Vulnicura
Vulnicura is the eighth[nb 1] studio album by Icelandic musician and singer Björk. It was produced by Björk, Arca and The Haxan Cloak, and released on 20 January 2015 by One Little Indian Records. Björk said the album expresses her feelings before and after her breakup with American contemporary artist Matthew Barney and the healing process.[5]
Vulnicura
Vulnicura was originally scheduled for release in March 2015, in conjunction with the Björk: Archives book and an exhibition about Björk's career at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; following an internet leak, it was released digitally two months early. No singles were released to promote the album but a series of innovative music videos were created, culminating in the 360-degree virtual reality exhibit Björk Digital. Vulnicura received widespread acclaim from critics, with many considering it one of her most honest and personal albums as well as her best output in a decade.[6][7][8]
The companion album Vulnicura Strings was released on 6 November 2015. It features strings-only interpretations of the Vulnicura tracks and utilises an instrument designed by Leonardo da Vinci called the viola organista.[9] By October 2015, the album had sold 250,000 copies worldwide.[10]
Release and artwork[edit]
On 18 January 2015, just days after being publicly announced, and two months ahead of its scheduled release, a supposed full version of the album leaked online.[33][34] At the time, no official release date or cover art was confirmed, nor was Anohni's featured participation in "Atom Dance".[34][35] The illegal leak was compared to the one that happened to Madonna and her album Rebel Heart, whose several songs in their demo form were leaked online during late 2014.[36]
The album's release date was pushed up to 20 January, becoming available as a digital download.[37]
The artwork was designed by longtime collaborators M/M (Paris). The digital cover was photographed by also longtime collaborators Inez and Vinoodh: "She said she wanted to have a wound on her body, on her heart area, in an abstract way [...] Imagine you're Mata Hari, a seductress, but you're wounded, and there is an incredibly alluring softness around you."[38] On the cover, Björk wears a black latex suit, a wound on her chest and a headpiece made of quills, which she already wore during the last stages of her Biophilia tour. Björk clarified that, during the time in between the two albums, the Vulnicura cover character started surfacing.[39] The main color of the artwork is yellow, since Björk links this color to the "healing" process.[40] The photo shoot was filmed and transformed into a music video to accompany the album track "Lionsong".
For the physical release, a second cover art was made by Andrew Thomas Huang. In the deluxe edition, the artwork comes in the shape of an acetate slipcase.[41] This artwork was also transformed into a short music video for the track "Family".
To coincide with all of Björk's previous albums being reissued on limited edition colored vinyl for the MoMA retrospective, Vulnicura was later issued in a limited run of double neon yellow LPs.
Promotion[edit]
Media coverage[edit]
Being the follow-up to Biophilia after more than three years, Vulnicura's release was highly anticipated. Online music publications like Music Times,[42] Time Out,[43] FasterLouder,[44] Gigwise,[45] Fact,[46] Dazed Digital,[47] Pitchfork[48] and Billboard included it in their list of the most anticipated albums of 2015,[49] with Stereogum and Diffuser.fm ranking it as the tenth and seventh most anticipated album of 2015, respectively.[50][51] DIY listed the upcoming release as one of the eleven reasons to get excited about 2015,[52] while NME included Björk in their list of 40 most anticipated comebacks for 2015.[53]
Although not initially intended, the album was included in the Björk retrospective exhibition at the MoMA. Music videos for the tracks "Lionsong" and "Black Lake" were premiered there. The video for "Stonemilker" premiered at MoMA PS1 on 22 March.
On 17 December 2015, Björk appeared on the podcast Song Exploder (Episode 60) where she detailed the creation of Vulnicura's opening track, "Stonemilker".[54] "It's about someone who's trying to get emotions out of another person," she said. "I think it's equally hard for all of us and we're just all doing our best but I think there's also a choice. Do you want to try and then maybe fail half of the time and then succeed half of the time or whatever your odds are? Or is it your choice to not even try?" On the creation of the song: "I was walking on a beach, and I was kind of walking back and forth and the lyrics kind of came along kind of without me really editing them.... (They're) probably the most obvious lyrics I've ever written. I actually wrote a whole other lyric to this song, which was really maybe a bit too clever for its own good but something in me said, 'No, don't touch it. It has to be, like, almost clumsy or naive.' That's sort of the strength and weakness of the song at the same time." When talking about the string arrangements for "Stonemilker", Björk said, "For me it was very important... that the strings were kind of cyclical; this chord cycle that kind of gives you this feeling it can go on and on in circles and gives you this feeling of equilibrium. Like the person who's singing this song is showing some sort of harmony to someone as an example... I had 30 players, and then I would do 2 sets of arrangements so basically there are, in theory, 60 because it needed that sort of panoramic feeling to have that sort of smooth, cream-like perfection." On her collaboration with beat maker and co-producer Arca, "... it was very obvious that song was very simple so we didn't really need a crazy beat thing going on. It just had to be really supportive of the song, and almost acoustic like it's a symphony orchestra playing and the beat would come from the kettledrum or something. You know? Like a very soft support which Alejandra (Arca) provided."
Music videos[edit]
The first video produced for Vulnicura was "Black Lake", directed by Andrew Thomas Huang who previously collaborated with Björk on Biophilia's "Mutual Core" video in 2012. It was announced that the video would debut at MoMA's Björk retrospective in March 2015 in an elaborate video installation. A trailer for the retrospective premiered on the MoMA's YouTube channel on 13 February 2015.[55] The trailer is a single shot of a nude Björk lying on a black dirt field with her body literally split in half, while the official video has her walking through a black Icelandic cave in an original Iris Van Herpen dress. In explaining the evolution of the "Black Lake" video project, Björk said, "I think me and Andrew kept wanting the song to be rawer and rawer and more and more without special effects: to go totally "Ingmar Bergman" on it. So the "book cover" ended up being a book cover....." While the MoMA "Black Lake" installation consisted of 2 screens showcasing complementary edits of the 10-minute video, the final music video version, which debuted on Dazed Digital on 10 June 2015, is a composite of both videos.[56] The installation also comprises the special room where the video is projected, which has speakers all over its walls, reproducing a surrounding version of the song mixed by The Haxan Cloak, who co-produced the Vulnicura track "Family".
To celebrate the opening of the MoMA show and the upcoming physical release of the album, Björk announced on Facebook the "Stonemilker" 360-degree virtual reality music video. It utilized the Oculus Rift, a VR head-mounted display, and featured her on the same Icelandic beach where she originally wrote the song. The video premiered at MoMA's sister location, the MoMA PS1 on 22 March and was briefly made available to customers of the record shop Rough Trade in London and Brooklyn, NY who purchased the physical album. The VR head-set version of the video featured a strings only mix of the song. Björk explained, "I had recorded the strings with a clip-on mike on each instrument. We have made a different mix where we have fanned this in an intimate circle around the listener."[57] It was later released as a 360-degree YouTube video on 6 June 2015 featuring the original album mix.
Also, at the Cinema room of the MoMA retrospective, as part of Björk's videography, the "Lionsong" video was premiered by surprise. The video, directed by the Dutch creative duo Inez & Vinoodh, directors of Björk's "Hidden Place" and "Moon" videos, was later made available to the general public through Noisey.[58] "Lionsong" was conceived of spontaneously during the Vulnicura album cover photo shoot.
On 16 March 2015, the day of Vulnicura's physical release, a "moving album cover" video premiered online featuring the CGI character of the deluxe edition artwork created by Huang. Björk conceived of the video, which is set to a condensed edit of the track "Family", as the completion of the "Black Lake" video. Huang explained, "She came back to me because she (felt) that (what was shown in Black Lake) was only 50% of that character, and that there's another 50% of this persona that she's been in for this past year-and-a-half to two years, that is much more positive and resolved in itself."[59]
In December 2015, the music video for "Mouth Mantra" - directed by Arca's longtime collaborator Jesse Kanda - was revealed. Much of the video takes place inside Björk's mouth with the help of hi-tech mouth models and a special camera. And, like "Stonemilker", the video will soon be made available for 360-degree viewing.[60]
On 4 June 2016, the virtual reality video for the song "Notget" debuted at the Carriageworks Festival in Sydney, Australia for the premiere of the VR exhibition Björk Digital. As Björk Digital traveled the world, new videos would debut, such as "Quicksand" in October 2016 at Montreal[61] and a full VR version of "Family" in November 2016 in Reykjavik.[62]
On 3 April 2017, the 2D version of the VR video for "Notget" debuted on YouTube.[63] "Quicksand" and the full version of "Family" have not premiered in 2d or VR online and are only available to view at Björk Digital though in an interview with Starpro in Mexico, Björk revealed there are still plans to offer the full "Vulnicura VR" experience for download on mobile devices. She also revealed no further VR videos are being planned, meaning the songs "History of Touches" and "Atom Dance" will not receive accompanying music videos.[64]
On 20 May 2017, Björk upload a 10-second preview clip to Facebook of surprise brand new 2d music video for "Notget" , directed by long-time collaborators Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton, which debuted in full in the cinema room of Björk Digital in Los Angeles.[65] The full video was made available 2 days after the VR exhibit closed in LA, debuting online at Creators, VICE's arts and culture platform, on 6 June 2017. Speaking to the website, co-director Thornton said, "Björk definitely wanted more of a claustrophobic, confined environment, and to then be able to switch that up. The switch to elation was very much driven by how she wants to see things." Added du Preez, "We made the decision to submerge it into almost what we almost call an inner earth or into a place that could house that decay and bruising."[66]
While videos were made for the above songs to promote the album, no official single was released.
Vulnicura remix series[edit]
On 9 July 2015, Dazed Digital unveiled the first of a 3 part series of Vulnicura remixes.[67] Series 1 features the first of two Lotic remixes of the track "Notget" (the Keptsafe version), a "Family" remix by Katie Gately, a remix of "History of Touches" by Krampfhaft, and a remix of "Lionsong" by Mica Levi. Levi explained her karaoke-inspired version: "I did a karaoke version more than a remix, because I love her string arrangements and thought it would be an opportunity to draw attention to them."
The second series debuted on 22 July[68] and features a Choral mix of "Lionsong" created by Björk herself. She sampled an early track by UNTOLD and utilized the Icelandic female choir Graduale Nobili, which had previously performed on Björk's Biophilia. The 2nd wave also includes "History of Touches", the Rabit Naked Mix, and The Haxan Cloak's remix of "Mouth Mantra". The Haxan Cloak co-produced and mixed Vulnicura, and stated, "When it came time to start thinking about prepping for the live shows, Björk asked me if there were any songs I'd like to remix for playing live – instantly I thought of (Mouth Mantra). I wanted to keep the core of the song but just really amp up the drama and intensity to 11... I then decided to refine the live remix for a more studio/headphone listening environment, so that's what you hear now." A fourth remix, Lotic's Fromdeath version of "Notget" was later released as a vinyl exclusive mix.
The final Vulnicura remix series debuted on 2 October[69] and features 4 new remixes: "Black Lake" and "Family" remixes by Bloom, "Lionsong", the Juliana Huxtable Remix, and "Stonemilker", the Patten Rework. Björk capped off the Vulnicura remix series by stating, "I would like to thank especially Robin Carolan for co-curating this with me. Its been such a pleasure!!!" in a note published on Dazed with the 3rd wave's digital release.
Eventually all 12 remixes were released on vinyl through One Little Indian in 12 limited edition single-sided etched translucent 12" records in die-cut sleeves. The 3rd vinyl remix series was released on 20 November 2015. Each vinyl single managed to chart on the Official Charts Company Physical Singles and Vinyl Singles Sales in the UK. On the physical single chart "History of Touches" peaked at #20, "Mouth Mantra" peaked at #30, "Black Lake" peaked at #31, "Stonemilker" at #35, "Family" at #18 and the highest peaking "Lionsong" at #12.[70] On the vinyl singles chart "History of Touches" peaked at #12, "Mouth Mantra" at #16, "Black Lake" at #17, "Stonemilker" at #21, "Lionsong" at #10, and "Family" at #13.[71]
Björk Digital and Vulnicura VR[edit]
On 31 May 2016, Björk announced on her official Facebook page Björk Digital,[84] an 18-month world traveling VR experience that debuted at Carriageworks in Sydney, Australia, on 3 June 2016. The VR music video for Vulnicura's final narrative track, "Notget" debuted at the festival, which also showcased the VR videos for "Stonemilker" and "Mouth Mantra", the latter of which also debuting in VR after premiering months earlier in 2D on YouTube in December 2015. On 27 June 2016, Björk made history by appearing in the first ever virtual reality live stream.[85] Broadcast on YouTube, she performed Vulnicura's final song, "Quicksand", before a small audience and the footage was incorporated into the "Quicksand" VR music video later on during Björk Digital's.
In addition to the VR experience, attendees of Björk Digital experienced a recreation of the "Black Lake" installation, which debuted at MoMA's Björk retrospective in March 2015. Other carryovers from MoMA included the Cinema Room showcasing the majority of her music videos in HD and the Biophilia app, although the innovative instruments from that 2011 album were not on display at Björk Digital.
The opening nights of Björk Digital in Sydney saw Björk DJ for 5 hours. This opening night party continued at the Miraikan in Tokyo, Japan, for the second leg of the Björk Digital VR experience and at several other opening night dates. For select dates in London, Reykjavik, Mexico City and Los Angeles, Björk performed special orchestral concerts rather than DJing to promote the VR exhibit.
In June 2017, "Notget VR" won Cannes Lions Grand Prix Award for its "Real Time Virtual Reality Experience".[86] It was also nominated for a UK Music Video Award for Best Interactive Video in 2017.[87]
On 24 September 2018, Music Week published an interview with Andrew Melchior, technical adviser on Björk Digital, where he said that the full Vulnicura VR album will be out before Christmas 2018 via One Little Indian and will be available across all VR platforms.[88] On 6 September 2019, Vulnicura VR album was released on Steam but besides the Steam platform, no announcements for other platforms were made. The VR album features all tracks with exception of 'History of Touches' and 'Atom Dance.' [89][90][91][92][93]
All lyrics written by Björk, except "Atom Dance", written with Oddný Eir Ævarsdóttir.
Sample credits