Björk — Utopia (24 November 2017) 
ΔΔ “The Gate je v podstatě milostná píseň, ale mluvím o “lásce” transcendentnějším způsobem. Vulnicura byla o velmi osobní ztrátě a myslím, že toto nové album je o lásce, která je ještě větší. Je to o znovuobjevení lásky — ale duchovním způsobem, kvůli nedostatku vhodnějšího slova.”
ΔΔ Navzdory tomu, že ve své hudbě udělala nulové ústupky komercionalizaci, prodala miliony alb a zůstává tak dnes stejně životně důležitá, jakou byla před čtvrtstoletím.
© Ω★♦»♠••›♣ 1562 x 2125 Björk ve studiu během Medúlly session, 2004. Fotografie Warren du Preez a Nick Thornton Jones.
ΔΔ Základem evropské lidové hudby je píseň. Mnohé z písní byly natolik oblíbeny, že si je předávaly celé generace a staly se tak nejpřirozenějším a také nejčistším projevem obecné hudebnosti, současně však též neocenitelným dokumentem hudebních kořenů příslušného etnika. Zpívá se v nich o přirozených lidských potřebách a tužbách, nejčastěji o lásce, práci a přírodě. Folklór vznikal a dosud vzniká v nejrůznějších částech světa a na mnoha místech je dosud jediným hudebním projevem vůbec. Velmi se různí podle kontinentů, zemí a tradic v melodice, rytmu i harmonii a odlišnost užívaných hudebních nástrojů). Zatímco v některých světadílech dosud žije a vzniká, v některých zemích, hlavně evropských v průběhu 20. století téměř vymizel. Je to důsledek komercionalizace umění, které drtí prostřednictvím mediální globalizace průměrné umělé hudební tvorby vše, co podobnými možnostmi a metodami šíření nedisponuje. Je svým způsobem zákonité, že společenství méně závislá na tom, co nazýváme civilizací jsou více schopna rozvíjet potenciál vlastních hudebních kořenů. Tuto polohu přetavit do současné podoby dokonale zvládla Björk.
ΔΔ “I kind of like the fact that it’s a cliché, that word [...] it has a fascistic, ‘I want the world to be like this!’ feeling about it, because it’s a proposal (of) how we can live with nature and technology in the most optimistic way possible.” — Björk on the album’s title
ΔΔ “It’s about that search (for utopia) — and about being in love,” said Björk of the recrod’s themes. “Spending time with a person you enjoy on every level is obviously utopia, you know? I mean, it’s real. It’s when the dream becomes real.”
ΔΔ “The Gate’ is essentially a love song, but I say ‘love’ in a more transcendent way. Vulnicura was about a very personal loss, and I think this new album is about a love that’s even greater. It’s about rediscovering love — but in a spiritual way, for lack of a better word.” — Björk
ΔΔ Björk měla vždy kolem sebe děti. A je to slyšet. Je to pocit ... Je to nové dobrodružství. Björk je vzácnou umělkyní — skutečným originálem, nonkonformním zjevením se širokou přitažlivostí, mimořádnou ikonou žánrů ~ bořící vžité představy o muzikalitě, jakousi bustou mluvící k srdci, hlavě a nohám. Je moderní nemódní hudebnicí. Neustále se inovuje a je naprosto multidimenzionální ve způsobu, jakým využívá performanci, technologie, módu, video a lidové umění jako doplněk své hudby. Utopie je ohromná, svěží a nádherná, s harfy a flétnami a živými ptáky, kouzelným lesem zvuku. Album je optimistické, nereklamní, krásné, univerzální. Opakuji, je kouzelným lesem neustále se měnícího zvuku. Je tu úbočí a dynamické proudění, jako když pozoruješ obrátky vlaštovek na obloze. Někdy je hlas Björk hlas v popředí, někdy je tkaný do osnovy v kanape, jen jako další nástroj. Doopravdy to není album populárních skladeb, ačkoli byste mohli najít jednu nebo dvě, a to s bušícím srdcem a tlakem krve; je více orchestrální, detailní a všeobklopující.. Z Vulnicury si vzala malé prvky, které se jí hodily, a to prostřednictvím e~mailu (melodie z jihoamerických flét, od zpěváků z Kambodže) a hrála s nimi. V době, kdy svět si už nevzpomíná, co chtěl včera, Björk to nejenom ví, ale intuitivně sahá do budoucnosti.
ΔΔ Iconic Icelander whose unique sonic adventurousness has extended to pop, jazz, electronica, and beyond. 
© Ω★♦»♠••›♣ Björk wears tulle Rio dress Molly Goddard. Photography: Jesse Kanda, styling: Robbie Spencer
Born: November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Album release: November 24, 2017
Recorded: 2016~2017
Record Label: One Little Indian
Duration: 72:49
Tracks:
01. Future Forever 4:48
02. Saint 4:41
03. Paradisa 1:45
04. Claimstaker 3:19
05. Tabula Rasa 4:42
06. Sue Me 4:58
07. Loss 6:52
08. Courtship 4:45
09. Features Creatures 4:50
10. Body Memory 9:47
11. Utopia 4:43
12. The Gate 6:34
13. Blissing me 6:06
14. Arisen my senses 5:00
Mutual Core:
ΔΔ Björk’s Fearless Environmental Activism.
Review
BY ALEX YOUNG ON OCTOBER 31, 2017, 2:45PM
ΔΔ For the last several weeks now, Björk has been hyping the impending release of a new album called Utopia. She’s already released its lead single, “The Gate”, along with a wondrous music video in which she wears a custom~made Gucci dress. Now, she’s revealed the album’s truly magnificent cover artwork, which was designed by Jesse Kanda, with assistance from Björk, James Merry, and Hungry. She’s also confirmed an official release date for the album: November 24th.
ΔΔ Update — November 2nd: A press release offers up many more details. The album is written by Björk with five of the 14 songs co~written by Arca and one of the songs co~written by Sarah Hopkins. All of the songs except one are co~produced by Arca. One of the songs is co~produced by Rabit. Björk formed a twelve piece Icelandic female flute orchestra, which she arranged for and conducted. She also wrote an arrangement for Hamrahlíðarkórinn, a choir conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. ΔΔ The album was edited and structured by Björk on Protools. It was engineered by Bergur Þórisson, Bart Migal and Chris Elms. It was mixed by Heba Kadry and Marta Salogni and mastered by Mandy Parnell.
ΔΔ In an Instagram post addressed to her collaborators, Björk wrote, “thank you for telepathically getting me !! over the moon and jupiter gratitudes to magical arca for making the music of this album with me : what a profound and nourishing trip this has been !!! thousandfold appreciation and headbowing.”
ΔΔ Arca, who produced both Utopia and its 2015 predecessor Vulnicura, said of the album’s creation: “the soft merge that yielded this album has been one of the most oxygenating experiences i’ve had in my lifetime. can i be a little sentimental ? i cherish every single moment in the 2+ year journey of this album with you and james and jesse. the licking raindrops out of the salty air in the tropics & listening for birds, swimming in green rivers, the fires crackling through snow … the dark grey storm and the luminous rainbow that flooded the air after. it floods me still each day and with colors i didn’t know. this album truly carries a piece of utopia for me — one that is already smilingly real.” ΔΔ https://consequenceofsound.net/
Review
By DAVID RENSHAW
ΔΔ Utopia represents a “DIY fortress” away from Trump
ΔΔ The flute~heavy new record is due later this month.
ΔΔ Björk has described the world she tried to create through the music on her new album Utopia. The album, Björk's ninth, is out later this month and the Icelandic artist spoke to The Observer about what utopia means to her, saying she envisages it as an island where women can live far away from that which suppresses them, including Donald Trump.
ΔΔ She says the idea for a fictional island was inspired by the use of flute on the record. This led her to listening to flute music “from South America, Amazon tribes, and Africa, and Indonesia, and China, and Icelandic mythology.” A common thread in this music, she said, was tales of women escaping society and leaving with their children to a new place. Björk wanted to create a similar story, but without the bits from her research where “the guys come and chop everyone’s heads off.”
ΔΔ Among the men she wanted to cut out of her album was Trump. “He got elected when I was two years into the album,” she said, “and I felt like, O.K., it’s really important now to be intentional. If you feel this world is not heading the right way, you have to be DIY and make a little fortress, over here to the left.” November 13, 2017
ΔΔ https://www.thefader.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bjork
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bjork/
Label: http://indian.co.uk/
Also:
ADAM CORNER / 06.09.16
ΔΔ http://crackmagazine.net/opinion/music/features/bjork-environment/
Miranda Sawyer / Sunday 12 November 2017 09.00 GMT
Björk: ‘People miss the jokes. A lot of it is me taking the piss out of myself’
ΔΔ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/12/bjork-utopia-interview-people-miss-the-jokes
♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣
ΔΔ Navzdory tomu, že ve své hudbě udělala nulové ústupky komercionalizaci, prodala miliony alb a zůstává tak dnes stejně životně důležitá, jakou byla před čtvrtstoletím.
ΔΔ Základem evropské lidové hudby je píseň. Mnohé z písní byly natolik oblíbeny, že si je předávaly celé generace a staly se tak nejpřirozenějším a také nejčistším projevem obecné hudebnosti, současně však též neocenitelným dokumentem hudebních kořenů příslušného etnika. Zpívá se v nich o přirozených lidských potřebách a tužbách, nejčastěji o lásce, práci a přírodě. Folklór vznikal a dosud vzniká v nejrůznějších částech světa a na mnoha místech je dosud jediným hudebním projevem vůbec. Velmi se různí podle kontinentů, zemí a tradic v melodice, rytmu i harmonii a odlišnost užívaných hudebních nástrojů). Zatímco v některých světadílech dosud žije a vzniká, v některých zemích, hlavně evropských v průběhu 20. století téměř vymizel. Je to důsledek komercionalizace umění, které drtí prostřednictvím mediální globalizace průměrné umělé hudební tvorby vše, co podobnými možnostmi a metodami šíření nedisponuje. Je svým způsobem zákonité, že společenství méně závislá na tom, co nazýváme civilizací jsou více schopna rozvíjet potenciál vlastních hudebních kořenů. Tuto polohu přetavit do současné podoby dokonale zvládla Björk.
ΔΔ “I kind of like the fact that it’s a cliché, that word [...] it has a fascistic, ‘I want the world to be like this!’ feeling about it, because it’s a proposal (of) how we can live with nature and technology in the most optimistic way possible.” — Björk on the album’s title
ΔΔ “It’s about that search (for utopia) — and about being in love,” said Björk of the recrod’s themes. “Spending time with a person you enjoy on every level is obviously utopia, you know? I mean, it’s real. It’s when the dream becomes real.”
ΔΔ “The Gate’ is essentially a love song, but I say ‘love’ in a more transcendent way. Vulnicura was about a very personal loss, and I think this new album is about a love that’s even greater. It’s about rediscovering love — but in a spiritual way, for lack of a better word.” — Björk
ΔΔ Iconic Icelander whose unique sonic adventurousness has extended to pop, jazz, electronica, and beyond.
Born: November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Album release: November 24, 2017
Recorded: 2016~2017
Record Label: One Little Indian
Duration: 72:49
Tracks:
01. Future Forever 4:48
02. Saint 4:41
03. Paradisa 1:45
04. Claimstaker 3:19
05. Tabula Rasa 4:42
06. Sue Me 4:58
07. Loss 6:52
08. Courtship 4:45
09. Features Creatures 4:50
10. Body Memory 9:47
11. Utopia 4:43
12. The Gate 6:34
13. Blissing me 6:06
14. Arisen my senses 5:00
Mutual Core:
ΔΔ Björk’s Fearless Environmental Activism.
Review
BY ALEX YOUNG ON OCTOBER 31, 2017, 2:45PM
ΔΔ For the last several weeks now, Björk has been hyping the impending release of a new album called Utopia. She’s already released its lead single, “The Gate”, along with a wondrous music video in which she wears a custom~made Gucci dress. Now, she’s revealed the album’s truly magnificent cover artwork, which was designed by Jesse Kanda, with assistance from Björk, James Merry, and Hungry. She’s also confirmed an official release date for the album: November 24th.
ΔΔ Update — November 2nd: A press release offers up many more details. The album is written by Björk with five of the 14 songs co~written by Arca and one of the songs co~written by Sarah Hopkins. All of the songs except one are co~produced by Arca. One of the songs is co~produced by Rabit. Björk formed a twelve piece Icelandic female flute orchestra, which she arranged for and conducted. She also wrote an arrangement for Hamrahlíðarkórinn, a choir conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. ΔΔ The album was edited and structured by Björk on Protools. It was engineered by Bergur Þórisson, Bart Migal and Chris Elms. It was mixed by Heba Kadry and Marta Salogni and mastered by Mandy Parnell.
ΔΔ In an Instagram post addressed to her collaborators, Björk wrote, “thank you for telepathically getting me !! over the moon and jupiter gratitudes to magical arca for making the music of this album with me : what a profound and nourishing trip this has been !!! thousandfold appreciation and headbowing.”
ΔΔ Arca, who produced both Utopia and its 2015 predecessor Vulnicura, said of the album’s creation: “the soft merge that yielded this album has been one of the most oxygenating experiences i’ve had in my lifetime. can i be a little sentimental ? i cherish every single moment in the 2+ year journey of this album with you and james and jesse. the licking raindrops out of the salty air in the tropics & listening for birds, swimming in green rivers, the fires crackling through snow … the dark grey storm and the luminous rainbow that flooded the air after. it floods me still each day and with colors i didn’t know. this album truly carries a piece of utopia for me — one that is already smilingly real.” ΔΔ https://consequenceofsound.net/
Review
By DAVID RENSHAW
ΔΔ Utopia represents a “DIY fortress” away from Trump
ΔΔ The flute~heavy new record is due later this month.
ΔΔ Björk has described the world she tried to create through the music on her new album Utopia. The album, Björk's ninth, is out later this month and the Icelandic artist spoke to The Observer about what utopia means to her, saying she envisages it as an island where women can live far away from that which suppresses them, including Donald Trump.
ΔΔ She says the idea for a fictional island was inspired by the use of flute on the record. This led her to listening to flute music “from South America, Amazon tribes, and Africa, and Indonesia, and China, and Icelandic mythology.” A common thread in this music, she said, was tales of women escaping society and leaving with their children to a new place. Björk wanted to create a similar story, but without the bits from her research where “the guys come and chop everyone’s heads off.”
ΔΔ Among the men she wanted to cut out of her album was Trump. “He got elected when I was two years into the album,” she said, “and I felt like, O.K., it’s really important now to be intentional. If you feel this world is not heading the right way, you have to be DIY and make a little fortress, over here to the left.” November 13, 2017
ΔΔ https://www.thefader.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bjork
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bjork/
Label: http://indian.co.uk/
Also:
ADAM CORNER / 06.09.16
ΔΔ http://crackmagazine.net/opinion/music/features/bjork-environment/
Miranda Sawyer / Sunday 12 November 2017 09.00 GMT
Björk: ‘People miss the jokes. A lot of it is me taking the piss out of myself’
ΔΔ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/12/bjork-utopia-interview-people-miss-the-jokes
♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣