What does Björk sound like?

Abstract chaos, love, and light – this time in flute septet form!

The review of ‘Cornucopia’ by Björk

Never let it be said that Björk is boring. Always trying out new ideas and bringing life to the stage, ‘Cornucopia’ is probably the most intricate and most ambitious tour that Björk has done to date, with the arguable exception of the Biophilia tour. There are a lot of similarities between the two tours, with both having unique custom instruments, elaborate visual effects and unique staging. In a production so big, Björk could almost feel small on stage at times, if it weren’t for her mighty stage presence and powerful voice, which continues to enthral and entrance.

The video edition contains 23 tracks in just over 90 minutes. The concert itself focuses firmly on the ‘Utopia’ and ‘Fossora’ albums, with the latter released during the tour as the original run was paused for the pandemic. After working songs from ‘Fossora’ into the setlist, the tour resumed, and this is the version that was recorded. I find that each album of Björk’s follows a certain instrument or sound, and with ‘Utopia’, it was the turn of flutes. As she says on the recording, “flutes can rock”, and they indeed do. The main musical twist is the flute septet Viibra, who play, sing, and dance around the stage like heavenly fawns. We also get The Hamrahlid Choir joining in for several songs in the middle of the concert, standing out for their vocal-only interpretation of ‘Hidden Place’.

Speaking of interpretations, one of the best things about ‘Cornucopia’ is that almost every track has had some kind of reimagining. Some are shortened like ‘Utopia’ and ‘Arisen My Senses’ to flow like a narrative medley. ‘Pagan Poetry’ is totally reversed, so it flows seamlessly into ‘Losss’, and many tracks feel like pairs. As the flutes lead the way, this concert is less brash and bombastic than previous tours. The bridge for ‘Isobel’ is regal and effervescent as the percussion is turned down into electronic blips. That said, even ballads with harps are swapped out for the aluphone and water bowls. Elsewhere, a circular flute descends from the ceiling around Björk for Viibra to play, and a magnetic harp pops up, too. One of the oddest yet delightfully geeky additions is a reverb chamber. It looks like a little flower pot home in the corner of the stage. Björk and Viibra pop in there to sing or play on a couple of songs where reverb and echo make a huge impact. It’s like we are seeing her own personal playground, and thankfully, she left a window and light on!

Personal highlights include the wildly chaotic rendition of ‘Mouth’s Cradle’, watching the air snakes fly around to ‘Features Creatures’, and the absolute raw emotion of ‘Sue Me’ as Björk spits out the chorus like a violent dare. However, the centrepiece is ‘Body Memory’. Probably the only extended track, this 11-minute behemoth is an absolute masterclass of songwriting, performance, and staging. I was captivated and quite emotional by the end.

Staging is a tricky thing to convey when transferring a live art installation to recorded release, but I think ‘Cornucopia’ gets it bang on. The stage had 27 moving curtains to project all kinds of art, and a massive screen behind it. Some of the projections are beautifully in sync with the music, in particular when they follow harpist Katie Buckley and her commands. The visuals in the background are stunning and merge nature, fungi, particles, humanity, death, and Björk’s face in about 100 different alternative alien forms. The video release takes a lot of these projections and imposes them over the top of the live performers. Sometimes it cuts back and forth. Other times, you’ll see snapshots from afar to see the curtains and screens in full effect. The video cuts move in sync with each song’s rhythm and style, and it is rare to see such artistic care applied to a live release. At times, it is a sensory overload, designed to bring up emotion, and I was along for the ride willingly. My only tiny complaint is that subtitles are burned into the release and not optional. The video release contains no bonus features either, which is a shame. I’d have loved to have seen how those custom instruments came into being.

The visual and technical spectacle of ‘Cornucopia’ will keep you invested and amazed from start to finish. Björk’s message to wake up and look after our planet and our children continues to reverberate around the speakers with every word. It gave me renewed appreciation, particularly for tracks on ‘Fossora’, and shows that Björk can belt out a banger no matter what instrumentation she has around her. Remarkable.

Recommended track: Body Memory

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