Earlier this month, Björk announced a new album, Fossora, promising equal parts bass clarinet and “violent outbursts of gabber”. Arriving this autumn, the record will be the Icelandic musician’s tenth full-length album – the latest in a back catalogue that stretches back to 1993’s Debut.
Not to fear if you’re not caught up with Björk’s past releases, though. Today (August 25), she also announced a new podcast series, Sonic Symbolism, in which she’ll reminisce on the “textures, timbres, and emotional landscapes” of each of her albums so far.
Each episode of the podcast will focus on an individual instalment in her varied catalogue, taking listeners on a journey from Debut – through Post, Homogenic, Vespertine, Medúlla, Volta, Biophilia, and Vulnicura – all the way up to 2017’s Utopia. To help tell the story of her creative inspirations on each project, and the different phases of her life that they capture, Björk will also be joined by friends such as the philosopher and writer Oddný Eir, and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson.
"When I get asked about the differences of the music of my albums, I find it quickest to use visual short cuts,” Björk says in a statement that gives a taste of the reflections on offer in Sonic Symbolism. “That’s kind of why my album covers are almost like homemade tarot cards. The image on the front might seem like just a visual moment, but for me it is simply describing the sound of it… Perhaps you can call it some sort of a sonic symbolism?”
Speaking about the cycle of recording her albums, she adds: “Most of us go through phases in our lives that take roughly three years, and it is not a coincidence this is also how long it takes to make an album or a film. This podcast is an experiment to capture which moods, timbres, and tempos were vibrating during each of these phases.”
The first three episodes of Sonic Symbolism – exploring Debut, Post, and Homogenic – will be released on September 1, and new instalments will continue to arrive on a weekly basis until mid-October. Listen to the trailer here.
