Tomorrow, Björk, Ólöf Arnalds and Sigur Rós are teaming up for a free concert - Náttúra - which aims to raise awareness of the proliferation of aluminium smelting plants in Iceland. Held in a large park near the centre of Reykjavik, will be broadcast live on the Nat Geo Music and all of the performances will be in broad daylight with Iceland’s dramatic rolling scenery providing a perfect backdrop to what is expected to be one of the biggest concerts the country has seen. The festival also aims to publicize Andri Snær Magnason's book Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual to a Frightened Nation, an Icelandic bestseller about the environmental situation that will be published in an English translation next month. [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on Jun 27, 2008 - 39 comments

The full-on, amped-up sanza sounds of Konono No. 1 have been celebrated here at MeFi not once but twice, and they are indeed wonderful. Björk's been working with them a bit lately, too. But let's go back a few decades, and take a listen to the unplugged version of this type of music: mesdames et messiurs, Papa Kourand, the grand old man of the sanza! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Oct 10, 2007 - 11 comments

”Björk's album covers have always been visual feasts, reflecting the spirit of the music inside while helping to maintain Björk's status as a brilliant artist.” Artwork released for Björk’s upcoming album, Volta, was widely assumed to be the new cover. Thus, the official cover that’s been revealed has divided, dismayed, amused, or delighted fans and critics all over the place in the past couple of weeks. Pitchfork interviews Björk herself on the album-cover and more, and she talks about the making of Volta here: Part I, Part II (YouTube).
posted by hermitosis on Apr 19, 2007 - 69 comments