Covering genes of alternative rock to ethereal wave, from jazz to trip hop and leading the future roads to take folk and electronic sounds to a new generation the Icelandic singer-songwriter never failed to surprise when her work was delivered to the mass market. Bearing this in mind it should come as little surprise that her eighth studio album is one of the first to break technologically boundaries with a little help from a multinational corporation.
Biophilia will allow listeners to interact with the album via ten applications when the record is released next month in conjunction with Apple. The tracks require acute listening which is the main reason why this weekend’s Bestival was rounded off by a mixed-taste from the crowd. The final day of not only Bestival but the farewell to festival season should be a cause of celebration, a party atmosphere if you will, but standing in a field with the threat of a storm imminent on the virtual horizon listening to a setlist full of unfamiliar tracks of these nature you can’t help but think the Biophilia tour would be better condensed to a smaller theatre.
To be fair, the tour roots from the Campfield Market Hall as part of the Manchester International Festival in July where it received critical acclaim. But in a field the atmospheric magic feels incomplete.
The show preludes by a speech from David Attenborough, according to a recent interview in Rolling Stone magazine, the award winning naturalist was hailed as a ‘rock star’ by Björk. Attenborough introduces Biophilia as a combination of ‘Nature, music and technology’ before the singer appears on stage...resembling a clown!
Yes, a clown! Although as we stated, Björk fulfils satisfaction by surprising people and least we forget this is a singer-songwriter cum actress who arrived at the 2001 Academy Awards dressed as a bloody swan! She is accompanied by an award winning Icelandic choir dressed in sparkly garments and a backing musician playing a xylophone and steel drums as well as an organ, the use for which we will come to later.
There was an extra spark to tonight’s agenda, an unexpected one. Half way through Hollow a flying burning lantern found its way onto the stage. Fortunately there was no need for concern and the only fire to emerge from the main stage was the vigorous chords from Björk’s larynx
Despite the technology element which is prominent throughout the album the stripped down instrumental which accomplices the record is often kept to a bare minimum and wouldn’t seem out of place if heard through any past decade. However it’s where the sounds originate from which takes us forward to the modern age, for example one track is played on an iPad with the sounds emerging from the wooden organ.
The performance is paired with visual images which relate to the understanding to each track, Dark Matter attempts to explain the unexplainable, Thunderbolt relates to thunder and lightning and Virus studies the crumbling relationship between a cell and a virus. As you can imagine, the screens show images last seen on an Open University programme last seen in the early eighties and you would need a diploma in physics to completely grasp what the hell Björk is rattling on about some of the time; Which once again doesn’t feed too well with 40,000 festival goers on their last night of a weekend bender.
Björk does divert from Biophilia throughout her seventy-five minute set, the 1994 track One Day sees the steel drums delicately being fluttered waking the assembled choir from their laying posteriors. State of Emergency’s up-tempo alarm call lifts the crowd’s spirits for a few minutes, but overall the set isn’t suited for the occasion and unfortunately no iPad application can cover up this disappointing end to a wonderful festival.
Disabled Access at Bestival has been improved from past years with the arrival of a viewing platform in the Big Top. The viewing platform for the main stage is situated well and we especially like the fact wristband read ‘Viewing platform’ oppose to having to wear the word ‘disabled’ around your wrist. The accessible campsite is located in a prime space allowing easy travel requirements via foot or car and its great to be able to report back Rob Da Bank, the man behind Bestival, always asks Able2uk how the access is and listens to the annual feedback which we supply to his team.
