The Understanding (Röyksopp album)

The Understanding is the second studio album by Norwegian electronic music duo Röyksopp. It was released on 22 June 2005 by Wall of Sound. The Understanding debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, with 22,466 copies sold in its first week.^[15] The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 1 December 2006,^[16] and had sold 103,500 copies in the United Kingdom by March 2009.^[17]

The Understanding
Studio album by Röyksopp
Released	22 June 2005 (2005-06-22)
Genre	Electronica[1] techno Europop[2] electropop[3]
Length	58:40
Label	Wall of Sound
Producer	Röyksopp
Röyksopp chronology
Melody A.M. (2001) The Understanding (2005) Röyksopp's Night Out (2006)
Singles from The Understanding
"Only This Moment" Released: 27 June 2005 "49 Percent" Released: 26 September 2005 "What Else Is There?" Released: 5 December 2005 "Beautiful Day Without You" Released: 26 June 2006

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Irish Times	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[10]
Q	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	B+[13]
The Village Voice	C+[14]

In popular culture

Similarly to Melody A.M., songs from The Understanding were used widely in television adverts and video games. "Circuit Breaker" and "Only This Moment" were used in an episode of Danmarks Radio's consumer programme, named Rabatten. "Follow My Ruin" was also included on the soundtrack to FIFA 06. "What Else Is There?" was used in an O₂ television advertisement in the Czech Republic in 2007^[18] and in Slovakia in 2008.^[19] It was also used in the films Cashback (2006) and Meet Bill (2007). A remixed version of "What Else Is There?" was featured on the 15 April 2007 episode of the HBO series Entourage. Triumphant would sometimes be heard in the British series of The X Factor.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Triumphant"	4:20
2.	"Only This Moment" (writers: Röyksopp, Kate Havnevik)	3:55
3.	"49 Percent" (writers: Röyksopp, Chelonis R. Jones)	5:11
4.	"Sombre Detune"	4:52
5.	"Follow My Ruin"	3:51
6.	"Beautiful Day Without You"	5:29
7.	"What Else Is There?" (writers: Röyksopp, Karin Dreijer)	5:17
8.	"Circuit Breaker"	5:24
9.	"Alpha Male"	8:11
10.	"Someone Like Me"	5:23
11.	"Dead to the World"	5:20
12.	"Tristesse Globale"	1:24

All tracks are written by Röyksopp, except where noted

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Curves"	5:07

Limited edition bonus disc^[20]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Go Away" (writers: Röyksopp, Jones)	3:52
2.	"Clean Sweep"	5:17
3.	"Boys"	4:45
4.	"Head"	5:03
5.	"Looser Now"	6:04

Japan deluxe edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Only This Moment (Röyksopp's Forsiktige Massasje)"	4:58
2.	"Go Away"	3:52
3.	"Clean Sweep"	5:17
4.	"Boys"	4:45
5.	"Head"	5:03
6.	"Looser Now"	6:04
7.	"Only This Moment (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)"	6:35
8.	"49 Percent (Angello & Ingrosso Remix)"	9:19

Sample credits

• "What Else Is There?" contains a sample from "Love Me, Love the Life I Lead" by The Drifters and "Kill Me with Your Love" by Jericho.
• "Dead to the World" contains a sample from "Who We Are" by Camel.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Understanding.^[21]

• Röyksopp – performance, arrangement, mixing, production
• Chelonis R. Jones – vocals (track 3 and "Go Away")
• Karin Dreijer – vocals (track 7)
• Olof Dreijer – vocal recording (track 7)
• Kate Havnevik – additional vocals, creative input (tracks 2, 8)
• Tom Elmhirst – co-mixing (track 2)
• Kato Ådland – bass on "Triumphant"
• Ib Kleiser – guitar (track 2)
• Sanghon Kim – artwork
• Camille Vivier – photos

Charts

Chart (2005–07)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22]	98
Australian Dance Albums (ARIA)[23]	11
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24]	60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25]	23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26]	33
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[27]	36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28]	48
European Albums (Billboard)[29]	31
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[30]	39
French Albums (SNEP)[31]	45
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32]	41
Greek Albums (IFPI)[33]	23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[34]	16
Italian Albums (FIMI)[35]	21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[36]	83
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[37]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	18
UK Albums (OCC)[40]	13
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[41]	1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[42]	12
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[43]	22
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[44]	32
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[45]	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Gold	103,500[17]

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Japan	22 June 2005	EMI	[46]
Germany	24 June 2005	Parlophone	[47]
Italy		EMI	[48]
France	28 June 2005	Labels	[49]
Norway	29 June 2005	Virgin	[50]
United Kingdom	4 July 2005	Wall of Sound	[51]
United States	12 July 2005	Astralwerks	[52]
Australia	15 July 2005	EMI	[53]

References

1. McCausland, Darragh (26 March 2009). "Royksopp – Junior". State. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
2. Murray, Noel (12 July 2005). "Röyksopp: The Understanding". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
3. Richardson, Mark (13 September 2005). "Röyksopp – The Understanding". Paste. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
4. "Reviews for The Understanding by Röyksopp". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
5. Bush, John. "The Understanding – Röyksopp". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
6. Browne, David (8 July 2005). "The Understanding". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
7. Burgess, John (1 July 2005). "Röyksopp, The Understanding". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
8. Carroll, Jim (1 July 2005). "Röyksopp: The Understanding (Wall of Sound)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
9. Fitzpatrick, Rob (21 July 2005). "Royksopp : The Understanding". NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
10. Abebe, Nitsuh (11 July 2005). "Röyksopp: The Understanding". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
11. "Röyksopp: The Understanding". Q. No. 229. August 2005. p. 132.
12. Swanson, David (20 June 2005). "The Understanding : Royksopp". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
13. Matos, Michaelangelo (August 2005). "Röyksopp: The Understanding". Spin. Vol. 21, no. 8. pp. 98–99. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
14. Christgau, Robert (12 July 2005). "Laptop for Desktoppers". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
15. Jones, Alan (11 July 2005). "London events swing sales on UK charts". Music Week. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
16. "British album certifications – Royksopp – The Understanding". British Phonographic Industry. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
17. "Key Releases: 28.03.09". Music Week. 28 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
18. "Vyberte si (O2 Ad Choice)". YouTube. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
19. "O2 – 2x viac minut spot SK". YouTube. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2010.^{[dead YouTube link]}
20. "The Understanding [Bonus Disc] – Röyksopp". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
21. The Understanding (limited edition liner notes). Röyksopp. Wall of Sound. 2005. WALLCD035X.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 25th July 2005" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (804): 6. 25 July 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2014 – via Pandora Archive.
23. "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 25th July 2005" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (804): 13. 25 July 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2014 – via Pandora Archive.
24. "Austriancharts.at – Röyksopp – The Understanding" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
25. "Ultratop.be – Röyksopp – The Understanding" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
26. "Ultratop.be – Röyksopp – The Understanding" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
27. "Danishcharts.dk – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
28. "Dutchcharts.nl – Röyksopp – The Understanding" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
29. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 29. 16 July 2005. ISSN 0006-2510.
30. "Röyksopp: Understanding" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
31. "Lescharts.com – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Röyksopp – The Understanding" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
33. Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Αλμπουμ – Εβδομάδα 07/2007 [Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums – Week 07/2007] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
34. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 27, 2005". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
35. "Italiancharts.com – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
36. "ロイクソップのアルバム売り上げランキング" [Röyksopp album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
37. "Norwegiancharts.com – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
38. "Swedishcharts.com – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
39. "Swisscharts.com – Röyksopp – The Understanding". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
40. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
41. "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
42. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
43. "Royksopp Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
44. "Royksopp Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
45. "Royksopp Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
46. "The Understanding : Royksopp". HMV Japan. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
47. "The Understanding: Royksopp". Amazon (Germany) (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
48. "Röyksopp – The Understanding". IBS.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
49. "The Understanding – Röyksopp". Fnac (in French). Retrieved 11 February 2014.
50. "The Understanding (Copy Protected) – Röyksopp" (select "Fakta" tab). CDON.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 February 2014.
51. "The Understanding: Royksopp". Amazon (United Kingdom). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
52. "The Understanding: Royksopp". Amazon (United States). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
53. "Understanding, The – Royksopp". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2014.