Björk continues to inspire and experiment with the release of her tenth studio album, and first in five years, fossora, via One Little Independent Records.
fossora, a word created by Björk, is the feminised version of the Latin word for ‘digger,’ and a reflection on roots, grounding, love, and family in the context of an underground mushroom world. The album is produced by Björk and recorded by Bergur Thorisson.
The new album finds Björk nesting at home in Iceland through the pandemic long enough to set down roots – both literally in her hometown Reykjavík and symbolically. While Björk’s last album, 2017’s critically acclaimed Utopia, was a city in the clouds, fossora is the sonic opposite: an earth-focused, natural eco-system of bass clarinets and punchy sub-bass.
“each album always starts with a feeling
that i try to shape into sound
this time around
the feeling was landing
on the earth and digging my feet into the ground
(after my last album utopia which was all island in the clouds element air and no bass )
it was also woven into how i experienced the “now”
this time around 7 billion of us did it together
nesting in our homes quarantining
being long enough in one place that we shot down roots
my new album “fossora” is about that
it is a word i made up
it is the feminine of fossore ( digger, delver, ditcher )
so in short it means “she who digs” ( into the ground )
so sonically it is about bass , heavy bottom-end ,
we have 6 bass clarinets and punchy sub”
björk”
The album features contributions from serpentwithfeet; Björk’s son, Sindri, and daughter, Ísadóra; clarinet sextet Murmuri; the Hamrahlíð Choir; Emilie Nicolas; Kasimyn of Gabber Modus Operandi; sideproject; El Guincho; many of Björk’s Icelandic acoustic musical collaborators; and bass clarinets, strings, trombones and more.
The album also deals with legacy, with two tracks paying tribute to her late mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, who died in 2018.