Shameless spam but I interviewed Björk, plus Siggi Sugarcube, Meredith Monk and Emilie Nicolas among others, for this month's Uncut, on sale next week...
https://✧✧✧.un✧✧✧.c✧.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Bjork-cover-with✧✧✧@1400x1✧✧✧.j✧✧
― Piedie Gimbel, Tuesday, 13 September 2022 14:08 (one year ago) link
Link here! https://www.uncut.co.uk/publications/magazines/uncut-november-2022-140037/
― Piedie Gimbel, Tuesday, 13 September 2022 14:09 (one year ago) link
^ Thanks! Is there a way to buy a digital issue for non-UK folks?
― ˈʌglɪɪst preɪ, Tuesday, 13 September 2022 16:21 (one year ago) link
Yep - info here https://www.uncut.co.uk/digital-editions/
― Piedie Gimbel, Tuesday, 13 September 2022 16:57 (one year ago) link
Ok “ovule” is way better.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, 14 September 2022 11:35 (one year ago) link
Björk and Nick Knight reunited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPr_D-b5v2Q
― Xgau Murder Spa (nikola), Wednesday, 14 September 2022 12:23 (one year ago) link
This could be on Medulla, somehow connects to her previous career, hooks are relatively simple and direct, I really like it although I feel like I have heard her do this song before.
― Nabozo, Wednesday, 14 September 2022 12:50 (one year ago) link
The way she fuses with that groove towards the end
― Nabozo, Wednesday, 14 September 2022 12:57 (one year ago) link
I love everything about this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRIgD1bAjI
― ˈʌglɪɪst preɪ, Friday, 23 September 2022 18:10 (one year ago) link
yea I like this song a lot
― frogbs, Sunday, 25 September 2022 19:35 (one year ago) link
this appears to be the podcast series where she talks about all her albums except without needing to subscribe to anything
https://mailchimp.com/presents/podcast/sonic-symbolism/post/
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 25 September 2022 21:52 (one year ago) link
Working on a mix of Bjork's more minimalist, non-beat-oriented tracks from across her oeuvre, as a different lens through which to see her music. It's remarkable how in that mode, her work feels of a piece from the beginning.
Most of my favorite of Bjork's tracks generally are not so minimalist. But interestingly it's helping me rediscover some achingly beautiful gems from her post-'Medula' work, albums which have tended not to hit home for me as much as the first five (with 'Homogenic' probably my favorite album all-time by anyone).
Won't be able to publicly share it--Mixcloud doesn't allow single-artist mixes. But I'll post the tracklist when it's done.
― Soundslike, Monday, 26 September 2022 02:42 (one year ago) link
Somewhat inspired by this piece she did on minimalism in 1997 for BBC (I think)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOoqLhNqXDw
― Soundslike, Monday, 26 September 2022 02:57 (one year ago) link
none of the new tracks are doing anything for me at all, kinda bummed out about it
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 29 September 2022 15:42 (one year ago) link
The 'Volta' podcast episode made it sound pretty good, gonna have to revisit that one.
I've listened to everything through Medulla countless times, and everything after only a few times each.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 29 September 2022 15:45 (one year ago) link
Volta is just perpetually sitting there, ready for re-evaluation
― Bait Kush (Eric H.), Thursday, 29 September 2022 15:46 (one year ago) link
feeling strongly this is shaping up to be her best work since biophilia (though i may have the most skewed vision of the björk discography ever now that i'm reading that sentence back to myself)
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 29 September 2022 15:47 (one year ago) link
I've liked all the new songs, each more than the last, and feel like each has clarified the previous ones a bit. Also the title track got instantly stuck in my head.
― sloop johnnin' skater (geoffreyess), Thursday, 29 September 2022 16:18 (one year ago) link
If nothing else, this seems like it'll be less impenetrable than the last album
― Bait Kush (Eric H.), Thursday, 29 September 2022 16:21 (one year ago) link
feel like each has clarified the previous ones a bit
same, even Atopos which for the most part still feels almost like self parody.
there is something about the vocal delivery in all 3 tracks that i struggle to define, like intentional gaps between words, like it takes effort to push words out - and that works well for Ancestress but not for other tracks. it's almost like it makes listening a chore, and i donno, maybe that was the intent
― scanner darkly, Thursday, 29 September 2022 18:10 (one year ago) link
yeah she's just doing a choppier version of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71hHly2AMeM
― frogbs, Thursday, 29 September 2022 19:53 (one year ago) link
this isn't really my thing but it's better than i expected, all the dense dissonance actually kinda goes somewhere for once unlike a lot of post-vespertine bjork, & "ancestress" is lovely
― ufo, Friday, 30 September 2022 07:00 (one year ago) link
a whole lot better than utopia at the very least
― ufo, Friday, 30 September 2022 07:07 (one year ago) link
I’m also finding it better than expected. Works better without the videos and subtitles. And lots of sub-bass that I hadn’t heard on YouTube
― I am using your worlds, Friday, 30 September 2022 10:04 (one year ago) link
One listen in and it still suffers somewhat from the melodic auto-Bjork tendencies, and the aversion to meter/excessive pausing in the lyrics/singing... But the production and conposition is more compelling and engaging than 'Volta,' 'Biophilia,' and 'Utopia' generally. Makes me want to listen again for sure, whereas 'Utopia' and 'Volta' in particular were always a slog.
Regardless, even when it's not my favorite work she's making, I love that Bjork stays so true to herself and what moves her.
Does it warrant its own thread?
― Soundslike, Friday, 30 September 2022 14:04 (one year ago) link
probably yeah
I just listened to the whole thing. it's good, better than I remember her last 4-5 being, still frustrating in some specific ways
probably deserves a listen on good speakers with no distractions. clearly she puts a lot of thought into this. but I still just find myself wishing she would resolve things in a traditional major chord way like on, I dunno, "Isobel". just every once in a while.
― frogbs, Friday, 30 September 2022 14:08 (one year ago) link
Made a mix of some of her more minimalist tracks from 'Debut' through 'Fossora' and I have to say, I really enjoy hearing it as a suprisingly cohesive whole:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fd6SmjXXEAIEeCp?format=jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fd6Snk3WIAE7vPF?format=jpg&name=large
Bjork'Animanda' (1993-2022)00:00 Moon05:33 Submarine08:30 Pneumonia13:35 Headphones18:57 Features Creatures23:41 Sonnets / Unrealities XI25:37 Solstice30:06 Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu34:22 Black Lake44:30 The Anchor Song48:03 Cetacea51:11 Vökuró54:22 You’ve Been Flirting Again56:50 Future Forever61:30 Dark Matter64:47 Harm of Will69:22 Oxygen73:12 Her Mother’s House77:41 All Is Full of Love81:40 Komið
00:00 Moon05:33 Submarine08:30 Pneumonia13:35 Headphones18:57 Features Creatures23:41 Sonnets / Unrealities XI25:37 Solstice30:06 Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu34:22 Black Lake44:30 The Anchor Song48:03 Cetacea51:11 Vökuró54:22 You’ve Been Flirting Again56:50 Future Forever61:30 Dark Matter64:47 Harm of Will69:22 Oxygen73:12 Her Mother’s House77:41 All Is Full of Love81:40 Komið
('Animanda' is my attempt at Bjorkian word-creation. From Latin 'Anima,' and Icelandic 'Anda,' both meaning "breath"/"breathe" and "spirit"/"lifeforce" as best I can tell.)
― Soundslike, Friday, 30 September 2022 15:19 (one year ago) link
only in a discography like bjork's would "black lake" be considered minimalist haha
this looks great tho, will check out for sure
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 15:25 (one year ago) link
I listened to the first few tracks and my take is that contra the "avant-garde v. pop" narrative that has crystallized around her post-Vespertine career, I think she's stuck in a rut rather than too way out there: so many of the vocal melodies and musical arrangements sound familiar from previous albums
― rob, Friday, 30 September 2022 15:33 (one year ago) link
This is a total bag of wank.
― Fried Egg Sandwich, Friday, 30 September 2022 15:41 (one year ago) link
think we’ve progressed to the point where certain ppl on ilm just can’t hear a new bjork record
anyway this is great, my reductive first impression is it’s sort of the combo of medulla and biophilia of my dreams
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 September 2022 15:57 (one year ago) link
To be fair, I used the 'Vulnicura: Strings' version heh
― Soundslike, Friday, 30 September 2022 16:25 (one year ago) link
i know it was a pre-release track but i didn't hear it until today: "ancestress" is stunning
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 September 2022 17:09 (one year ago) link
“victimhood” insane
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 September 2022 17:15 (one year ago) link
yeah that one is mind-bending
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 17:44 (one year ago) link
Going to take a few listens to fully digest. "Fungal City" was my favorite on first run through.
― Indexed, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:40 (one year ago) link
Also thought the closer was the prettiest song she's released in a decade+
― Indexed, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:48 (one year ago) link
This is my favorite album of hers in many a year. I like how her voice just rides atop these discordant background musics, doing its thing. And that last track is indeed a heart-tugger.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, 6 October 2022 17:33 (one year ago) link
i feel like i'm listening to a different album than you guys; can't get with this at all.
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 6 October 2022 20:13 (one year ago) link
Yeah it really did nothing for me either. Tried twice but nothing resonated. Clunky lyrics too.
― The Ghost Club, Thursday, 6 October 2022 21:17 (one year ago) link
It's not as consistent as Vulnicura, but there were several tracks I liked ("Sorrowful Soil", "Ancestress", many in the second half). "Her Mother's House", the closer with her daughter (who sings quite well!), is maybe my favorite song she's put out since Vespertine
― Vinnie, Friday, 7 October 2022 00:09 (one year ago) link
i played this through four times! I still barely remember it except not liking it! it's somehow teflon to me.
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Friday, 7 October 2022 02:06 (one year ago) link
First listen really positive, even if vocal parts > instrumental parts.
― Nabozo, Friday, 7 October 2022 08:33 (one year ago) link
I think I need to wait six months and try it after the shine of the new is gone. I can't connect with it either but I can also feel myself in "analytic mode" when it's on. Hard to simply let it play without expectation.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 7 October 2022 16:22 (one year ago) link
Maybe, but Uptopia is still basically impenetrable to me.
― Eric H., Friday, 7 October 2022 16:32 (one year ago) link
I’m positive my not caring for her stuff since the wet noodle of a Timbaland collab has helped me embrace this new one. I only decided to listen again when a passing review compared some of the songwriting to Vespertine, my favorite of hers. Well, Fossora’s not *quite* reaching those heights but it’s a beauty.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Friday, 7 October 2022 16:58 (one year ago) link
I know I've said it probably 100 times, but Biophilia really really grew on me to the point I think it's her best post-Vespertine LP.
― Eric H., Friday, 7 October 2022 17:28 (one year ago) link
Yeah this might be my favorite thing of hers since Medulla. I strongly dislike what she did with Arca. Don’t like how their styles blend at all - although they have been the most interesting eras she’s had for fashion and visuals.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 7 October 2022 17:29 (one year ago) link
― Eric H., Friday, October 7, 2022 bookmarkflaglink
Yes Biophelia was unfairly shat on at the time. Underrated.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Saturday, 8 October 2022 02:00 (one year ago) link
xp to moka, i have been a big fan of one of her more recent influences/designers, isshehungry: https://www.instagram.com/isshehungry/
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 8 October 2022 18:41 (one year ago) link