Once again finding harmony and creating alchemy between seeming opposites, on Volta Björk is bold but thoughtful, delicate yet strong, accessible and avant. The intricacy and complexity of projects like Medúlla and Drawing Restraint 9 suggested that she might have left the more direct side of her work behind, but Volta's opening track and lead single, "Earth Intruders," puts that notion to rest: the song literally marches in, riding a bubbling, ritualistic beat courtesy of Timbaland and Konono No. 1's electric thumb-pianos. Björk howls "Turmoil! Carnage!" like incantations over the din, and after several albums' worth of beautiful whispers, it's a joy to hear her raise her voice and volume like this. "Wanderlust" follows and provides the yin to "Earth Intruders"' yang, its horns and brooding melody giving it the feel of a moodier, more contemplative version of "The Anchor Song." These two songs set the tone for the rest of Volta's pendulum-like swings between sounds and moods, all of which are tied together by found-sound and brass-driven interludes that give the impression that the album was recorded in a harbor -- an apt metaphor for how ideas and collaborators come and go on this album. Timbaland's beats resurface on "Innocence," another of Volta's most potent moments; a sample of what sounds like a man getting punched in the gut underscores Björk's viewpoint that purity is something powerful, not gentle. Antony and the Johnsons' Antony Hegarty lends his velvety voice to two outstanding but very different love songs: "The Dull Flame of Desire" captures swooning romance by pairing Björk and Hegarty's voices with a slowly building tattoo courtesy of Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale; "My Juvenile," which is dedicated to Björk's son Sindri, closes Volta with a much gentler duet. Considering how much sonic and emotional territory the album spans -- from the brash, anthemic "Declare Independence," which sounds a bit like Homogenic's "Pluto," to "Pneumonia" and "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," which are as elliptical and gentle as anything on Vespertine or Drawing Restraint 9 -- Volta could very easily sound scattered, but this isn't the case. Instead, it finds the perfect balance between the vibrancy of her poppier work in the '90s and her experiments in the 2000s.
Recently, when looking for a change of pace, I dug through my CD and MP3 collection looking for tunes to fill my iPod that I hadn't heard in a while, and I rediscovered Bjork. When I first heard 'Debut' I thought it was a great album, and she followed it up expertly with 'Post'. Both albums were right up my alley at the time: heavy on the electronic, nice n drum heavy, but also with great melod...
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That's how these interview-about-the-making-of-the-album video podcasts start out (iTunes link). In the videos its surprising to hear how _thick_ her accent is.Worth watching if you've ever been infatuated with the artist. Past tense infatuations are included, too. I listened to Björk's first three records a lot when I was in high school and college. Loved that stuff. But then new records kept ..
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Björk - VoltaOne Little Indian/Atlantic, 2007Björk is one of the most creative and eccentric superstars - if not the most creative and eccentric superstar - of the last 15 years. She continues to offer multiple takes on her aesthetic, but she's the same Icelandic artist that came to us, post-Sugarcubes (she called it a joke band), in 1993. On Volta, we have the same Björk, essentially, who appe
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/arts/music/29pare.html?th&emc=thThere are samples of music included.
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VoltaThe place at which a distinct turn of thought occurs. The term is most commonly used for the characteristic transition point in a sonnet, as between the octave and sestet of a Petrarchan sonnet. (from Answers.com)I'm going with that definition as this album seems to mark a point of transition, or a meeting of ages. I'll leave it to someone more eloquent than I to give a more in-depth revi...
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It is finally here. Bjorks' latest offering was released on iTunes yesterday (9th April) and a later retail release date for the CD Single, May 21st (apparently, mixes are still being produced) - Earth Intruders - an exciting return to the more melodic, electronica beat driven beasty we are more familiar with. On first listen, overtones of Army Of Me and Alarm Call are apparent, but there is s...
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While I was cooling my heels at World Cafe Live and WXPN studios prior to my visit to the Philadelphia Film Festival on Friday, April 6, I hung out with Jim McGuinn for a bit during Y-Rock's terrestrial radio shift. If you were listening to 88.5 FM between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. last night, I was actually on the Philly airwaves, woo-hoo! During our breaks we discussed (1.) the Circuit and tonight's...
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this just gets crazier and crazier, cant wait for the album.
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Yeah I know it has yet to drop, should be in May so keep your fingers crossed. I did however snag this early review of ithttp://hyperforum.myfreeforum.org/about150.htmlDig It !weed
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Bjork is still talking about the new album, "Volta", and has announced the confirmed dates for her next tour! Bjork fans haven't had this much interaction with ice fairy in ages! She will bring her latest live ensemble to only a few major US cities including NYC, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, and SF. US fans might have to travel to one of these cities to see her latest tricks, which will involve...
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the artwork to the new bjork album. its stunningly beautiful.
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This article is wonderful :"Tsunami, Timbaland Help Shape Bjork's Forthcoming Volta" written by Chris Harris for MTV news (on the VH1 website)."It's a quite chaotic song," she said of Volta's first single ["Earth Intruders"]. "Lyrically, it's a collection of all of these images" burned into her memory, from her trip to Indonesia as well as her vivid, in-flight reverie.
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The interview with Bjork that Pitchfork promised is up on their site, click here.Exclusive: Bjork Talks Volta for the Very First Time"All I wanted to do for this album was just to have fun and do something that was full-bodied and really up."enjoy! but don't forget to come back to mog, i will have new news posted up later tonight.....
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On her upcoming album, Volta (One Little Indian/Atlantic), Björk just wanted to "have fun and do something that was full-bodied and really up."Volta,, the artist's sixth post-Sugarcubes studio album, will be released on May 7. Björk's previous album, Medúlla (Elektra), came out in 2004.The album was produced by Björk. Among those who contributed to the album are Antony Hegarty (Antony And The
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I'll never use aluminum foil again after watching the film "Nattura" featuring Bjork, Sigur Ros and other famous icelandic artists. The musicians used their international clout to bring awareness to the environmental devastation happening to their green isle by holding a concert and making this documentary.The film starts with aerial views of the stunning and complicated natural features of ic...
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What I would give to be five and play dress-up in Bjork's closet. The "Where It All Began" The "Not Another Poor Little Bird!" The "Mandarin" The "Genghis" The "Monarch" The "Horton Hears A Who" The "Olympic" The "My Crayolas Just Attacked" The "This Is Me On A Mellow Dress Day" The "Silly String" The "Little Red" The "Wanna Be Startin' Something"
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Bjork just announced that "The Dull Flame of Desire" will be the next single available from Volta. Remixes by Modeselektor and Mark Stent are also on their way plus a remix of "Innocence" by Sinden! AND, a new video is in the works from 3 different directors, featuring Bjork and Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons). The single, written and produced by Bjork, will be available September 2...
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This Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, Robotspeak in San Francisco is hosting the masterminds of unique musical instruments known as Percussa Audio Cubes. AudioCubes and Reason 4 Arpeggiator Demo: Robotspeak describes the "cubist controllers" thus: Audio Cubes are a modular live performance instrument. They let you shape sound, create music and perform live through hands-on interaction with wireless int...
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Bjork has always been outspoken about her beliefs and her most recent album directly expresses her political opinions. Throughout her world tour, she has performed "Declare Independence" from Volta and used it as an opportunity to show her solidarity for oppressed people around the globe. However, she recently chose to support oppressed communities while performing in the territory of the opp...
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Music fans, politicians, officers of the law and freedom fighters are divided this week over issues raised by a Bjork concert in Shanghai last weekend. As I reported earlier this week, Bjork ended her concert in China with "Declare Independence" off her latest album, then chanted, "Tibet! Tibet!" Since then, there has been heavy news coverage, negative comments from fans and statements from b...
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her new 3-d video.i think you need special glasses for thisso if you just kindly send your 2.95 to my pay pal accounti'll go find em for you
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Bjork's website has the deets today about all kinds of ways anyone can enjoy her new 3D video for "Wanderlust" without resorting to the flat version. Apparently there are 6 different techniques ranging from making your own pair of 3D glasses to finding stores with kiosks that show the 3D video and give away free pairs of glasses for viewing. But it's the 6th option which is especially delicio...
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Yesterday, I posted about public reaction to Bjork's support of Tibet and Kosovo at recent concerts. Sometime shortly after, she made a statement on her website about the issue. The story received high-profile coverage yesterday, notably from BBC news (where I learned of it), and Bjork must have been contacted by numerous organizations for a statement. Here is what she replied: i have been a...
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In further Icelandic news, Bjork keeps adding shows to her 2007 tour. She's touring until the end of the year throughout South America, Mexico and 2 more westcoast US dates.Bjork Winter Tour:10-26 TIM Festival, Brazil10-28 TIM Festival, Brazil10-31 TIM Festival, Brazil11-04 Teatro Gran Rex, Argentina11-07 Teatro Gran Rex, Argentina11-10 Santiago, Chile11-13 Vertice del Museo de la Nacio...
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Bjork is scheduled to perform an unnamed song off of Volta on Late Night with Conan O'Brien next Thursday, September 27th. She didn't say whether she would talk with Conan on the air or not. Meanwhile, the October issue of Dazed and Confused magazine has a photo spread of Bjork "frolicking about in the Icelandic wilderness" with the ladies of Wonderbrass and Bernhard Wilhelm. She also chats ...
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"Declare Independence," the noisy and politically-charged song from Bjork's Volta, will be released as a single on the first of the new year. Just in time for New Year's resolutions! The "highly charged" video for the song was directed by Michel Gondry and will premiere in the beginning of December '07 along with some behind-the-scenes specials.Bjork will head out on tour yet again in support...
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Bjork is back with another fabulous Double Pack. This will be the third double pack album from Volta singles, the first two were Declare Independence and Earth Intruders. This week, the Innocence Double Pack will be released on 12-inch vinyl, CD & DVD. Here is the info from Bjork's website:Innocence - Double Pack - 12” & CD & DVD In Special Pack!Heavy Weight Vinyl01. Innocence - Simian Mobil.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Earth Intruders |
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| 2 Wanderlust |
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| 3 The Dull Flame of Desire |
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| 4 Innocence |
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| 5 I See Who You Are |
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| 6 Vertebrae by Vertebrae |
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| 7 Pneumonia |
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| 8 Hope |
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| 9 Declare Independence |
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| 10 My Juvenile |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Volta")
