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Details Emerge on Bj?rk's Medulla
Beatboxing members of Spoon, Flaming Lips still waiting for that invite
Miles Barger reports:
If you've been following Pitchfork's recent news coverage of Bj?rk, you already know that the diminutive diva's follow-up to 2001's icy Vespertine sports the title Medulla, and that it will feature, in typical Bj?rkian fashion, contributions from her innumerable artist freak pals. If you were reading closely, you also know that one of these contributors is a Japanese beatbox artist named Dokaka. What you didn't know is that Bj?rk apparently has plans to base much of the album-- if not its entirety-- on rhythmic structures created by mouth alone.
In a recent Rolling Stone article, Bj?rk proclaimed that "instruments are so over." So, uh, what does that mean? Well, it means that, according to Billboard, Medulla will rely primarily on vocals, with Bj?rk barking her charmingly broken English lyrics over beatbox rhythms. To this end, she's employed not just Dokaka, but also Shlomo (reportedly "the next step for the UK beatbox") and beatboxing legend Rahzel-- best known as a current member of The Roots, but formerly a collaborator with Grandmaster Flash and LL Cool J-- who will provide the equivalent of basslines for many of Medulla's 14 tracks.
The mouthbeats will, of course, be accompanied by more melodic vocal sounds, ranging from the trained classicism of Gregory Purnhagen and the Icelandic and London choirs, to the wildly original sounds provided by Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq, and Mike Patton, the shrieking madman behind Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. Additionally, Matmos, M?m's Valgeir Sigurdsson, Olivier Alary (of Rephlex recording artists Ensemble), and Jake Davies (who has mixed previous releases by Bj?rk, Madonna, William Orbit, and others) will contribute their programming skills.
It seems that all this reliance on the larynx stems from Bj?rk's desire to mind-meld with Mother Nature. In an interview appearing in this month's W Magazine, Bj?rk revealed that she was inspired by "paganism, and the rather esoteric idea of returning to a universe that is entirely human-- without tools or religion or nationalities."
Medulla is set to be released on August 31st via Elektra Records, and will appear in both CD and SACD formats. Also, Bj?rk dj?rks should take note that a limited edition of the LP will feature expanded artwork and a 16-panel poster. The first single is expected to be "Oceania", which Bj?rk is scheduled to perform live at the Olympic Games in Athens. Tracklist:
01 Pleasure Is All Mine
02 Show Me forgiveness
03 Where Is the Line?
04 Vokuro
05 ?ll Birtan
06 Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)
07 Submarine
08 Desired Constellation
09 Oceania
10 Sonnets/Unrealities XI
11 Piano II
12 Mouths Cradle
13 Wednesday (Midvikudags)
14 Triumph of a Heart