Robyn - Honey (2018)

×

Robyn - Honey (2018)

Close

Honey is the upcoming eighth studio album by Robyn, and her first since Body Talk (2010). It is set to be released on 26 October 2018 through Konichiwa and Interscope Records. It will feature the lead single "Missing U" and second single "Honey", a version of which featured in the final season of the HBO series Girls in 2017 before being released in full in 2018. The album will feature collaborations with Joseph Mount of Metronomy, Klas Åhlund, Adam Bainbridge, Mr. Tophat, and Zhala. It has been called a "significant departure from the hooky, sparkling electro-pop" of the Body Talk series of albums.

Robyn began work on the album in 2015 following the death of close friend and collaborator Christian Falk and the breakup of a relationship. Early on, she reached out to Joseph Mount of Metronomy, and they kept collaborating beyond the expected one-off session. Mount said he had to adjust to Robyn's "emotional transparency" while writing, understanding over time that it is "integral to what she does".

Robyn has stated that the album, recorded in part at studios in Stockholm, London, Paris, New York and Ibiza, features "much more production work on my end". She also said the album represents "this sweet place, like a very soft ecstasy. […] I danced a lot when I was making it. I found a sensuality and a softness that I don't think I was able to use in the same way before. Everything just became softer." Robyn initially began working on the record alone, which she said allowed her to be more sensual. The album was named for its "glowing, transcendent" title track, which The New York Times has called Robyn's "masterpiece".

Robyn created the demo for "Missing U" in the summer 2014 on her laptop along with a LinnDrum machine and a software synth. She noted that the lyrics for the song took 2 years to complete, before finishing them with producers Joseph Mount and Klas Åhlund.

Robyn became more involved in the production of Honey than she had been on her previous albums, including making beats herself. This resulted in sounds including what The New York Times called "outré future pop" on the track "Human Being", "sensual throb" on "Baby Forgive Me" and "playful '90s house" on "Between the Lines". The song "Send to Robin Immediately" samples the 1989 house track "French Kiss" by Lil Louis, which was the idea of English musician Adam Bainbridge, better known as Kindness. Pitchfork writer Jason King notes the album is a "breathless, existential post-disco record".