Honey

Honey is the eighth studio album by Robyn, and her first since Body Talk (2010). It was released on 26 October 2018 through Konichiwa and Interscope Records. It features 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 features 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. Background, writing and recording 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. Music 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". Promotion Robyn announced she was working on a new album in February 2018 and teased new music throughout the year; after releasing the lead single, she appeared at one of the regular Robyn-themed dance events hosted at the Brooklyn Bowl, where she played "Honey" in full for the first time. At the Red Bull Music Festival in New York in May 2018, Robyn stated: "With this album I've gone more back into the softer I get, the more it happens, and the more colors and dynamic a song gets. And for me, that meant shutting down for awhile and being sparse with my impressions and sensitive to what I needed." The album was officially announced by Robyn in a video message posted to her social media accounts in September 2018. She explained, "It's a personal album, and there are so many things that happened throughout making it that it's really hard for me to explain in one go. I think the best way is for you to listen to it." On 24 September, Robyn revealed the track listing. The full version of "Honey" was premiered by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 on 26 September, and was made available as a two-track single online the same day along with the album becoming available to pre-order.