Medúlla is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Indian and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electronic-influenced previous album Vespertine (2001), Björk intended to make an album almost entirely constructed with human vocals, in contrast to the previous album's intense process of composition and multiple layers of instrumentation. The album's title derives from the Latin word for "marrow".

Medúlla received critical acclaim from music critics, with many calling it "unique", although others deemed it "confusing". Although album was not as commercially successful as her previous albums, it did reach number one in the charts of France, Iceland and Wallonia, whilst also peaking within the top ten in the United Kingdom. Medúlla is estimated to have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and received two nominations at the 47th Grammy Awards.

Two singles were released from Medúlla: "Who Is It" and "Triumph of a Heart", with both charting inside the top 40 in the United Kingdom and the top 10 in Spain. Björk further promoted the album by performing the song "Oceania" at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and other television and radio shows. Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla, as Björk thought it would be too difficult to play the songs live.

Background and production

Björk began working on her fifth studio album in 2002, being known as The Lake Album at the time. In an interview with The New Yorker, she explained that she wanted to avoid instruments and electronics present on her previous album, Vespertine (2001), and said that the project was "very introverted" and "was avoiding eye contact". Whilst she was finishing Vespertine, Björk wanted to make an album composed of vocals, and wanted to since her teenage years. According to her, majority of the album is related to the time when she was 17 to 18 years old, focusing on life, love, family, and friends. She commented that she used to live "carefree" as a teenager, and how others affected the way she thought, saying that it is shown in Medúlla. She was inspired by paganism, and the idea of returning to a universe that is entirely human, without tools or religion or nationalities. "I wanted the record to be like muscle, blood, flesh. We could be in a cave somewhere and one person would start singing, and another person would sing a beat and then the next person sing a melody, and you could just kind of be really happy in your cave. It's quite rootsy", she added.

240px|thumb|left|Björk performing in 2003, when she was writing Medúlla

Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer who worked with Björk on her 2001 Vespertine world tour, was also featured. Björk was so impressed with her voice's ability that she invited Tagaq to work with her on the album. She asked British singer Robert Wyatt to be a featured vocalist on the album, as she was looking for something more "passionate" and "human". Björk also invited the London and Icelandic choirs, in order to have a classical feel on the album. However, the "musical fascist" in her decided using any MCs or vocal percussionists would be too "cheesy"; she later changed her mind when she saw beatboxer Rahzel from The Roots freestyle a whole Kraftwerk track without pausing for breath. Björk found his voice "above and beyond any cliché" and thought he was perfect for the album's beat-based songs. Another beatboxer, Dokaka, was invited after Björk got a link to his webpage and liked his covers so much that she decided to work with him; he appears on a few songs.

American singer Beyoncé was planned to be featured on the album as well, but she did not appear due to scheduling issues. When asked what she liked about Beyoncé, Björk stated that "[Medúlla] is an album about voices, and she's got the most amazing voice." The hair mask was created by Icelandic artist Shoplifter. The artist stated that in 2004, she had a show at ATM Gallery, where she displayed a wall mural made of brown braids. Björk appreciated it, and then invited her to work on creating a hair sculpture for the Medúllas character. She also explained that the singer wanted it to have a darkness about it, and then she sent Björk several references of extreme hairstyles, and because the album was made with voices, Björk wanted something that was part of the human body.

Van Lamsweerde said that they "were all inspired by women's handicrafts and this idea of being in your own cocoon in your home, with your family, and this reclusive character that hand-makes the whole world around her". The hairpiece was part of her 2015 MoMA retrospective. In an interview with Style magazine, Shoplifter talked about her part at the exhibition, explaining that it dedicated a room to each album of Björk's career, with the Medúlla section having a mannequin wearing the hair mask and the dress designed by Alexander McQueen which she wore in the music video for "Who Is It". She had struggled to choose a suitable title while preparing the album. She said that something in her "wanted to leave out civilisation, to rewind to before it all happened and work out, 'Where is the human soul? What if we do without civilisation and religion and patriotism, without the stuff that has gone wrong?'" She provisionally called it Ink, a title that suggested to her the idea of "that black, 5,000-year-old blood that's inside us all; an ancient spirit that's passionate and dark and survives." Her friend Gabriela then suggested "medulla", a medical term for "marrow" in Latin.

Composition

Style and influences

At the time of its construction, Björk considered Medúlla to be her most political album, saying that it countered outbreaks of racism and patriotism that followed the 11 September attacks. "On 9/11, in the space of a half an hour, this became the most patriotic place on earth", she recalled. "I remember describing to my friends on my phone that [if] I turned 180 degrees anywhere I was in New York. I would count at least 37 American flags. So it was kind of scary for a foreigner to be here". Regarding the album's composition, Björk also mentioned that she tried to find the common soul in everything, outside nationality and religion, whilst elaborating that she felt that "in that sense, it's a greatest hits of human spiritualism [laughs]. I think it's the first time I have done an album while I am reading the news. These are crazy times. It just seems that patriotism is a bad idea. I don't know how directly the album reflects that, but it is sort of anti-patriotic. Anti-Iceland as much as anti-anything".

Medúlla is almost entirely a cappella, and experimental music. musicOMH's review stated that, "Despite its voice-only premise, Medúlla shows off a mile-wide scope of influences", noting elements of folk and medieval music, despite Björk previously stating that Medúlla was "folk music, but without any folk attached" to the album. Wondering Sound wrote that despite "its comparative starkness, [Medúlla is] every bit as sensual as [Vespertine]". The album combines beatboxing, classical choirs that suggest composers like Penderecki or Arvo Pärt, and "mews, moans, counterpoint and guttural grunts" provided by herself and guests like Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt and Tanya Tagaq. "Show Me Forgiveness", an a cappella "short confessional anthem" follows, having no other effect than a subtle echo exerted onto her voice. She sings: "Show me forgiveness / For having lost faith in myself / And let my own interior up / To inferior forces / The shame is endless". "Demonic vocals" are delivered by singer Mike Patton, and "angelically dissonant swaths of lush singing" from the Icelandic Choir; as Rahzel beatboxes, the choir emotes some "ahhhs". The song grows darker as it builds up as the male members of the choir deliver heavier sounds. The "somber" song called "Vökuró", originally by Jórunn Viðar, is the fourth track on Medúlla. Some lyrics of the song—"Who is it that never lets you down?"—may be understood to reflect a "mother's unconditional love" in a dialogue between mother and child. The echo effects in "Who Is It" may additionally reflect the scattered sense of self the mother may experience as she carries the burden of constant care for her child. "Submarine", the seventh track on the album, was influenced by Björk's pregnancy with her daughter Ísadóra and how she felt somewhat lazy during that time.

The ninth song, "Oceania", is about "Mother Oceania", from whom Björk believes all life materialised, whilst she sings: "You have done well for yourselves / Since you left my wet embrace / And crawled ashore". "Oceania" also features The London Choir. Tenth song "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" was based on the poem "It May Not Always Be So; And I Say" by E. E. Cummings, and features only Björk's singing, with small inflections from the Icelandic Choir The twelfth song "Mouth's Cradle" is paced by a "glug, glug" sample of "what might as well be the emptying of a gallon bottle of water". Lyrically, she concludes: "I need a shelter to build an altar away from Osamas and Bushes". as well as hooks coming from a "human trombone", herself, Gregory Purnhagen, and Rahzel and Dokaka.

Release and promotion

On 3 August 2004, BBC Radio 1's The Breezeblock show premiered the tracks "Pleasure Is All Mine" and "Mouth's Cradle", whilst The New York Times newspaper has posted on their website short clips for four tracks "Mouth's Cradle", "Oceania", "Where Is the Line" and "Who Is It". Medúlla was first released on 30 August 2004 worldwide through Polydor Records, whilst it was distributed in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records. In the United States, the album was released the day after, by Elektra Records. also peaking within the top 30 in Italy and the United Kingdom. Second single "Triumph of a Heart" peaked at the top ten in Spain, and reached the top 40 in Italy and the United Kingdom.

"Oceania" was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee and performed at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. She wore a very large dress which unfolded during her performance to eventually occupy the entire stadium and showed a map of the world in sign of union. On 8 October 2004, Björk performed at the BBC Studios for the show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She performed a bell choir mix of "Who Is It" with Rahzel and an English bell choir. On 10 October 2004, Björk performed a set of five songs live in studio for Gilles Peterson's BBC Radio 1 program. On 25 October 2004, Björk performed a set of six songs for the French television show Album de la Semaine at Canal+ studios in Paris, France.

Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla. Björk said in an interview that "everybody involved seems to be up for it, so maybe they'll all come on the road. What I'd like to do is make another album like this and then tour for two of them at once". She also spoke to Rolling Stone in June 2004 and told that she wished to immediately continue writing and recording yet another new album: "Every album I've done, the minute that it's done, I feel really lubricated and, like, 'Wow, now I can write an album in five minutes'... And I just want to find out if that's just a fantasy or if it's true." In 2015, the album was adapted into an opera at La Monnaie by Sjaron Minailo and Anat Spiegel.

Critical reception

Medúlla received acclaim from music critics. The album holds a rating of 84 out of 100 at Metacritic. Matthew Gasteier from Prefix magazine called Medúlla her most exuberant album since Post, as well as her oddest at the time. Mark Daniell from Canadian website Jam! also gave it a positive review, saying "pairing gooey purrs with grooves provided by a human trombone might not seem like a good idea, but when Björk is the one making the arrangements the effect is spine tingling". Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club said that "once perceptions and expectations settle out... the album proves arrestingly in thrall to its own twisted tongue". E! Online commented that "fans of the Icelandic wonder's more orchestral tunes might think there's something missing here. Well, unless they're too busy being totally blown away". David Hooper from BBC Music gave Medúlla a mixed review, praising its high points and lack of dullness, but feeling that the album left him "rather confused" due to what he found to be excessive experimentation, thus remarking that the album was "disjointed" and "claustrophobic". Björk received two Grammy Award nominations for Medúlla, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Oceania", and Best Alternative Music Album. The album was also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, Medúlla debuted at its peak of number nine on the UK Albums Chart, for the issue dated 11 September 2004, and remained for three weeks on the chart. In Björk's native Iceland, the album debuted at the top of the chart, staying there for three weeks. It peaked at number two in Italy, spending nine weeks on the chart. selling 65,000 copies in its first week and remaining for seven weeks inside the chart. In Australia, Medúlla debuted at number 17 on the ARIA Charts, on the issue dated 12 September 2004. It spent three weeks on the chart, falling off at number 40.

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Björk, except "Where Is the Line", "Submarine" and "Oceania", produced with Mark Bell.

Notes

The following track titles are roughly translated from Icelandic to English:

  • “Vökuró” = wakefulness
  • “Öll Birtan” = all the light
  • “Miðvikudags” = Wednesday
  • “Komið” = come

Personnel

Credits adapted from Medúlla liner notes.

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! scope="row"| European Albums (Billboard)

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| 9

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| 10

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! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS)

| 9

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!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)

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Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for Medúlla

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! scope="col"| Chart (2004)

! scope="col"| Position

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! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

| 98

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! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| 105

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Certifications and sales

Notes

References

  • Medúlla at bjork.com