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Biophilia is the eighth studio album by Björk, released on October 10, 2011.
Background[]
"I was off all my record deals, [...] so I felt I was off the grid, [...] so in that sense it was kind of crossroads project for me. On another level, at the end of the last project I lost my voice, [I] had a vocal nodule, [...] I didn't even know if I could sing again, so I had to redefine different techniques. And then, all these situation were happening in Iceland, the Bank crash, so I got really involved in environmental stuff [there]. So, on so many different levels, there was this message that all the old systems don't work anymore, you gotta clear your table and start from scratch."
Biophilia grew from Björk's interest in nature and concerns about the environment. In June 2008, she performed a concert with the Icelandic band Sigur Rós to raise awareness about the use of Iceland's natural resources in aluminium melting plants.[1] She founded the Náttúra organisation to promote Icelandic nature and grassroots industries, and released a single, "Náttúra", on 20 October 2008.
At the end of 2010, Björk confirmed she was working on a new album.[2] In an interview published on Fréttablaðið she stated that the project was half-complete and that she hoped to tour before the end of 2011.[3]
The app Solar System, made by Touch Press, came out in January 2011, and featured a new instrumental track by Björk as an introduction. The demo track - really "Cosmogony" - was confirmed to be a part of the upcoming Biophilia project.[4] The details of the project were announced when the first Biophilia live show was announced for the Manchester International Festival in June 2011. Biophilia was stated to encompass music, apps, internet, installations and live shows. With the album, the full app was released to buy from the Apple AppStore, and it was available for purchase until 2013.
In 2012, she released a compilation album of remixes from the album. The album, titled Bastards, featured remixes from big names, such as Hudson Mohawke, Death Grips and Omar Souleyman. In 2014 came the DVD and live album, Biophilia Live.
Biophilia App[]
The Biophilia app was the main focus of the album, and features an app with a unique focus and objective for each of the songs. All ten of them (except one) have mini-gaves to accompany them, as well as animations and 'scores' for each app are available. Below, will be listed what each app details.
- For Moon, there are a set of pearls on the outside, each playing a note, surrounded by a tube with a massive moon held up by bones in the middle. The focus for this app is to make your own harp line for the song. If you twist the centre moon, then you will be able to choose how many notes will be played, and by turning the pearls you can make different notes with them.
- For Thunderbolt, your job is to create your own bass line with a digital teslar coil. If you put two fingers on the screen at the same time, the bass line will play a range of notes, being bigger the wider you put your fingers. Also, if you put three fingers at once, you will have a triangle, which will play the three notes that your finger landed on. Also, you can move the line up and down to adjust the tempo.
- For crystalline, you travel through tunnels representing different parts of the song, so that you can build your own 'Crystalline'. You also have a side-mission of collecting crystals on the walls, but only the ones showcased on the right hand side of the screen.If you get enough crystals, then you will hear the percussion in the choruses and outro.
- For Cosmogony, there is no game, but the song will play while you are guided through the galaxy, as it is seen as the sort of 'mother app' of all the others. Also, you will be able to access the intro, narrated by Sir David Attenborough that will play once you first load up the app.
- For Dark Matter, there are orbs that if pressed, will play an organ note. Upon being played, it will tell you which scales it is a part of. In the song mode, it will play a pattern, then it will ask you to repeat it, but in instrument mode, it just let's you play whatever.
- For Hollow, It will first play you the infographic/music video, then it will teleport you into the 'hollow machine' in which there are grove protiens floating around, in which you can press on. It will then proceed to travel up the DNA into the replisome, where it will play a beat from the song.
- For Virus, It will start will a few cells, with a mother cell. The aim of the game is to let the virus cells come over and stick to your cell, as it slowly kills it and spawns new ones. After the song is completed, you will be able to play and instruments mode with cells and viruses as instruments.
- For sacrifice, you have a keyboard an you type out letters, each making a different sound. It will either be the main melody, percussion or vocal chops and samples. you can have a lot of fun by typing out your name and other peoples names to see what they would sound like, but also to create an interesting music piece from the tools given to you.
- For Mutual Core, you will have tectonic plates connected by strings in the verses, where you can move them around while they play. In the chorus it shoots to a cut in half version of the earth with all the layers moving seperately. If you manage to touch the 'key to our continuity' it will go back to the verses. You can also access the tectonic plates in the instrument mode to play notes and chords.
- For solstice, your are given 4 harp lines, to which you can build melodies for all of them. You pull lines from the center, then send a planet to orbit the lines to play them. To build the next melody, you must press the centre, then it will change colour.
Singles[]
Track listing[]
All songs written and composed by Björk.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Moon" | Björk | Björk, Damian Taylor | 5:45 | ||
2. | "Thunderbolt" | Björk, Oddný Eir Ævarsdóttir | 5:15 | |||
3. | "Crystalline" | Björk | Björk, 16bit | 5:08 | ||
4. | "Cosmogony" | Björk, Sjón | 5:00 | |||
5. | "Dark Matter" | Björk, Mark Bell | 3:22 | |||
6. | "Hollow" | Björk | 5:49 | |||
7. | "Virus" | Björk, Sjón | 5:26 | |||
8. | "Sacrifice" | Björk | 4:02 | |||
9. | "Mutual Core" | Björk | 5:06 | |||
10. | "Solstice" | Sjón | 4:41 | |||
Total length: |
49:34 |
Deluxe edition bonus tracks | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length | |||||||
11. | "Hollow" (Original 7 Minutes Version) | 7:07 | ||||||||
12. | "Dark Matter" (With Choir + Organ) | 3:25 | ||||||||
13. | "Náttúra" | Björk | 3:50 | |||||||
Total length: |
63:52 |
Japanese edition bonus track | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer | Length | |||||
14. | "The Comet Song" | Sjón | Björk | Björk, Mark Bell, Matthew Herbert | 2:13 |
References[]
- ↑ Alex (30 June 2008). "Iceland Nature concert a success". IceNews.
- ↑ Dombal, Ryan (December 3, 2010). "Björk Talks About Icelandic Energy Controversy". Pitchfork.
- ↑ Helgason, Stigur (January 2011). "Á Íslandi er náttúran pönk". Fréttablaðið.
- ↑ Dombal, Ryan (4 January 2011). "Björk Makes New Music for Solar System iPad App". Pitchfork.