It’s nice to see that eclectic alt pop singer Björk is coming out of hiding. UK fans can see the outspoken music legend this summer for a three week residency at the Manchester International Festival. Biophilia, Björk‘s newly announced live spectacle will be unveiled June 30th at Campfield Market Hall where she will be performing six intimate shows to crowds of 1,800 people, marking her first live UK appearance in over three years. According to the press release, Biophilia is where music, nature and technology meet:
“A multi-media project encompassing music, apps, Internet, installations
and live shows, Biophilia celebrates how sound works in nature, exploring the infinite
expanse of the universe, from planetary systems to atomic structure.”
Music and apps will be available to download via iTunes and the App Store so look out for those as we get closer to the performance dates. As far as the live shows are concerned, Björk will be performing new tracks from her forthcoming Biophilia studio album as well as select songs from her extensive back catalog of hits. Fans can also expect a unique orchestra of bizarre and beautiful musical instruments,
“The show will feature a range of specially conceived and crafted instruments, among them a bespoke digitally-controlled pipe organ; a 30 foot pendulum that harnesses the earth’s gravitational pull to create musical patterns – creating a unique bridge between the ancient and the modern; a bespoke gamelan-celeste hybrid; and a one-off extraordinary pin barrel harp. These devices make visible some of the physical processes that are the subject matter of tracks.”
Don’t live in the UK? Well don’t worry! In collaboration with Manchester International Festival (MIF), the Biophilia experience will travel to major cities all over the world following it’s Manchester premiere so you can catch it in a city near you. Catering to an all ages crowd, MIF will be putting on educational workshops and working with the young people of Manchester, exploring “the musicological, scientific and technological ideas behind the project” – a musical science fair of sorts. This sounds really interesting…
As far as the album is concerned, there isn’t a whole lot of information available just yet. We do know that the album was recorded partly on an iPad and that it will be released in the form of a series of apps – becoming the first “app album.” {SOURCE 1, 2} Check this space for further details on the festival and the album. Looking forward to hearing what Björk has been working on since 2007’s Volta.
BJÖRK – BIOPHILIA
CAMPFIELD MARKET HALL, CAMPFIELD AVENUE ARCADE, MANCHESTER M3 4FH
THURSDAY, JUNE 30 at 20:30
SUNDAY, JULY 3 at 16:00
THURSDAY, JULY 7 at 20:30
SUNDAY, JULY 10 at 16:00
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13 at 20:30
SATURDAY, JULY 16 at 20:30
Tickets £45 (no per ticket booking fee; transaction charge applies)
Concession available
Box Office: www.mif.co.uk / Quaytickets +44 (0) 161 876 2198