Björk announces new live album with orchestra

Björk returns to explore the expressive possibilities of the voice with “Björk Orkestral With the Hamrahlíð Choir”, a new live album recorded in 2021 at Harpa Hall in Reykjavík. Initially released last May exclusively for the National Gallery of Iceland, the record will be distributed worldwide from November 27 via One Little Independent, in vinyl, CD, Blu-ray and DVD formats. No digital release is currently planned.
The project mainly collects new interpretations of tracks from “Medúlla“, the 2004 album with which the Icelandic artist built a sonic universe based almost entirely on the human voice, blending choral experimentation, beatboxing and echoes of Nordic vocal tradition. For this reinterpretation, Björk enlisted the Hamrahlíð Choir, a fifty-member choir founded by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, with musical direction by Bergur Þórisson.

The performances are the result of a long period of preparation, paradoxically aided by the suspension of touring activity during the pandemic. The extra time allowed Björk to rethink the arrangements and dig deeper into the interpretive possibilities of compositions that, in her view, had not yet found a fully satisfying live dimension. “I'm really happy and proud of this show,” Björk said – All of us poured an enormous amount of love, energy and time into it. Over the years I've gradually learned to work on the relationship between voices and electronics. To me it's a philosophical question: understanding how nature and technology can coexist harmoniously. Thanks to the long rehearsals we were able to do during the pandemic, I had the chance to learn how to find the right balance between these two elements. I often find it easier to achieve this in the recording studio, but this time we managed to actually do it live. I was also able to revisit some old songs that I felt I hadn't yet gained enough experience to perform live the way I wanted,” the musician explained.

The new album thus documents a further chapter in Björk's exploration of the relationship between voice, writing and arrangement, bringing back into focus the choral dimension that made “Medúlla” one of the most radical and original works in her discography.
The original 2021 concerts also had a charitable purpose: proceeds went to Kvennaathvarfið, a shelter for women victims of violence in Reykjavík.

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