Björk, the Icelandic singer’s Biophilia project incorporates handmade instruments, iPad apps, David Attenborough’s nature films and an album too – and she’s showcasing it all at Manchester international festival.“There will be an album in September, with an app to go with each of the 10 songs“.Extraordinary.This article titled “Björk: ‘Manchester is the prototype’” was written by Alex Needham, for The Guardian on Monday 4th July 2011 19.00 UTCOriginally formulated by scientist Edward O Wilson, the biophilia hypothesis suggests that human beings have an innate affinity with the natural world – plants, animals or even the weather. Yet it’s not biophilia but good old-fashioned fandom that has drawn a small band of Björk obsessives to queue outside Manchester’s Campfield Market Hall since 10am this morning. Not that there’s anything old-fashioned about the woman they are here to see. Biophilia is the Icelandic singer’s new project – the word means “love of living things” – and promises to push the envelope so far you’ll need the Hubble telescope to see it.A collection of journalists have already had a preview at a press conference in the Museum of Science and Industry over the road. Björk is absent, preparing for tonight’s live show, her first in the UK for over three years, which will open the Manchester international festival. Instead, artist and app developer Scott Snibbe, musicologist Nikki Dibben and project co-ordinator James Merry talk through Biophilia’s many layers. There will be an album in September, with an app to go with each of the 10 songs. There will be an education project, designed to teach children about nature, music and technology – some local kids will embark on it next week. There will be a documentary. And then there will be tonight’s show, performed in the round to a 2,000-strong crowd including journalists representing publications from New Scientist to the New York Times, as well as the diehard fans waiting outside. One, 20-year-old Nick from London, is a classical violinist who has loved Björk since the age of 14. “I wasn’t really into pop at all until I heard Medúlla,” he says, citing her most challenging album. “It was like a gateway drug from me liking difficult 20th-century western art music to liking pop.”It’s a journey in the opposite direction from the one most music fans make, and one which speaks volumes about the complexity of Björk’s work. “More classical musicians respect Björk than any other pop star,” he adds.At the museum, Snibbe is demonstrating the apps. The app that goes with the first single, Crystalline, includes a game in which you collect crystals in a tunnel, through which process you alter and customise the music. The app also includes an abstract version of the musical score; and an essay by Dibben that explains, in this case, how the structures of crystals relate to the musical structure of the song. The app for another song, Cosmogony, presents a 3D cosmos you can navigate. Each app has been created by a different – often rival – developer. “To me, it feels like the birth of opera or the birth of cinema,” says Snibbe.Yet Björk didn’t have such lofty aspirations in creating the project. “My main aim is to not get too bored myself,” she says, via email (she rests her voice between shows). “I feel that if I’m curious and excited there is a bigger chance the listener might be. At the end of the day, it’s more about the feeling of an adventure rather than the details of the adventure itself. So in short: whatever turns you on.”That said, the change from a passive to an active listening experience is a radical one. “The apps are mostly made for headphones and a private experience,” says Björk. “What you see live is only us playing our version. You can play a totally different versions at home.” If you’ve no desire to do that, Merry is at pains to point out that Biophilia will still exist as a CD or download – and indeed only those with access to an iPad or iPhone can experience the apps. So far, the project has been too expensive to adapt to other handheld devices.At the show venue, the journalists are being given a tour of the new instruments that have been specially built for the project. One contraption looks like a giant silver mangle decorated with two massive ear trumpets, but is called a sharpsichord. There are two giant pendulums, which have strings plucked by a plectrum as they swing past. There’s a Tesla coil that descends in a cage from the ceiling; two prongs that emit purple flashes of lightning – and, with it, sound. There’s also a celeste, which has been gutted and fitted with the pipes of a gamelan. These fantastical devices are controlled by an iPad. Above the performance space is a circle of screens that show the apps for each new song; moving tectonic plates for Mutual Core; invading pink cells for Virus (“Like a virus needs a body, as soft tissue feeds on blood, I will find you, the urge is here,” go the lyrics).It must be one of the most complex pop shows ever, and according to Björk, it could have been more elaborate still. “Manchester is the prototype,” she says. “We had to leave many things out because of budget and time and stuff.” As it is, the whole project has taken three years and cost so much money she told Rolling Stone that “we’ll be lucky if we earn zero”.Yet, on purely artistic grounds, it’s hard to regard Biophilia as anything other than a success. As the lights go down, Björk’s childhood hero David Attenborough’s unmistakable voice, recorded just that day, fills the room to explain the songs. The show includes Björk’s favourite footage from BBC nature documentaries playing when she performs older songs. Hidden Place is illustrated by a beautiful but disturbing clip from Attenborough’s Life – of a seal’s corpse being devoured by psychedelically coloured worms and starfish. All 10 tracks from the new album are played. Such an onslaught of new material would try the patience of most audiences, but this one is rapt – no one even goes to the bar.Much of this is due to the sensory bombardment of music, images and costumes – not least Björk’s bright orange wig, which a comment on the Guardian’s review says makes her resemble a tamarin monkey. Her decision to ban cameras and other recording equipment from the venue has also played its part. “I feel since everyone has made such an effort to be there all together at the same place and time, we might as well go for it,” she says. “It can be hard to play music for people who are filming you for Twitter or whatever. It’s like going to a restaurant with someone who keeps texting their friends while you are speaking to them – hard to concentrate.”Then there’s Björk’s extraordinary voice, once compared by Bono to an icepick, and still imperishable at 45. “My voice has changed,” she says. “I thought it had gone a little deeper. On my last tour I got nodules [on the vocal cords] but managed to stretch it out with three years of vocal work, so I’m back to my old range now.” Björk “adores” a whole range of singers: “Chaka Khan, Beyoncé, Antony” – the latter being Antony Hegarty, a former collaborator who is here in the audience – though her “favourite singer alive today” is Azerbaijani devotional singer Alim Qasimov. She is accompanied by a 24-piece Icelandic choir she discovered on YouTube.After spending so long meticulously making Biophilia, performance feels liberating. Live shows and making an album are, says Björk, “extreme opposites. After noodling for ever on an album, gathering together the best moments, it’s refreshing and healthy to have to do it all in one whack. Then you sort of have to take real life into it and accept that you only have whatever you have that day – and that is enough.”Right now Björk is at the intersection of music, nature and technology, exploring how the three together might help build a more sustainable future. But is it still pop? “Yes, absolutely!” Björk claims. (Dibben, who wrote a book about Björk, says the singer is wary of having her music hived off into the rarified world of the academy.) “Or perhaps I would rather call it folk music – folk music of our time. I was never too much into Warhol and the whole pop thing – it felt a bit superficial. I prefer folk. People. Humans.”• Bjork plays Manchester international festival on 7, 10, 13 and 16 July. Biophilia is released in September<br /> <a href=”http://oas.guardian.co.uk/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/guardianapis.com/music/oas.html/@Bottom” _mce_href=”http://oas.guardian.co.uk/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/guardianapis.com/music/oas.html/@Bottom” rel=”nofollow”><br /> <img src=”http://oas.guardian.co.uk/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/guardianapis.com/music/oas.html/@Bottom” _mce_src=”http://oas.guardian.co.uk/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/guardianapis.com/music/oas.html/@Bottom” alt=”Ads by The Guardian”></img><br /> </a><br />guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogBjörk: ‘Manchester is the prototype’Related posts:who is itExclusive Radiohead artwork plus The King of Limbs album streamCanterbury Cathederal
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I posted to distributedresearch.net
Björk: ‘Manchester is the prototype’
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/07/05/bjork-manchester-is-the-prototype
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July 5 2011, 8:45am | Comments »
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I posted to youtube.com
Loudon Wainwright "No" tutorial and chords cover by Andy Roberts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A60GHiqdAGw&feature=youtube_gdata
August 8 2010, 11:10am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
People Are Strange - The Doors
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2010/04/people-are-strange-doors.html
People Are Strange - The Doors People are strange when you're a stranger Faces look ugly when you're alone Women seem wicked when you're unwanted Streets are uneven when you're down When you're strange Faces come out of the rain When you're strange No one remembers your name When you're strange When you're strange When you're strange
April 28 2010, 3:15am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
Be careful there's a baby in the house
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/be-careful-theres-baby-in-house.html
Lyrics to Be careful there's a baby in the house by Loudon WainwrightBe careful there's a baby in the house,And a baby will not be fooledIt will think and do what it wants to until you get it schooled.Be careful there's a baby in the house,And a baby will play it for real if your I love you is an IOU don't expect to get a good deal look out momma, look out dad your bundle of joy will not be hadif the blanket is blue if the blanket is pink you'd best watch what you do you'd best watch what you thinkBe careful there's a baby in the house,And a baby can spot your schtick all the coochy coochy coo is a lot of poo poo when you spread it on that thickBe careful there's a baby in the house,And a baby is better than smartit can waddle through all the stuff you do never mind your big head start
October 27 2009, 11:05am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
Thankyou Mister Hubble - Loudon Wainwright
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/10/thankyou-mister-hubble-loudon.html
Thankyou Mister Hubble by Loudon Wainwright unrecordedAm................................Dm..............Dm7Thankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescopeE............................................................Am.....................We learned there's more than double now , the amount of rope Am...................................................F....................................We have with which to hang ourselves, things are so much worseE..........................................................Am..........................EThere's so much more that's out there,I'm talking universes.Thankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescopeWhy go to the trouble now to push the envelope?We're just so insignificant what the hells the point?We're not handfuls but specks of dust in this gigantic jointC..............................G.................C...................G......We used to thing that jupiter and mars were pretty largeE............................Am...................E...........................Am......and though our little world was small somehow we were in chargeThe milky way so miniscule despite what we pretendIt's hardly worth looking at through your giant lensesThankyou Mister Hubble, for your telescopeI hate to burst the bubble but god there's not much hopeor faith that such a thing exists what is religion worth?What in god's name would waste six days to make this puny earth?
October 20 2009, 6:23am | Comments »
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I posted to distributedresearch.net
Rowan Tree Folk Song
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2009/10/01/rowan-tree-folk-song
The little wild rowan tree (sorbus aucuparia) in my front garden is looking great at this time of year, although half the berries are gone already thanks to hungry blackbirds. I planted it there about ten years ago, and it’s taken its time to grow upwards in the shadow of a great big sycamore, but in the last two years it has managed to get itself firmly established and is turning into a mature specimen tree. I was told that its not uncommon for people in Scotland to plant rowan trees in front of houses, partly from sentimental attachment to the wild Scottish countryside, and also to help keep the witches away. I didn’t know anything about that at the time, but it does seem to have worked.
Rowan Tree Song So I wrote my song about the rowan tree, whilst I was in Scotland as it happens, and then worked on the music and finishing off back home. Motivated by the approach of Halloween, which tends to get celebrated at Havering Folk Club, I’ve tried it out twice now, once at the regular Tuesday Evening 7.00pm webcast and once at the folk club last night, where it was encouragingly well received. There’s no video from the session last night, but the early prototype from the webcast is embedded below, followed by some form of the lyrics. Sometimes called the mountain ash, this is a native rowan tree, not a cultivar, and the berries glow a light red colour in the autumn sunlight, making for welcome food for blackbirds and thrushes, although they always leave the more difficult bunches at the end of delicate branches until last, due to the danger of falling off.
Lyrics of The Rowan Tree
Lyrics to “The Rowan Tree”, a folk song by Andy Roberts Come hear my story, it’s a tale of four witches but I could have added three more And heed my advice if you’re troubled by witches Just plant a Rowan tree outside your front door And the branches sway in the faintest of breezes the berries are red bright and fair. And I’ve not had much trouble with those witchee witches Not since I planted my Rowan tree there Well the Witch of the West was cunning and sly She had me always on the run And I never knew which way her nose was pointing Not until after she’d been there and gone. And the branch tips dance…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the East was just counting the years and somehow that three became five. Then her time was up and she vanished away Now nobody knows if she’s dead or alive. And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the South was trouble from the start Her fancy was playing with fire The anger rose up as the coals glowed white and the smoke billowed higher and higher And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there The Witch of the North is not like the rest She uses her powers for good As the Rowan tree watches and nods in approval and keeps us both safe from the dark witchee wood And the branches sway…. planted my Rowan tree there So that was my story the tale of four witches I could have mentioned three more Now heed my advice if you’re troubled by witches Just plant a rowan tree outside your front door And the branch tips dance in the faintest of breezes The berries are red, bright and fair. I’ve not had much trouble with those witchee witches Not since I planted my rowan tree there.
Rowan Tree Berries
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Related posts:Mozambique at Havering Folk Club
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October 1 2009, 3:02pm | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
You can count on me to do my part
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-can-count-on-me-to-do-my-part.html
Song by Mose Allison covered by Wizz JonesLet's talk it over, let's get it straightDon't let the situation escalateYou know there's always problems when a man is wrapped up in his artBut don't you worry baby you can count on me to do my partYou keep on working, I'm looking roundDon't let you girlfriends put me downYou know it's tough these days for a proud man to make a startBut don't you worry baby you can count on me to do my partYou wash the dishes, I've gotta runYou know that night life ain't such funNow don't wait up for me cause I know you need your rest, sweetheartBut don't you worry baby you can count on me to do my part
July 20 2009, 4:59pm | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
Grow Fins
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/03/grow-fins.html
Grow FinsNow here ya come babyWith yer tail draggin' the gravyY' know yer P's 'n Q'sWhat ya don't know babyIs you givin' me the bluesYa got juice on your chinEggs on the drain-boardPie on the wallDirt on the rugI come home late'N I stumbled 'n sworeYa won't even give me a hugYa had my things all laid out by the doorI'm leavin'I'm gonna take up with ah mermaid'N leave you land lubbin' women alone'N leave you land-lubbin' women aloneYa said ya had it together onceNow yer head's around the bendI'm tellin' ya womanYa better get it bach together againI'm gonna grow fins'N go back in the water againIf ya don't leave me aloneI'm gonna take up with ah mermaid'N leave you land-lubbin' women alone'N leave you land-lubbin' women aloneNow here ya come babyWith yer tail draggin' the gravyYa know yer P's 'n Q'sWhat ya don't know womanIs yer givin' me the bluesCaptain Beefheart = Don Van Vliet
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March 25 2009, 3:48am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
Big Eyed Beans From Venus
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-eyed-beans-from-venus.html
Big Eyed Beans From VenusDistant cousins, there's a limited supply.And we're down to the dozens, and this is why:Big Eyed Beans from Venus! Oh my, oh my.Boys and girls,Earth people around the circle,Mixtures of man alive.Big eyed beans from Venus,Don't let anything get in between us.Beam in on me baby,and we'll beam togetherI know we always been together,but there's more.Mister Zoot Horn Rollo, hit that long lunar note,and let it float.Men let your wallets flop out,and women open your purses,Cause a man or a woman without a big eyed bean from VenusIs suffering with the worstest of cursesYeah, you're suffering, with the worstest of curses.Put 'em out in the sun, and when the night comeYou don't have to go out and get 'emThey'll glow with youThey'll go with youThey'll show with youAin't no losersCause they're on the right trackCause they're on the right trackYou can be on the right track, woman,Of course, of courseAin't no SNAFU, no fol-de-rolCheck these out, Big eyed beans from VenusOh, let a few out, let 'em pass in between usDistant cousins, there's a limited supply.And we're down to the dozens, and this is why...Don't let anything get in between us!Big eyed beans from VenusBig eyed beans from Venus.
March 25 2009, 3:46am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/03/day-in-life.html
I read the news today oh, boyAbout a lucky man who made the gradeAnd though the news was rather sadWell, i just had to laughI saw the photographHe blew his mind out in a carHe didn't notice that the lights had changedA crowd of people stood and staredThey'd seen his face beforeNobody was really sure if he was from the house of lordsI saw a film today oh, boyThe english army had just won the warA crowd of people turned awayBut i just had to lookHaving read the bookI love to turn you on.Woke up, got out of bedDragged a comb across my headFound my way downstairs and drank a cupAnd looking up, i noticed i was lateFound my coat and grabbed my hatMade the bus in seconds flatFound my way upstairs and had a smokeSomebody spoke and i went into a dreamAhI read the news today oh, boyFour thousand holes in blackburn, lancashireAnd though the holes were rather smallThey had to count them allNow they know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hallI'd love to turn you on
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March 17 2009, 10:26am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
Irene Goodnight - Leadbelly
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/03/irene-goodnight-leadbelly.html
Irene good night Irene good nightGood night Irene Good night IreneI'll see you in my dreamsLast Saturday night I got marriedMe and my wife settled downNow me and my wife have partedI'm gonna take a little stroll downtownIrene good night Irene good nightGood night Irene Good night IreneI'll see you in my dreamsSome times I live in the countrySome times I live in townSome times I take a great notionTo jump in the river and drownIrene good night Irene good nightGood night Irene Good night IreneI'll see you in my dreamsQuit your rambling quit your gamblingStop staying out late at nightStay home with your wife and familyAnd stay by the fireside of rightIrene good night Irene good nightGood night Irene Good night IreneI'll see you in my dreamsIrene good night Irene good nightGood night Irene Good night IreneI'll see you in my dreams
March 14 2009, 6:39am | Comments »
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I posted to andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com
The Truro Agricultural Show (Agericultural)
http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/truro-agricultural-show-agericultural.html
The Bath and West of England Show visited Cornwall in 1861. The Royal Cornwall Show was merged with it and the combined event held at Truro. This must have been a HUGE event and the song seems to have been written as a kind of way to get the news out and gather in the crowds. A Nineteenth century equivalent to the youtube viral video. The Truro Agericultural ShowGood people all who hear my voice, you now have reason to rejoice;For off to Truro you may go, to see the Agricultural Show;But don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show.A motley crew you will see there, fat farmers and their wives so rareTheir bounc'n daughters neat & clean, wi' a porkpie hat &a;crinolineSo don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.From Newlyn east and Saint Columb too, there's Humpback'd Jimand Carroty Joe; and a special train upon the rail,to bring all the thieves from Bodmin Gaol.So don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.They've got a band from Plymouth down, the best that ever was in the town; And all the gentry will be there -'tis most as pretty as Whitsun Fair!But don't go kissing the girls you know at Truro Agericultural Show.There's horses, ponies, cows and calves, for Truro don't do things by halves - there be Devon bulls, sheep, pigs, and geese;You can see it all for a shilling a piece!But don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show!There's things up there that'll make you laugh,there's a two-legg'd cow and a nine-legg'd calf;A billiy-goat that comes from Wales, with 16 eyes & 17 tails.So don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show!Now all around I hear you say, "we'll see that show this very day..So off we go, all in a row, to Truro Agericultural Show!"And don't go kissing the girls you know, at Truro Agericultural Show
January 16 2009, 2:51am | Comments »
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