Pop hitmaker Robyn has returned with her first new track since the release of her eighth album, Honey, in 2018. Her long-awaited comeback single, “Dopamine,” dropped today (Nov. 12), and proves the Swedish-born talent’s magic touch hasn’t tarnished over the passage of time.
Crafted with longtime creative collaborator Klas Åhlund, “Dopamine” is an irresistible bop with substance. Although the song delivers a dancefloor-ready soundscape, Robyn uses it as a melodic backdrop for timely lyrical commentary on how technology has inserted itself into our lives, minimizing our human experiences into easily digestible data points.
“Everyone has a phone where they see their heart rate, and we’re learning how to decode our emotions through the hormones and chemical substances in our bodies,” shares Robyn. “It’s almost like we don’t even accept that we’re human anymore, like we’re trying to shoot ourselves out of it and explain every single thing—which I think is great, but that’s also why the world is s***, this idea that you can figure out and win life or something.
“The doubleness of ‘Dopamine’ is having an emotion that is super real, super strong, intense, enjoyable or painful, and at the same time knowing that this is just a biological process in my body—and then not to choose religion or science,” she continues. “To just accept that they’re there together and to be able to go in between.”
“Dopamine” was released on Young, the record label helmed by electro-pop artist and producer Jamie xx. So far, we don’t have any confirmation that a new full-length album is on the way, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more art to come from the queen of timeless, pulsating dance-pop.
Watch the official music video for “Dopamine,” directed by Marili Andre, below:
