[2011-10-11] Bjork "Biophilia" (Nonesuch)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jan 18, 2011 4:24 pm

Product Description
"What I always wanted to do was to reconnect musicology with nature," Icelandic composer and performer Björk recently told the New York Times. "I always wanted to make bass lines behave like gravity."

Biophilia is the Icelandic singer and composer's most ambitious undertaking in a 20-year career distinguished by continuous innovation and artistic evolution. The album title refers to a love of all living things, and in every aspect of this game-changing multi-media effort, Björk brilliantly connects nature, music, and technology.

In addition to the music itself, this project will offer interactive iPad apps, designed by the industry's most creative minds, that feature games, music, and editorial content-allowing listeners to explore more deeply the concepts and sounds of each of Biophilia's 13 songs.

The artistic and technological reach of Biophilia is nothing short of visionary. As New York Times critic Jon Pareles has put it, "Biophilia is a possible paradigm for the 21st-century album, one that welcomes the interactivity of the Internet and harnesses the power and flexibility of devices that incorporate video, audio and user control far beyond the play button." Media artist and chief Biophilia apps designer Scott Snibbe, enthuses, "To me, it feels like the birth of opera or the birth of cinema."

At the core of this groundbreaking project, of course, are Björk's sonically brilliant and emotionally stirring new songs, akin to the magical, otherworldly, atavistic hymns of her acclaimed 2001 disc, Vespertine. On Vespertine, Björk rhapsodized about a new romance; here, she attempts nothing less than to retell the story of the creation of the universe in her own compellingly idiosyncratic voice.

No tracklisting yet ...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ELQVGW/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jan 18, 2011 4:25 pm

Quote:

Bjork 'halfway through' new album and planning tour

Bjork has said that she is halfway through finishing her new album - and hopes to play live before 2011 ends.

Speaking to Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið, the singer said work was well underway the follow-up to 2007’s 'Volta' and alluded to a tour plan for later in the year.

"Hopefully I will be able to be on tour in the fall," she said.

She also said she was wary of giving too many details about the album away, adding: "I have had some bad experiences with a number of things before. I'm very superstitious. I go into the studio with a plan to go do what I have in mind, and then the idea is half dead."

The singer revealed one of her new songs is inspired by experiences she'd had after attending a conference organised by National Geographic magazine.

"I saw 100 talks and met eccentric people who had been in Africa for four years with lions and insects," she said. "Then one night after drinking whiskey with them I began to hear stories. This is one of the collaborations I can talk about."

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/54611

Bubbles · **Joined:** 28 Jul 2005 **Posts:** 21507

Nice.

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:46 pm

Quote:

Björk posts teaser for new single 'Crystalline' online - video

Bjork has posted a 30 second video teaser from her new single 'Crystalline' and has indicated that it will be released formally at the end of the month. The teaser marks the first time that the singer has revealed any material from her forthcoming seventh studio album 'Biophalia'.

The video shows the singer driving through her native Iceland while 'Crystalline' plays on her car stereo. You can watch the video by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

The singer posted the video on her official Facebook page Facebook.com/bjork yesterday (June 5) along with a message that reads: "Hi, Bjork here. I guess it's time to let you know about my first song from 'Biophilia', 'Crystalline'. It will appear towards end of June."

Bjork has previously announced that she intends to release 'Biophalia' in the form of several iPad apps, with 'Crystalline' likely to be the first one when it comes out later this month.

The singer will play live in the UK next month as part of the Manchester International Festival, performing at the city's Campfield Market Hall on June 30 and then on July 3, 7, 10, 13 and 16. The shows all start at 8.30pm (BST) with the exception of the July 3 and 10 gigs, which begin at 4.30pm.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57094

Invisible Pedestrian · **Joined:** 24 Sep 2006 **Posts:** 26163

Bjork rules and so do swan dresses! I love her weirdness and her music.

Rick Peterson · **Joined:** 23 Jan 2007 **Posts:** 388

Have all her albums, but each time I'm less enthralled. 95% of the effort goes to production/arrangement, and 5% goes to actual music (what happened to "melody"?) and lyric (usually simplistic & unimaginative) writing. Also, she uses the same exact vocal style on every track, and tends to repeat the same line of lyrics over and over. You're not innovative when you rely on a formula.

joebase · 13 Dec 2006

yeah but that production IS innovative. she's often on the cutting edge of music technology. incorporating newly developed
instruments with almost every album. that said; i tend to be in the same boat as you. loved "debut" and "post" but the rest
have been sort of so-so musically to me although i really liked her last effort "voltaic". i've been a fan since she was with
the sugarcubes and as with them, when you're making experimental music, not everyones gonna be as willing to take that
journey and experience it with you. it's going to be hit-and-miss.

Glenn S. · 30 Oct 2006

Rick Peterson wrote:

Have all her albums, but each time I'm less enthralled. 95% of the effort goes to production/arrangement, and 5% goes to actual music (what happened to "melody"?) and lyric (usually simplistic & unimaginative) writing. Also, she uses the same exact vocal style on every track, and tends to repeat the same line of lyrics over and over. You're not innovative when you rely on a formula.

This, more or less. I loved Debut and Post, and I even play Homogenic occasionally, but to me her subsequent efforts are less enjoyable. I think experimentation works best with it's in conjunction with more familiar elements and her earlier efforts hit a great balance.

As for her vocal style, I do think that too many of her songs follow the same formula: she starts off singing slowly and tentatively, as if she's hunting for the tune, until she finally breaks into something like a chorus. She's been doing this since the Sugarcubes but in the early days those choruses were worth waiting for. Not so much on her more recent efforts.

As for the snippet, it is way too short to know if the new album is something I would like. I didn't hate it, so I guess we'll see.

Rokin Robin of Locksley · 20 Oct 2007

Even though it's spelled 2 different ways in the above article, an internet search indicates the correct title is supposed to be Biophilia with an "i" and not an "a", thank goodness...

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:37 am

Quote:

Listen to new Bjork track 'Crystalline' – audio

The debut track from Bjork's 'multimedia project' 'Biophilia' has hit the internet. The track is entitled 'Crystalline', and you can hear it below.

As explained by the singer, 'Biophilia' is a "multimedia project encompassing music, apps, internet, installations and live shows". The multi-faceted iPad application is set to feature interactive games and videos and will be directed by Michel Gondry.

On her own website Bjork described the project as "a continuation of 'Volta', and whereas 'Volta' is more about anthropology, this is kind of without the humans. Both swimming out, like the planets, but also swimming in, into the atoms.

"And, in that way aesthetically, sympathising with sound and how sounds move and the physics of sound. And how notes in a room behave; how they bounce off walls and between objects and is kind of more similar to how planets and microscopic things work."

You can hear more about the album from the Icelandic songstress over on Bjork's website by clicking here.

Bjork is set to start a six-night residency as part of the Manchester International Festival, performing at the city's Campfield Market Hall from June 30 and then every Monday and Thursday until July 16.

'Crystalline' will be officially released on June 30.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57579

Glenn S. · 30 Oct 2006

Yikes. This song is typical of everything that bugs me about Bjork's music these days. No real tune to speak of, too repetitive and those annoying Aphex Twin-style electronic percussion sounds.

Rokin Robin of Locksley · 20 Oct 2007

needs more bass, love the blue lipstick...

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:59 pm

Quote:

First photo of Bjork's 'Biophilia' shows revealed

The first picture of Bjork's new live set-up for her 'Biophilia' album tour has been released, scroll up to view it.

The singer, who releases the album, her seventh, later in the summer, is currently preparing to perform six shows as part of the Manchester International Festival.

Bjork will perform at the Campfield Market Hall in the city on June 30 then on July 3, 7, 10, 13 and 16. The shows all start at 8.30pm (GMT) with the exception of the July 3 and 10 gigs, which begin at 4.30pm.

See http://mif.co.uk for more information.

Bjork has previously revealed that 'Biophilia' has been partly composed on an iPad and is set to be released in the form of a series of apps. She premiered the album's first single 'Crystalline' over the weekend.

'Crystalline' is released formally on Thursday (June 30), the same day as her first show of the Manchester run.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57600

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:02 pm

Quote:

Bjork: “David Attenborough was my rock star”

Bjork has spoken about her new album, it's scientific influences and how David Attenborough was a 'rock star' to her.

Speaking to Rolling Stone about the inspiration for the new album, 'Biophilia', Bjork said, "I've always been interested in science. My favorite subject in school was math, so I was quite often alone in classes with boys and chess nerds.

“When I was a kid, my rock star was David Attenborough."

In the interview the singer also revealed how she was invited to score a 3D film for National Geographic. She enthused, “I was like, ‘Wow, that would be the coolest thing ever,' I would be label mates with sharks and lemurs!"

Sadly for the Icelandic songstress the project fell through after it's director, and longtime Bjork collaborator, Michel Gondry became too busy with other projects.

Gondry did, however, return to work with Bjork, creating many of the video installations for the Biophilia exhibition.

Bjork is set to start a six-night residency as part of the Manchester International Festival, performing at the city's Campfield Market Hall tonight (June 30) and then every Monday and Thursday, until July 16.

Her first single from 'Biophilia', 'Crystalline', is released today (June 30).

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57694

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:31 pm

Quote:

Björk unveils ‘Biophilia’ with help from David Attenborough

The opening of Bjork’s ambitious new multimedia project ‘Biophilia’ at Campfield Market Hall, Manchester last night (June 30) was ushered in with lightning, giant pendulums, a 24-piece female choir – and David Attenborough.

The BBC presenter and naturalist provided an introduction and narration to Bjork’s three-week Manchester International Festival residency, her first UK shows in three years. Bjork had recently declared her admiration for Attenborough since childhood in a Rolling Stone interview, describing him as “my rock star”.

The stage was set up in the round, with custom-built instruments including two giant computer controlled pendulum harps, a pin barrel-organ known as a Sharpsichord, a ‘gameleste’ (a celeste redesigned with gamelan parts), and a Tesla coil, a sort of electrical transformer circuit that can be used to generate music and accompanying lightning flashes.

Alongside a small selection of older tracks, Bjork, in blue sequinned dress and orange wig, unveiled all 10 of the new songs that will comprise the 'Biophilia' album, to be released this autumn, while screens above the stage demonstrated some of the animations and games that will be included in the 10 iPad/iPhone apps that will accompany it. Each song and app explore a different pair of scientific and
musicological concepts.

‘Thunderbolt’, featuring the Tesla coil, demonstrated an app in which the drawing of lines and shapes can be used to manipulate arpeggios, while the animated accompaniment to new single ‘Crystalline’ guided the audience through a series of video game-like tunnels representing verse segments, before emerging into an open field of stars for the chorus.

A three-song encore of ‘One Day’ (played on the hang, a steel-drum like percussion instrument), ‘Declare Independence’, and following Bjork’s suggestion that “it might be appropriate to dance a little bit,” 'Náttúra' closed the show, which will go on to tour seven other cities until 2014. Bjork will return to the UK to headline Bestival in September.

Bjork played:
‘Thunderbolt’
‘Moon’
‘Crystalline’
‘Hollow’
‘Dark Matter’
‘Hidden Place’
‘Mouth’s Cradle’
‘Isobel’
‘Virus’
‘It’s Not Up To You’
‘Sacrifice’
‘Sonnets/Unrealities XI’
‘Where Is The Line’
‘Mutual Core’
‘All Is Full Of Love’
‘Cosmogony’
‘Solstice’
‘One Day’
‘Declare Independence’
‘Náttúra’

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57705

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:35 pm

Quote:

Björk: 'Pop music is superficial'

Bjork has dismissed pop music as "superficial" and describes her new 'Biophilia' album and live experience as "folk music of our time".

In a new interview with The Guardian following the first performance of the new album at the Campfield Market Hall in Manchester last week (June 30), the Icelandic singer says, although the new album is a pop record, "I would rather call it folk music – folk music of our time. I was never too much into Warhol and the whole pop thing – it felt a bit superficial. I prefer folk. People. Humans."

"My main aim is to not get too bored myself," Bjork says of the new project, a multimedia extravaganza based on the hypothesis of scientist Edward O Wilson, which will be accompanied by 10 apps for iPhones and iPads. "I feel that if I'm curious and excited there is a bigger chance the listener might be. At the end of the day, it's more about the feeling of an adventure rather than the details of the adventure itself. So in short: whatever turns you on."

Explaining why she banned cameras and phones from last week's gig, she said: It can be hard to play music for people who are filming you for Twitter or whatever. It's like going to a restaurant with someone who keeps texting their friends while you are speaking to them – hard to concentrate."

Bjork returns to the UK to headline the closing night of Bestival on Sunday, September 11. 'Biophilia' is released on September 26.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/57767

pghmusiclover · **Joined:** 15 Jul 2007 **Posts:** 3360

Here's some updated information from Nonesuch Records. I know Linda will be most interested in the Ultimate Edition (a steal at $800), which includes "10 tuning forks, each representing the tone of a track on the album"...

Björk "Biophilia" App Now Available on App Store; Album, Out September 27, Now Available for Pre-Order in Nonesuch Store

Björk continues to unveil Biophilia, her most interdisciplinary project to date, with today’s release of the Biophilia App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and first two album singles "Cosmogony" and "Crystalline" on the iTunes Store. The full Biophilia album will be released on September 27, 2011, through One Little Indian / Nonesuch Records; the five physical versions are available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, including the custom-made Biophilia Manual and Ultimate Edition.

The groundbreaking director and longtime Björk collaborator Michel Gondry is also creating a music video for “Crystalline,” which will be premiered on YouTube on July 26.

Biophilia is a multi-media project, comprising a studio album, an app, a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live shows, and educational workshops. Björk has collaborated with app developers, scientists, writers, inventors, musicians, and instrument makers to create a unique exploration of the universe and its physical forces—particularly those where music, nature and technology meet. The project is inspired by and explores these relationships between musical structures and natural phenomena, from the atomic to the cosmic.

Biophilia comprises five elements:

I. ALBUM

The songs from Biophilia will be released as a traditional 10-track studio album, digitally and physically, on September 27. The songs’ subject matter is the natural world. The album was produced by Björk. (The songs also will be featured in the Biophilia App, but with a more stripped-down structure, mixed by Damian Taylor and Björk for educational and gaming purposes.)

All five physical versions of the album may be pre-ordered in the Nonesuch Store: on CD in distinct jewel-case and digipak versions; on vinyl; and on two custom-made editions—the Biophilia Manual, which presents the music in a 48-page cloth-bound, thread-sewn hardback book, and the Ultimate Edition, which includes the Manual along with 10 tuning forks, each representing the tone of a track on the album. Both custom-made pieces will be available to pre-order till August 12 only. For additional details and to order now, visit nonesuch.com/store/bjork.

II. APP

The Biophilia App serves as a platform within which each of the album's ten songs will become available as special audiovisual features via In-App Purchase in intervals leading up to the album's release. The free app includes an introduction to the Biophilia App project, interactive elements and the first audiovisual feature, "Cosmogony." The second audiovisual feature, "Crystalline," is now available via In-App Purchase.

Each feature has its own theme (in connection with its corresponding song) and combines a natural element with a musicological feature. The layers of content in each feature include: an interactive game based on the song’s scientific and musical subject matter, a musical animation of the song, an animated score, lyrics, and an academic essay. The game enables the user to interact with musical elements of the song and to learn about different musical features while creating their own version; the musical animation and animated music score bring together conventional and innovative ways of representing music visually; and the academic essay explores the ideas behind each song and feature and how they are realized musically.

The Biophilia App and its features have been developed with a team chosen by Björk, comprising ten of the most groundbreaking and commercially successful app developers working today. The team is lead by Scott Snibbe Studio, creator of the bestselling apps Gravilux and Bubble Harp, and includes the creator of Sim City, TouchPress (pioneering designers behind the two top grossing apps Elements and Solar System), and a host of award winning designers, animators and leading experts in coding and encryption.

The Biophilia App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch or at itunes.com/apps/biophilia.

III. LIVE SHOWS

The Biophilia live show had its world premiere on June 30 as part of the Manchester International Festival and continues as a three-year tour of six-week residencies in eight international cities. In each city, Björk will perform Biophilia twice a week, playing a set of custom-built musical instruments and evoking an atmosphere similar to being inside each feature in the app. For the rest of the week, the venues will host a series of music-education workshops in collaboration with local schools.

Björk has commissioned a set of unique musical instruments to accompany her on the live tour. The team who created these instruments includes an English inventor, an Icelandic organ builder, and a recent graduate of MIT Media Lab. Among these creations are four 10-foot pendulum-harps, in which the swinging motion plucks the strings and illustrates the songs’ gravitational subject matter. Other instruments played in the show include a 10-foot pin barrel harp called the Sharpsichord, a midi-controlled pipe organ and celeste (re-fitted with bronze gamelan bars), twin musical tesla coils, and a Hang; an award-winning 24-piece Icelandic female choir rounds out the ensemble. The Biophilia live show takes place in carefully chosen spaces and museums rather than traditional music venues. Björk will perform in the round to audiences of fewer than 2,000 people to create an intimate experience in which all audience members are within 20 feet of the stage.

IV. DOCUMENTARY

A 90-minute documentary on the Biophilia project is currently being filmed by Pulse Films. This exploration of Björk’s creative process as she puts together the different elements of the project will show her at work in the rehearsals for the live show and in the studio working on the album, along with observational footage, interviews, and demonstrations. The climax of the film will be the unveiling of her project at the Manchester International Festival. The documentary will be broadcast later in the Biophilia campaign.

V. WEBSITE

Björk's official website, bjork.com, has been re-launched for Biophilia using the latest HTML5 technology. The new site is animated, interactive and serves as a hub for Biophilia information.

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:13 pm

Quote:

Bjork tells fans to hack her 'Biophilia' apps

Bjork has spoken out in order to encourage fans to hack her 'Biophilia' apps, which were developed for and with computer giants Apple.

The apps run alongside her forthcoming album of the same name, but will only work on iPhones and similar Apple products, not for Android or Blackberry. However, the singer and musician is now asking fans to hack and convert the software. She told Drowned in Sound:

Quote:

I'm not supposed to say this, probably, but I'm trusting that the pirates out there won't tie their hands behind their back... That's why we really made sure when we wrote all the programs that they will transfer to other systems.

'Biophilia' is Bjork's eighth studio album and also a multimedia project which played its first run of shows in Manchester last month. At the shows Bjork unveiled all 10 of the new songs that will comprise the 'Biophilia' album, to be released this autumn, while screens above the stage demonstrated some of the animations and games that will be included in the 10 iPad/iPhone apps that will accompany it. Each song and app explore a different pair of scientific and musicological concepts.

'Thunderbolt', featuring the Tesla coil, demonstrated an app in which the drawing of lines and shapes can be used to manipulate arpeggios, while the animated accompaniment to single 'Crystalline' guided the audience through a series of video game-like tunnels representing verse segments, before emerging into an open field of stars for the chorus.

The show will go on to tour seven other cities until 2014. Bjork returns to the UK to headline Bestival in September.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/58399

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:20 pm

Quote:

Bjork: ''Biophilia' shows are a work in progress'

Bjork has told XFM that her recent run of 'Biophilia' shows in Manchester were a 'work in progress'.

The singer and musician said that the debut performances of songs from her new album last month, as well as her show at Bestival in September, would not be 'perfect'. She explained:

Quote:

When we decided to do Manchester I had to settle with the fact that Manchester would be a work in progress - a prototype - and I think Bestival is going to be the same. It is not going to be perfect [until] the end of this tour - which will be a couple of years or something - it will be a fully grown creature.

The 'Biophilia' show will go on to tour seven more cities until 2014. 'Biophilia' is Bjork's eighth studio album and also a multimedia project which played its first run of shows as part of the Manchester International Festival. At the shows, Bjork unveiled all 10 of the new songs that will comprise the album, which will be released this autumn, while screens above the stage demonstrated some of the animations and games that will be included in the 10 iPad/iPhone apps that will accompany it. Each song and app explore a different pair of scientific and musicological concepts.

Yesterday (August 2) Bjork encouraged fans to hack her 'Biophilia' apps, which were developed for and with computer giants Apple.

http://www.nme.com/news/bjork/58418

pghmusiclover · **Joined:** 15 Jul 2007 **Posts:** 3360

The more I read about this album, and associated malarkey, I realize that I am so tired of Bjork's pretentiousness -- she is right up there with Tori Amos as far as I'm concerned, and I'm losing interest in hearing her new music!

[2011-10-11] Bjork "Biophilia" (Nonesuch)

Who is WANline