Volta is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer Björk , released in 2007 . Contains songs in English. Unique instruments were used in the recording of the album and a number of famous characters were involved, in particular, producer Timbaland . In the official press release, Volta is called Björk's most commercial album. It is an avant-garde pop and combines African influences, wind instruments and elements of industrial music. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album.
| Volta | |||||||||||||
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| Studio Album Björk | |||||||||||||
| Date of issue | May 8, 2007 | ||||||||||||
| Genres | alternative , industrial rock , alternative dance , experimental music | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 61:50 | ||||||||||||
| Producer | Björk , Mark Bell (1 song), Timbaland / Danja (2 songs) | ||||||||||||
| Label | One Little Indian, Polydor, Elektra | ||||||||||||
| Chronology Björk | |||||||||||||
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Content
Concept
Björk uses the terms “techno voodoo”, “pagan”, “tribal” and “extrovert” [1] to describe the album. In one of her interviews about the release of Volta , she said: “I carried out two or three projects in a row that were pretty serious, so all I wanted from the album was to have fun and do something rich and really grand” . [2] The restrained nature of the two previous recordings was the result of the singer spending a lot of time at home after the birth of her second child, Isadora. “For several years, I worked mainly on a laptop, not in studios.” “My girl went to kindergarten and I was ready to shake myself a little” [3] . Prior to the release of the record, it was believed that Björk was going to release a pop album, and the head of her label even declared that it was “the most commercial thing she ever did.” Björk, however, said she did not consider Volta more commercial than her past records.
Unlike the previous Medúlla record, which consists almost entirely of vocals and sounds produced by the human body, Volta Björk returns to electronics and his more danceable musical “roots”. When recording the album, “live” musical instruments, such as pipa, were also used. For the first time, Björk actively uses the spiritual section and African instruments and rhythms, and also for the first time concerns political topics in lyrics. A pre-designed musical concept, as such, did not exist.
Creation
Björk recorded the album in various studios, traveling around the world and "collecting" collaborations. In Mali, she signed up with Tumani Diabate , a core instrument performer, in Brussels with the Congolese band Konono Nº1, and in Jamaica with Anthony Hegarty , she also visited Malta and Tunisia. [1] Björk edited the recorded material in her home studios in London, New York and Reykjavik.
The three tracks on the album were co-written with producer Timbaland. Bjork said that she did not want to work with him as a hitmaker, or because of his belonging to a particular genre, but wanted to find common interest with him as a musician. This interest turned out to be a tribal sound, for example, for the song “Earth Intruders” the original track was a ten-minute jam, which the singer then edited into a landscape version.
There are two duets with Anthony Hegarty on the album. The lyrics to the song “The Dull Flame Of Desire” is a translation into English of a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev, borrowed by Bjork from Andrei Tarkovsky’s film “Stalker”. Björk and Anthony improvised all day, then the singer reduced the material to a 7-minute ballad and added winds. The beat of the track was improvised by Brian Chippendale.
Release
Björk Volta released both standard CD and vinyl sound, as well as a limited two-disc edition (CD + DVD) with multi-channel sound in Dolby 5.1 and DTS Surround Sound formats. In Russia, Eastern Europe, South America and Asia, the album came out with a different cover in the form of so-called "special" publications.
Reaction
| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Cumulative rating | |
| A source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100 [4] |
| Critics' ratings | |
| A source | Rating |
| NME | 8/10 [5] |
| Pitchfork | 5.8 / 10 [6] |
| Stylus magazine | A- [7] |
| Allmusic | [eight] |
| The guardian | [9] |
| Rolling stone | [ten] |
| Slant magazine | [eleven] |
| Tiny mix tapes | [12] |
The album was well received by critics. On Metacritic , the album's rating is 77% based on 35 professional reviews, which means generally positive reviews. The British NME magazine wrote: “Among the barren musical desert of 1993, the Icelandic punk fairy Björk was completely unique, inventive and exciting. Debut , her first solo album, simply absorbed the competition with her brilliance. Now, 14 years later, she did it again with Volta ” [5] . The AllMusic resource called the work that found the perfect balance between the dynamism of its pop works of the 90s and the experiments of the 2000s. [8] The Wire Magazine ranked Volta in 16th place on the final album list of the year, and Slant Magazine put it on the list of best albums of the 2000s.
Some reviews expressed a mixed assessment, the album was called “erratic” and it was stated that Björk “even her definition of pop music is avant-garde” [6] .
Volta stayed nine weeks in first place on Billboard's electronic album top. The album hit the top ten charts in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Spain and other countries.
Volta was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Alternative Album" [13] . Björk was nominated for the Brit Awards and the Meteor Ireland Music Awards for "Best International Performer" ; as well as the BT Digital Music Awards as "Best Electronic Artist . " At Icelandic music awards, Volta was nominated for the “Alternative Album of the Year” , and Björk received the awards “Singer of the Year” and “Artist of the Year” [14] . Björk received the Inspiration Award from the MOJO Awards . Album videos were also noted: “Wanderlust” received 3 nominations from the Antville Music Video Awards, winning “Best Video of the Year” and “Best Art Direction” . At Icelandic awards, Wanderlust won Video of the Year . Declare Independence and Wanderlust were honored at the Design and Art Direction Awards.
Tour
In support of the album, the singer went on an 18-month world tour Volta Tour , which opened on April 1, 2007 with a concert in Reykjavik and was held in many countries of the world, including the USA, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain and Australia. Björk performed as a headliner at the festivals Coachella [15] , Glastonbury [16] , Roskilde and many others. The tour ended on December 8, 2008 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Her concert group consisted of drummer Chris Corsano, musicians Mark Bell and Damian Taylor, pianist Jonas Sen and a wind section consisting of 10 Icelandic women. At some concerts, they were joined by the musicians who participated in the recording of the album: Anthony Hegarty, Min Xiao-Fen and Tumani Diabate. Joan Newsom , MIA , Santigold , Klaxons , Ratatat , Leila and others acted as warming up artists before Björk concerts.
At Volta Tour concerts, the Reactable instrument was first presented to the general public.
Björk dedicated the song “Declare Independence” to various independence movements: Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Kosovo, the Basque Country, the natives of Australia, and Scotland. At a concert in Shanghai, she whispered “Tibet, Tibet!” Several times before singing the line “Raise your flag!” From the song. This has forced China to tighten laws regarding performances by foreign stars. [17] In the Faroe Islands, her appeal caused some discussion. [18]
Video from concerts in Paris and Reykjavik, as well as a session recorded with a concert group at Olympic Studios, were released as part of the Voltaïc box set in June 2009.
List of Songs
| No. | Title | The words | Music | Producer | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one. | " Earth Intruders " | Björk | Björk, Timbaland , Danja | Björk, Timbaland , Danja | 6: 13 / 4.39 * |
| 2. | Wanderlust | Björk, Sjón | Björk | Björk | 5: 51 / 7.25 * |
| 3. | " The Dull Flame of Desire " (featuring Antony Hegarty ) | Fedor Tyutchev | Björk | Björk | 7:30 a.m. |
| four. | Innocence | Björk | Björk, Timbaland, Danja | Björk, Timbaland, Danja | 4:27 |
| five. | "I See Who You Are" | Björk | Björk, Mark Bell | Björk | 4: 22 / 4.06 * |
| 6. | "Vertebræ by Vertebræ" | Björk | Björk | Björk, Damian Taylor | 5: 08 / 5.23 * |
| 7. | "Pneumonia" | Björk | Björk | Björk | 5:14 |
| eight. | "Hope" | Björk | Björk, Timbaland | Björk | 4: 02 / 3.37 * |
| 9. | Declare Independence | Björk | Mark Bell, Björk | Björk, Mark Bell | 4: 13 / 4.40 * |
| ten. | "My Juvenile" (featuring Antony Hegarty ) | Björk | Björk | Björk | 4.03 |
| eleven. | “I See Who You Are (Mark Bell Mix) ” (UK & Japan bonus) | Björk | Björk, Mark Bell | Mark bell | 4.01 |
* - between some songs there are interludes that are assigned to different tracks on different editions
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Pareles, Jon At Home Again in the Unknown . The New York Times (April 29, 2007). Date of treatment February 27, 2016.
- ↑ Stosuy, Brandon Björk . Pitchfork (April 22, 2007). Date of treatment February 26, 2016.
- ↑ Barton, Laura I had a little bit of cabin fever . The Guardian (April 27, 2007). Date of treatment February 26, 2016.
- ↑ Volta by Björk . Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Elan, Priya Björk: Volta . New Musical Express (May 10, 2007). Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Pytlik, Mark Björk - Volta . Pitchfork (May 8, 2007). Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Miller, Derek Björk - Volta . Stylus magazine (May 7, 2007). Date of treatment February 25, 2016. Archived on May 9, 2007.
- ↑ 1 2 Phares, Heather Björk - Volta . AllMusic. Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ McLean, Craig Bjork, Volta . The Guardian (April 22, 2007). Date of treatment February 21, 2016.
- ↑ Hoard, Christian Volta . Rolling Stone (April 17, 2007). Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Henderson, Eric Volta . Slant Magazine (May 2, 2007). Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Leveer Björk - Volta . Tiny Mix Tapes. Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ The Complete List of Grammy Nominees . The New York Times. Date of treatment February 25, 2016.
- ↑ Íslensku Tónlistarverðlaunin - Fyrri verðlaunahafar unopened . Íslensku Tónlistarverðlaunin . Date of treatment February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Rage, Bjork, Chili Peppers headline Coachella . NME (January 22, 2007). Date of treatment February 29, 2016.
- ↑ Bjork and Monkeys to headline Glastonbury . The Guardian (January 25, 2007). Date of treatment February 29, 2016.
- ↑ The trick of Björk forced China to tighten laws . persona.rin.ru. Date of treatment March 2, 2016.
- ↑ Bjørk upp í flaggstríðið? (Björk onto the Flag struggle?) . portal.fo (April 10, 2007). Date of treatment March 2, 2016. Archived March 15, 2009.