STACK #217 November 2022

MUSIC FEATURE

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Björk photographed by Vidar Logi

this song before pressing play makes it extra crushing, with Björk’s observations so deeply felt: “The doctors she despised/ Placed a pacemaker inside her.” Björk’s son Sindri supplies backing vocalss throughout, which adds an air of gravitas, and a ten-piece string section unleashes maximum pathos. Instrumentally, parts of this song evoke a healing sound-bath being invaded by industrial machinery – clashing textures, which are trademark Björk but also suggest that her relationship with Hildur was complicated at times. “The machine of her breathed all night/ While she rested/ Revealed her resilience/ And then it didn’t” – you’d think Ancestress would end here, with Hildur’s final breath. But this elegy continues until subtle instrumentation slowly withdraws while Björk pays her last respects: “Translucent skin let go of/ A cold palm embalmed…” – we’re officially undone. Atopos “Are these not just excuses/To no-OT connect?” Of Atopos , Björk herself politely requested at the time of release: “Because of the enormous importance of bass in this song, could you please play it loudly?” Created alongside Gabber Modus Operandi and featuring Kasimyn (one half of the duo), this lead single introduces Fossora ’s recurring sonic motifs: Björk’s transformative vocals and inventive lyricism over beats of her own creation, plus bass clarinet sextet. Aah, the way Björk rolls her ‘r’s (e.g. “rrrrrrresonance”) is so incredibly intoxicating, as we absorb this track’s minimal beat with discordant brass accents: “Pursuing the light too hard is a form of hiding.” During the thrashing, fungal rave bit, we’re set adrift on memory bliss back to seedy underground clubs post-5am. Fossora “At la t/We stayed in one place long enough/ To shoot down deep hyphae roots.” Kasimyn also features on this title track. If you positioned subwoofers around your garden and pressed play, we swear Fossora ’s bass vibrations could stimulate plant growth. A deep, psychic shake-up, this cut really thumps – like vicious techno mashed up with a choral symphony. “Mycelium speed” – time to get the thesaurus out to brush up on our fungal lingo...

FEATURE

Sometimes when an artist says they ‘birthed’ an album it sounds pretentious or overly dramatic, right? How about when it comes to Björk? Never. Words Bryget Chrisfield A TRACK-BY-TRACK OF BJORK'S MAJESTIC FOSSORA

Ancestress A epitaph for Hildur Rúna Of Ancestress , Björk explained: “If I was a priest, it’s what I would’ve said at the funeral.” The song, which opens with a reverberating gong, pairs chamber-folk instrumentation with melodic chimes. “Matrimort” – what a fabulous word! And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, it seems, with Björk singing of her mother later on in the track: “She invents words and adds syllables.” Fossora , too – this album’s title – is a word of Björk’s creation (a made-up, feminine version of the Latin word for ‘digger)’. “I am her hopekeeper” – so beautifully put! And how heart-achingly glorious is the following sentiment: “When you die, you bring with you what you’ve given.” In a statement about this song, Björk revealed, “It looks like a very simple lyric. But every single word in it was like I had given birth to an ostrich egg, because it had to be right.” Prior knowledge of the inspiration behind

A mistress of constant reinvention and sonic exploration, one of Björk's preferred pandemic pastimes was “domestic raving” in her cabin near Reykjavík, Iceland. She also found watching docos featuring time-lapse footage of spreading fungal networks fascinating, which informed Fossora ’s striking visual aesthetic: Björk as glowing, teal, mushroom matriarch. While Björk’s previous set, 2017’s Utopia , looked skyward, Fossora ’s “biological techno” is decidedly terrestrial. Exploring themes of death, survival and ecological meditation, Björk’s tenth album features contributions from her two children (Sindri Eldon and Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney), Indonesian dance outfit Gabber Modus Operandi, Murmuri (a bass clarinet sextet) and Brooklyn-based singer serpentwithfeet. Prepare to be amazed. Here are thoughts on three of the album's stand-outs; read our entire track-by-track at stack.com.au.

Fossora by Bjork is out now, via One Little Independent.

Continue reading the full track-by-track online at stack.com.au

70 NOVEMBER 2022

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