Björk announces podcast series on her discography, Sonic Symbolism

Icelandic musician Björk has announced a new podcast called Björk: Sonic Symbolism, designed to revisit a record from her discography with each new episode.

The first three episodes are chronological, documenting Debut, Post, and Homogenic, and all three will arrive on September 1.

Guests will include philosopher and writer Oddný Eir and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson. The show was produced in collaboration with Talkhouse and Mailchimp.

“Most of us go through phases in our lives that take roughly three years, and it is not a coincidence that this is often how long it takes to make an album, a book, or a film,” Björk says in a new trailer. “In the conversations on this podcast, me and my friends try to capture which moods, timbres, and tempos were vibrating during each of my ten albums.”

In a press release, she adds, “When I get asked about the differences of the music of my albums, I find it quickest to use visual short cuts. 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.

"I try to express it with the colour palette, the textures of the textiles, with what I am holding, the posture I am in, and the angle of it shows its relationship to the world," she adds. "Also, the emotion of the mouth tries to share the overall mood of the album. Perhaps you can call it some sort of a sonic symbolism? 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.”

Last week, Björk announced a new single called ‘Atopos’ and posted the official artwork, ahead of the release of her upcoming 10th album, Fossora.

Two songs from the record – ‘Sorrowful Soil’ and ‘Ancestress’ – are said to be directed tributes to the singer’s mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, who died in 2018 aged 72.

“I think me and my brother were not ready to … we thought she had 10 years left,” Björk told The Guardian. “So we were like: ‘Come on,’ and getting her to fight and … and it was like she had an inner clock in her and she was just ready to go.”

Fossora is set to feature collaborations with Serpentwithfeet and Indonesian punks Gabber Modus Operandi, as well as contributions from her son Sindri and daughter Doa.