Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.05.2007, Side 1

The Hidden Björk Interview • By Sveinn Birkir Björnsson • Björk’s new
album, Volta, will be released this May 7. It is her first studio album in
three years. The release has generated quite a level of anticipation among
loyal Björk fans and early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. In
support of her new release, Björk has embarked on a world tour. The
Grapevine caught up with Björk as she was sitting poolside in California,
enjoying the sun in preparation for her performance at the Coachella
Music Festival the following day, and posed a few questions. • • There is
long list of famous guest contributors on this album – Timbaland, Mark
Bell from LFO, Konono n°1, Antony Hegarty from Antony and the John-
sons, Toumani Diabate, Min Xiao-Fen, Chris Corsano and Brian Chippen-
dale from Lightning Bolt – did you write the album with that in mind? •
BJÖRK: No, not exactly. I never plan that far ahead really. It was more just
improvised as we went along. • How do you go about preparing for a long
tour like this one? • BJÖRK: I practiced with the band for about a month
beforehand. Then I just threw a few dinner parties and said good-bye. I did
try to do some running to prepare the lungs, but there really was not
enough time. Usually it is the same old method that always works best:
jump off the deep end! • Just before the tour started you added a brass sec-
tion of ten girls (the Brass Girls) to your live setting. Was this planned long
before, and did you need to change many arrangements to make the brass
section work? • BJÖRK: Well, I first started working with brass on the score
for Drawing Restraint 9, but that was more kind of abstract, ambient stuff.
Then I became very interested in making music that was more kind of
pop-music with brass, so I started to sample the brass stuff from the Draw-
ing Restraint 9 project. Then I wrote brass arrangements for more songs
and I recorded it with a brass section, including the Brass Girls. So, it was
not really done in a hurry. It has been a slow development since 2005. But
we had to re-arrange some of my old songs for a brass section, so the Brass
Girls have been madly busy… • Recently, on the first date of your world
tour in Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík, you dedicated the song Declare Inde-
pendence to the Faeroe Islands and Greenland. Did you write that lyric
with those countries in particular in mind? • BJÖRK: Yes and no. I became
very interested in writing lyrics that were both very personal and very po-
litical at the same time. Me speaking to a friend for example, and saying to
her: “declare independence!” I, at least, thought it would be funny. I also
think that political lyrics are quite possibly the lamest lyrics you can find,
that is why I thought it would be an exciting challenge to do it well. But I
can wholeheartedly say that I think it is preposterous that those countries
are still colonies. • When did you become interested in the independence
struggle in the Faeroe Islands and Greenland? • BJÖRK: Do not all Iceland-
ers take interest in how nations fare that are in the same spot that we once
were? • Will you dedicate this song to the Faeroe Islands and Greenland in
Roskilde (Denmark), and do you expect a strong reaction from Denmark
(the ruling nation of the Faeroe Islands and Greenland) if you do? •
BJÖRK: I don’t know. We will just have to see. We have 40 songs rehearsed
and ready and we will just have to see what we will think is appropriate
then. • There is a competition for your fans to make a video to Innocence,
one of the new songs on Volta. How did the idea come about and are you
going to select the best proposal yourself? • BJÖRK: I just needed to break
out of the usual pattern, to do something a little more unpredictable. But
yes, I intend to select the winner myself. • For more info on the Björk tour
dates and the video competition, visit: www.myspace.com/bjork • •
Fire in Reykjavík • The Miserable 90s? • Election Fever • Day Tripping on the South Coast
Hitchhiking Around Iceland in Four Days • Revitalising the Nordic House
Issue 5 // 4 May - 17 May 2007+ info. A Complete City Guide and Listings: Map, Dining, Music, Arts and Events