5. RobynBody Talk
I think she’s really inspiring, and I love that album so much. I met Robyn around the time that she was 16, when she first became a huge star in Sweden and was doing more of an R&B thing. But she was so there, and her voice is amazing. Then she came along with this album, and I felt: "OK, here is someone really interesting, someone with real character who is going to be around for a long time." Here she is. She has this presence, and I was just really into it – transfixed – and it was a record which went on for a really long time, which it deserves to do. It was great. I shared it with my youngest daughter – she’s a really big fan. To me, it’s the best pop record – I mean it in the most complimentary way – of its time. I think it really stands out, and will continue to stand out for a long time. There’s just something about her that I find very compelling and honest.
Robyn had asked me to do a few things with her and then I wasn’t able to, and so we were always saying: "We have to do something at some point." When Blank Project started coming together, she was the only person, other than the people I wrote with, RocketNumberNine and Kieran [Hebden, Four Tet], obviously, who I wanted to collaborate with. Thank God she wanted to.
I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t been able to make Blank Project. I’m not so interested in product: I’m more interested in the process of making something, of trying to get to the things that you dream of to that particular headspace and arrive at some kind of emotional honesty.
