected on the decision to release a trilogy of albums in one year, "It was just something I felt like I needed to do. I just never thought about selling records or not, making this decision. I just did it for myself. It's a way of, for me, to stay inspired and to be able to do the things I like to do."^[25] She said she will not release three albums in the span of a year again, "When you do 16 or 13 songs in one go, you kind of empty yourself, and it takes a while to fill back up and have new things to talk about, so I think it's good for everyone."^[25]

Robyn announced the release of the single, "Indestructible", on 13 October 2010.^[26] An acoustic version appeared on her previous album, Body Talk Pt. 2. The song is set to be released on 17 November 2010 in Scandinavia and on 22 November in the United Kingdom.^[27] It is co-written by Klas Åhlund, and has been described as a "pulsating full power version [that] takes every ounce of that emotion and wraps it up in another exceptional disco-pop record worthy of any dance-floor or passion-laden sing-a-long."^[26] On 20 October 2010 Robyn announced the details of Body Talk on her official website, along with the track listing and artwork.^[28] She described the album as the "turbo version of the Body Talk album", as it includes five songs from each previous Body Talk album along with five new songs."^[28] Robyn will collaborate with Swedish producer Max Martin on the song "Time Machine".^[29] Martin was responsible for producing Robyn's US breakthrough hits "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love", which both charted inside the top ten of the Billboard 100 in 1996 and 1997. Combined, the Body Talk albums have sold 91,000 copies in the United States.^[30]

In 2010, Robyn guest-starred in "War at the Roses", an episode which was on Gossip Girl, where she performed the acoustic version of "Hang With Me". "Dancing on My Own" was also featured at the end of the episode.

In a November 2010 video interview with Perez Hilton, Robyn revealed that she was returning to the studio in January, 2011, and had enough material to release a new album later in the year.^[31]

Robyn has been a supporting act for Katy Perry's "California Dreams tour" in the US, summer 2011.

On 10 December 2011, Robyn was featured as the musical guest on the episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Katy Perry, where she performed Call Your Girlfriend and Dancing On My Own.