Björk- Volta

Medúlla was yet another bewitching left turn from Björk, a stripped-back vocally driven effort that initially confounded critics, a testament to her ability to keep breaking new ground. Medúlla was critically lauded, and Björk received two Grammy nominations off the back of it; Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for ‘Oceania’ and Best Alternative Music Album. Sadly, Björk once again left empty-handed, and her Grammy curse continues to this day. As baffling as it is disappointing. 

In between Medúlla and Volta, Björk was typically busy. 2005 saw her collaborating with partner Matthew Barney on the experimental art film Drawing Restraint 9, a dialogue-less love story and exploration of Japanese culture. Björk had a minor role in the movie while also producing the film’s soundtrack. Björk also turned down an opportunity to appear in Michel Gondry’s film, The Science of Sleep, with Charlotte Gainsbourg appearing instead. She did, however, appear in Gunar Karlsson’s 2007 animated film Anna and the Moods alongside Damon Albarn and Terry Jones. 

Musically, Björk remastered her first three solo albums, while she also made a one-off concert appearance with her old band, the Sugarcubes, in Reykjavík. The concert raised funds for the Sugarcubes’ old label, Smekkleysa, who were instrumental in providing platforms for emerging Icelandic musicians. Björk also released the charity album Army of Me: Remixes and Covers to help UNICEF’s work in Southeast Asia following the devastating Boxing Day tsunami. In 2007, Björk contributed a cover of Joni Mitchell’s song ‘The Boho Dance’ to the album, A Tribute to Joni Mitchell. 

The hype around Volta was considerable, with Björk promising a fun, full-bodied album after her previous more introverted releases. The inclusion of hitmaker Timbaland- who co-produced three tracks on the record- only added to the hype. Timbaland had experienced considerable chart success around the time, producing Nelly Furtado’s smash singles, ‘Promiscuous’ and ‘Maneater’, and Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexyback’. Timbaland’s involvement led to speculation that the album would have some hip-hop energy and greater pop sensibilities, with a move back towards the sound of Debut and Post. Derek Birkett, the boss of Björk’s label, One Little Indian Records, described Volta as “the most commercial thing she’s done”. Something Björk wryly observed as the same rhetoric they had trotted out ahead of her previous releases. 

The album features the usual array of contributors from across the globe. Long-time collaborator Mark Bell provided his considerable expertise on several tracks, while Icelandic poet Sjón also returned, helping co-write the album’s fourth single, ‘Wanderlust’. There were several new faces, with Anohni, the lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons, duetting on the tracks ‘The Dull Flame of Desire’ and ‘My Juvenile’. Other contributors included Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, Chinese pipa player Min Xiao-Fen, Congolese ensemble Konono Nº1, and American drummer Brian Chippendale. Björk also cultivated her own fourteen-piece brass section of female Icelandic musicians, who appear on three tracks.  

Volta is a diverse and divisive effort, drifting enthrallingly from the accessible to the obscure. Bold and dramatic, Björk’s voice is outstanding throughout, weaving her way in and out of her dense compositions. The record combines electronic music and brass instrumentation, creating some epic soundclashes that can feel almost overwhelmingly powerful at times. There are quieter moments, but Björk delivers on her promise of producing a full-bodied album. It’s a globe-trotting record incorporating elements of African tribal music, Chinese folk, techno, and industrial music. Thematically, the album is primarily politically driven, though there are also more personal, reflective moments.

The album opens with the anthemic ‘Earth Intruders’, a song that explores themes of war, politics, and the relationship between humans and nature, with Björk likening the former to intruders. The track is propelled by this military-like percussion which is mirrored by the power in Björk’s voice, which occasionally dips into a snarl. The track profits from its cross-cultural contributors, with Konono Nº1 playing these custom-built electric kalimbas which combine with Timbaland’s production to create this kind-of tribal techno. ‘Wanderlust’ pits these relentless, crackling electronic beats against the high-pitched sound of the brass orchestra. Co-written with Sjón, it’s a song that captures Björk’s adventurous spirit, as she sings, “I feel at home whenever the unknown surrounds me”. ‘The Dull Flame of Desire’ features anthemic horns which clash with the song’s uneasy percussion. One of two duets with Anohni, the song’s lyrics are an English translation of a Russian poem by Fyodor Tyutchev, as it appeared in Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. 

‘Innocence’ is an all-out electronic affair, almost sounding like something the Chemical Brothers would produce. It’s a song about embracing fear, as Björk muses, “Fear is a powerful drug”. ‘I See Who You Are’ is a gentle, tender number, drawing upon Chinese influences; the keys sound like a stone plopping across the water, contrasting with the pipa’s harsh plucking. The song is likely about Björk’s daughter, Ísadóra, and their relationship; “And when you get older/I will see the same girl, the same soul”. ‘Vertebrae By Vertebrae’ uses samples from the Drowning Restraint 9 soundtrack, taking the brass section and turning it from atmospheric to dramatic, as Björk sings of this beast which seems to consume her. ‘Pneumonia’ is a more meditative piece, with the sound of falling water and the gentle undulations of the french horns. The song sees Björk reflect on a bout of pneumonia earlier in the year and the sense of isolation it gave her. 

‘Hope’ is a complex, powerful effort, with the dense, hypnotic looped beats and intertwining bassline giving the song an uneasy undercurrent, while the bright, beautiful sound of the kora provides a sense of hope. The song is about a suicide bomber who was pregnant and how the media showed her greater compassion as a result. There’s venom to Björk’s voice as she shares her frustration with events, with the song pinned around the question, “What’s the lesser of two evils?”. ‘Declare Independence’ is a fantastic, confrontational piece of industrial dance-punk. It features another sample from Drawing Restraint 9, shifting it from cinematic to chaotic. Björk courted some minor controversy when after performing the track in China a year later, she shouted, “Tibet! Tibet!”. The final track, a back-and-forth ballad with Anohni, interspersed with the dense plucking of the clavichord, provides a reflective conclusion. The song sees Björk explore her relationship with her son as she grapples with her son’s greater independence (“I clumsily try to free you from me”).

Volta is a largely vibrant, powerful effort if sometimes a little overstuffed. Like any Björk record, it’s constantly engaging and keeps you on the edge of your seat, but some of the tracks seem over-saturated, and it lacks some of her signature melodies. The vast number of guest stars mean some perhaps don’t get enough spotlight to shine in. It doesn’t have some of the pop sensibilities people were seemingly craving, but why on earth would you want Björk to fit neatly into a box? Volta is highly expressive and, at times, confrontational, with tracks like ‘Earth Intruders’ and ‘Declare Independence’ up there with anything she had previously produced. Volta may not stand on the same pedestal as her other releases, but that’s only because Björk set the bar immeasurably high. Volta is well worth a listen.