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Bjork Biophilla |OT|

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M

Mononofu

Member
This is the official thread for Bjork's new album-multimedia project Biophilla. Due to it's complex nature I decided to try and compile the most relevant info about it here.

bjork-biophilia-site.jpg



Release date: 10/26/2011

Track list:

01. Virus
02. Cosmogony
03. Dark Matter
04. Thunderbolt
05. Moon
06. Crystalline
07. Hollow
08. Sacrifice
09. Mutual Core
10. Solstice

Tour dates:

06-30 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall
07-03 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall
07-07 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall
07-10 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall
07-13 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall
07-16 Manchester, England - Campfield Market Hall


Stereogum said:
The Biophilia project consists of five parts: The album, the Apps, the live shows, a 90-minute Biophilia documentary (background, process, etc.), and her new website. The concept, or at least part of it:

Björk has collaborated with app developers, scientists, writers, inventors, musicians and instrument makers to create a unique multi-media 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.
Click to expand...
Stereogum Q&A: Björk Talks Biophilia

The New York Times said:
The songs on “Biophilia” will also be released as apps — one for each song, to be sold as modules in a larger app for the entire album — for the iPad and iPhone. (The developers have not yet decided whether to reprogram the apps for Android devices.) Along with animated graphics, some of which were shown on overhead video screens during the concert, the apps hold not only detailed analysis of the songs — including both conventional and newly devised music notation — but also gamelike excursions through the music, visions of scientific phenomena and the potential to be used as musical instruments themselves. A listener can hear a song, see its structure, play along or completely disassemble some songs and turn their components into something new.
Click to expand...

The New York Times: Far Beyond the Play Button


Links:

http://www.bjork.com - Offical website
Biophilia wikipedia page
Björk's Biophilia - The Guardian and Observer
Stereogum Q&A: Björk Talks Biophilia
Björk plans three-year educational tour for Biophilia project - The Guardian and Observer
Bjork Unveils Multimedia 'Biophilia' Project - Rolling Stone
Far Beyond the Play Button - The New York Times
Sparks fly at Björk's new show Biophilia - NEWSCIENTIST
Björk: Biophilia – review - The Guardian and Observer
Bjork show Biophilia opens Manchester International Festival - The National
Björk: 'Manchester is the prototype' - The Guardian and Observer
Dazed & Confused August Issue: Björk Guest-Edit - Dazed & Confused
Popcast: Deciphering New Projects by Bjork and Brian Eno - The New York
Björk Music 6 interview - BBC


bjork-crystalline2.jpg



Misc:


Gameleste Gamelan Celeste hybrid heard in Crystalline
Gameleste demonstration
Tesla coil synth rad Tesla coil synth heard in Thunderbolt
Solar System iPad App
Björk Biophilia - First reactions
Cosmogony app preview
 
A

andymcc

Banned
so excited. hopefully it's better than volta. if the lead single is any indication... we're off to a good start!
 
Mato

Mato

Member
I adore Bjork. The tracklsit sounds very promising. I hope Biophilia is more deep and thought out than Volta. Pray theres no brass, Just use synths Bjork. Crystaline sounds a bit like Vespertine material which is good.
 
A

andymcc

Banned
Mato said:
I adore Bjork. The tracklsit sounds very promising. I hope Biophilia is more deep and thought out than Volta. Pray theres no brass, Just use synths Bjork. Crystaline sounds a bit like Vespertine material which is good.
Click to expand...

out of all of the criticisms that one can easily level against volta, that's by far the strangest to me.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Oh my. This makes my week :) Love the song, just wish the album were coming a little quicker.
 
Mato

Mato

Member
andymcc said:
out of all of the criticisms that one can easily level against volta, that's by far the strangest to me.
Click to expand...

You like the anthemic brass style of some volta songs? Its all so bland and repetitive I can't tell one from the other.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Fuck yes!

Bjork has been been my #1 popular artist for a while, but I have yet to fully listen to Medulla or Volta. I probably didn't find them as accessible as her previous albums. I wonder how this one will be, sounds very promising.
 
CHEEZMO™

CHEEZMO™

Obsidian fan
andymcc said:
really? i thought that was the best part of the whole song...
Click to expand...
I got chewed out for saying so the other day.

Not only do I not like DnB anyway, but it just felt as if it came out of nowhere and didn't fit with the rest of the song at all.
 
A

andymcc

Banned
Mato said:
You like the anthemic brass style of some volta songs? Its all so bland and repetitive I can't tell one from the other.
Click to expand...

i'd would say that it wasn't the fault of the brass, but the fault of the actual songwriting. :p i saw her during the tour for Volta, not only did the brass stuff sound way better live, the brass arrangemenst added a lot to some of her older songs.
 
M

Mononofu

Member
sankt-Antonio said:
To be honest, i just want the cd.
Click to expand...

Its a cool idea but I'm with you, at the end of the day I just want some tunes.

IIRC Beck talked about a similar ideal for interactive music years ago though Biophilla seems to take that to the next level.

The custom made instruments are so awesome.
 
S

Slime

Banned
I hope it's awesome. It's just hard to believe I haven't been fully satisfied with a Björk record for an entire decade. Medúlla was OK but I just didn't really get anything out of Volta. But I have high hopes for this one.

Last time I saw her live was September 3, 2003 at Olympic Island in Toronto. Greatest show I've ever been to. Can't wait to see her again.
 
D

DjangoReinhardt

Thinks he should have been the one to kill Batman's parents.
sankt-Antonio said:
To be honest, i just want the cd.
Click to expand...
Same here. I don't have the energy to endure a multimedia vanity project. Hell, I'm not even all that optimistic about the music after Volta. :/
 
M

Mononofu

Member
FYI there is a bootleg of a live Biophilla show rehearsal floating around the web. I try to post impression later after I hear it.
 
S

Sai-kun

Banned
Omgggg absolutely cannot wait for this. This entire project is going to be incredible, and I will definitely go to a show if she's anywhere NEAR Chicago
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
SO PSYCHED. I'm not especially excited for the non-music stuff, but I'm hyped for the album. Love Bjork so much.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
DjangoReinhardt said:
Same here. I don't have the energy to endure a multimedia vanity project. Hell, I'm not even all that optimistic about the music after Volta. :/
Click to expand...
I won't be getting the apps, but I'm down for the documentary and the live show if/when it comes to Los Angeles. I generally don't care what artists do beyond the the actual recorded music. That's all I ultimately care about.
 
Z

ZootedGranny

Member
inthezone said:
Vespertine is her best album IMO. More of that is always welcome.
Click to expand...

It's definitely my favorite. As someone who didn't like Volta at all, Crystalline has me anxious to hear the new album. It's more forceful than a lot of Vespertine, and it doesn't hit me like Hidden Place did, but I dig it.
 
moojito

moojito

Member
Alas I found the giant flame war created by the comparison of bjork to lady gaga on the youtube comments more interesting than the song linked in the OP. I find bjork very hit and miss. All is full of love is my favourite, but I fear that's like someone saying creep is their favourite radiohead song.
 
M

Mononofu

Member
Check the music section of the Op for full live versions of the following tracks!:

Mutual Core
Cosmogony
Virus
Sacrifice
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
moojito said:
Alas I found the giant flame war created by the comparison of bjork to lady gaga on the youtube comments more interesting than the song linked in the OP. I find bjork very hit and miss. All is full of love is my favourite, but I fear that's like someone saying creep is their favourite radiohead song.
Click to expand...
Naw, 'All is Full of Love' is legit. I think 'It's Oh So Quiet' is the noob song as far as Bjork is concerned. But I'm certainly not snobby about her works. You can like whatever you want. It's all phenomenal (well, I don't really like anything after Vespertine, but yeah).
 
M

Mononofu

Member
BlazingDarkness said:
There are full versions of every track off the album on youtube (bad quality)

The album sounds...boring.
Click to expand...

I re-updated the OP, still looking for dark matter.

Haven't listened to all the tracks proper but I love the choir bits.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
No way I would listen to a Bjork album in bad quality youtube leaks or whaever, not to mention a new album for the first time! The sophistication and deep multilayering of her music is one of the biggest points of me, and most of that would be lost in a bad quality rip on laptop speakers or low-end earbuds.

Heck, I stopped listening to legit MP3s for any artist. Lossless audio on my home stereo system or bust.
 
S

swordfishtrombones

Member
Foxix said:
I'm listening to the end bit right now for the first time. Yup definitely gotta agree with you.
Click to expand...

I am not so sure about that ending. It's like Venetian Snares or Squarepusher suddenly walk into the studio in the last 30 seconds, while the vocals hardly change. I'll give it a few more tries before giving my final verdict.
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
I could totally hear her voice in my head as I read the OT.

Psyched for this. I want something that can gave me the same feeling I felt when I first heard Homogenic.
 
Z

ZephyrFate

Banned
BlazingDarkness said:
There are full versions of every track off the album on youtube (bad quality)

The album sounds...boring.
Click to expand...
I apologize that it isn't filled with horrid 'hot trash' beats like your Gaga.

I am excited as fuck for this album. The real queen is here, everyone else can get the fuck out.
 
R

Ranger X

Member
She lost me since Medulla. Even with what I heard from this thread, she's still too "out of the box" or experimental for me. Long gone are the days of Homogenic, my favorite album BY FAR.

:((
 
K

Kevtones

Member
Ranger X said:
She lost me since Medulla. Even with what I heard from this thread, she's still too "out of the box" or experimental for me. Long gone are the days of Homogenic, my favorite album BY FAR.

:((
Click to expand...


I feel like she's continued 'to be an artist' but at the expense of her songcraft. There's flashes of great but isn't nearly as consistent.
 
R

Ranger X

Member
I Push Fat Kids said:
I feel like she's continued 'to be an artist' but at the expense of her songcraft. There's flashes of great but isn't nearly as consistent.
Click to expand...

She's very artistic and I have alot of respect for how daring she is. But yeah, she's too "out there" for me now.
 
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