Robyn turning to meditation to cope with pressure of musical comeback

Pop star Robyn will meditate to help her cope with the pressure of promoting her first studio album in eight years.

The 39-year-old from Stockholm is set to release the album, Honey, at the end of the month following a long spell out of music after the death of her friend and collaborator Christian Falk and a difficult break-up.

In a frank interview, Robyn — full name Robin Carlsson — told how she has been using a psychoanalysis therapist to help her “heal” after a turbulent few years.

The Call Your Girlfriend singer told The Red Bulletin magazine: “Since everything has started to speed back up again, I’ve realised that meditation is a really good tool. It helps you to centre yourself and return to your feelings.”

She added: “Another thing I do is try to have a virtual discussion in my head with my therapist. I think about what she would say... it’s all about making time for your thoughts. You can just sit in a park somewhere and be with yourself.” Speaking about her experience of therapy more generally, the Swede said: “Basically, you build up a relationship with your therapist and you go through the things you might not have worked through earlier in your life. The therapist is there to follow you through the different phases. Some of it is great, some of it frustrating. It’s all about letting things roll out in their own time and not interrupting it. It’s like healing.”

She said the process had forced her to “slow down”, adding: “When you work a lot, you have a different kind of speed: you’re rushing through things and forcing more into your schedule, but you’re not really present. With psychoanalysis, I started to just appreciate being, and when you’re in that space it’s difficult to power through things. It didn’t feel good to rush.”

The single Honey, from which the album (out on October 26) is named, was used in the final season of the HBO hit show Girls.

Read the full interview in the November issue of The Red Bulletin, out with the Standard tomorrow