Covers Revue, Vol. 45 – Robyn covers “Cobrastyle” :: Originally by the Teddybears

Oh, those Swedes! They’ve got so much love for each other! Robyn appearing on Royksopp’s album. Royksopp appearing on Robyn’s album. And for today’s Covers Revue, we’ll check out Robyn’s cover of fellow Swedish musicians, Teddybears.

The band started out in the grindcore genre (thus the ironic band name), but eventually evolved into a band that included everything under the sun, including reggae, pop, punk and electronica. Guitarist Klas Åhlund produced Robyn’s self-titled album, where her cover of Teddybears’ “Cobrastyle” can be found.

In the Teddybears’ version, sounds of reggae and electronica are prominent, along with a bit of Brit pop/punk. Clapping always gets people moving and this song has got it! From a band that used to be classified under “grindcore,” this song is definitely a departure as it will definitely get you dancing.

As we explored earlier this week, Robyn is big in the dance and club scene. Her version of “Cobrastyle” is probably my all time favorite track by her. The build-up in the beginning is amazing! It starts off with a single keyboard melody, but eventually transforms into something more distorted and then gets loud with a big beat introduced. The keyboard melody is what grabs hold of you because its catchiness refuses to let you go! Deep synths underline the verses while the melody jumps back into the chorus, along with Robyn’s incomprehensible lyrics. This song was meant to be a reggae track but her track totally deviates from that.

These two tracks are completely different from each other but both are equally dancey. The only difference is that with one song you’d be dancing in a sweaty Jamaican bar and with the other you’d be dancing in a sweaty European club!