Volta (album)
| Volta | ||||
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| Björk's studio album | ||||
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Publication |
2007 |
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| Label (s) |
One Little Indian Records |
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
51 min 03s |
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Volta is the sixth solo album by the Icelandic singer and songwriter Björk . An inspiration for the album was the tsunami disaster in Indonesia on December 26, 2004 . It was released in Germany on May 9, 2007.
The name of the album
The name of the album Volta refers to the Italian naturalist and inventor Alessandro Volta , the Volta river and reservoir in north-west Africa, as well as the Volta dance from the 16th century.
Track list
- Earth Intruders (Björk, Nate Hills , Timothy Mosley ) - 6:13
- Wanderlust (Björk, Sjón ) - 5:50
- The Dull Flame of Desire - 7:30
- Innocence (Björk, Hills, Mosley) - 4:26
- I See Who You Are ( Mark Bell , Björk) - 4:21
- Vertebrae by Vertebrae - 5:07
- Pneumonia - 5:13
- Hope (Björk, Mosley) - 4:02
- Declare Independence (Bell, Björk) - 4:10
- My Juvenile - 4:01
cooperation
Björk worked with a variety of artists on the album, including again the Icelandic author and poet Sjón , an Icelandic producer who, like Mark Bell, has worked with Björk on several occasions. For the first time a song was created with the American producer Timbaland , who u. a. produced the beats of the single "Earth Intruders". The album also features the singer, songwriter and pianist Antony Hegarty , the two drummers Brian Chippendale and Chris Corsano , the Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté and the Chinese pipa player Min Xiao-Fen . The brass players from "The Icelandic Wonder Brass" to trumpet and flugelhorn complete the orchestra .
Singles
- Earth Intruders (4/07)
- Innocence (7/07)
- Declare Independence (1/08)
- Wanderlust (6/08)
- The Dull Flame of Desire (9/08)
Artwork
On the cover of the album, Björk appears in a colorful sculpture , which is supposed to symbolize the earth and thus captures the concept of the album. It was designed by the German artist Bernhard Wilhem in collaboration with the design agency "m / m <paris>", which u. a. also designed the artwork for the two previous albums Vespertine and Medúlla . The photos were taken by British photographer Nick Knight , who has also worked with Björk for a long time. Further recordings that can be seen inside the album were made by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin .
trip
Björk toured the world for a total of 18 months with the album in 2007/2008. She performed in Iceland, Canada , the USA , Scotland , Ireland , France , Switzerland , Spain , the Netherlands , Denmark , Poland and Belgium . The track list consisted of about 40 songs. On tour for the first time was the Reactable , a modular synthesizer with a tangible user interface that was developed by a group of digital instrument makers at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona . At that time there were only two copies of this unique electronic musical instrument in the world, of which Björk had borrowed one for the Volta tour. The Reactable is now also being produced commercially and is also available as a software instrument for smartphones . Also on tour were other experimental musical instruments such as the Tenori-on from Yamaha and the Lemur , one of the first multi-touch controllers at the time.
criticism
“In contrast to the filigree work she did with countless layers of beats and sounds on› Vespertine ‹, the beats on› Volta ‹sound much more organic and impulsive. More wood, more beats from real drums, more tribal sounds. "
“Björk wanted to bring out a danceable and optimistic album, but anyone expecting itchy party people music is of course (and fortunately) wrong. Her complex expressiveness succeeds all too well in throwing us unexpectedly over cliffs, especially in quiet moments, only to be grabbed and pulled up in free fall. 'I love your eyes my dear, that splendit sparkling fire', she confesses in 'The Dull Flame Of Desire'. While Antony Hegarty, carried by full winds, continues, sensitively broken: '… when suddenly you raise them so to cast a swift embracing glace.' With 'Declare Independence' I can well imagine Björk on stage screaming with her fist raised and cheering on herself and her audience to finally show their colors and celebrate together. "
“African drum rhythms, distorted synth sounds, esoteric worlds of sound, foghorns - and in between this ever-suffering pop siren howls, which is as unique as all of her music. Nobody has experimented as successfully in pop biz as Björk. "
“Despite the softer sounds, the use of real instruments instead of just her voice as a sound machine and a small step towards the mainstream, one wonders with one or the other song what exactly she is telling us. Like the continuous sequence of the first single 'Earth Intruders', in which you hear nothing but marching people. […] Björk will probably never go completely mainstream. Their motto was to make a 'full-bodied' album. She succeeded - at last it's really fun to listen to her again. "
Web links
- Volta mini site with lyrics
- Sueddeutsche.de, "I was bored as hell" - Interview from May 7, 2007
- Dummy Magazine, "Electro-Pagan Thing" - Interview from June 13, 2007 (English)
- Björk Volta Tour Blog
- zeit.de: The Electronic Shaman - Report from May 3, 2007
Individual evidence
- ^ Pitchfork Feature, Interview: Björk ( Memento from April 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), April 23, 2007
- ↑ Sueddeutsche.de, “I've been bored as hell” , interview from May 7, 2007
- ↑ Bjork.com, Volta Mini-Site ( Memento of the original from May 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Apple.com, Field Reports, Alan Pollard: Electronic Experiments ( Memento January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), archived on January 12, 2008
- ↑ Reactable Systems
- ↑ Spex.de, Björk »Volta«, 03.07 ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Intro.de, Björk - Volta Björk's new album is a declaration of love ( memento of the original from July 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 21, 2007
- ↑ 3sat.de, Reingehört… Die “Kulturzeit” CD reviews - Björk: “Volta” , May 4, 2007, [1]
- ↑ laut.de, Björk - Volta
