Medúlla

Medúlla
Studio album by Björk
Released	August 30, 2004 (UK)
Recorded	Greenhouse (Iceland), Estúdio Ilha Dos Sapos (Brazil), La Hoyita Studios (Spain)[1]
Genre	A cappella, beatboxing, vocal, folk, avant-garde, Inuit throat singing, experimental
Length	45:40
Language	English, Icelandic
Label	One Little Indian Warner Bros.
Producer	Björk, Mark Bell
Björk chronology
Live Box (2003) Medúlla (2004) Army of Me: Remixes and Covers (2005)
Singles from Medúlla
"Who Is It" Released: October 18, 2004 "Triumph of a Heart" Released: February 28, 2005

Medúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals. Medúlla received two Grammy Award nominations and reached number one in several record charts.

Background and structure

Björk struggled to find a title for the album, originally calling it "Ink", as she wanted the title to represent the "5,000 year-old blood that's inside us all; an ancient spirit that's passionate and dark, a spirit that survives."^[2] A friend then suggested "Medúlla", a medical term for bone marrow in Latin.^[2]

At the time of its construction, Björk considered Medúlla to be her most political album,^[3] saying that it countered outbreaks of racism and patriotism that followed the September 11, 2001, attacks.^[3] These messages are prominent throughout the album, especially on the song "Mouth's Cradle". Björk also stated that being pregnant with her daughter, Ísadóra, influenced the album, particularly the song "Submarine".^[3][4] Björk described "Submarine" as a song meant to call her attention to wake up and work, because she felt that maybe she got somewhat lazy after having her daughter.

The album consists almost entirely of human vocals and a cappella arrangements; only a few musical instruments are featured: a bass synthesizer on "Who Is It", piano on "Ancestors" and a gong on "Pleasure Is All Mine". However, the vocals are sometimes processed or sampled: for example, the atmospheric haze that dominates "Desired Constellation" was created from a sample of Björk singing the phrase "I'm not sure what to do with it" from "Hidden Place" on her previous album, Vespertine; another example are the cut-up vocals in "Mouth's Cradle"; and also, the beat noises on "Miðvikudags" are made out of Björk clicking her tongue. The album features beatboxing, choral arrangements and throat singing, as well as guest appearances by such artists as Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt, Tanya Tagaq, Rahzel (formerly of The Roots), Shlomo and Dokaka.

All songs were written by Björk, except the lyrics for "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" which was based on the poem It May Not Always Be So; And I Say by E. E. Cummings, and the song "Vökuró", originally by Jórunn Viðar.

The album was originally released on CD, SACD and on DVD-Audio and SACD in 5.1-channel advanced resolution. The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including a lower-quality DTS 96/24 version of the original advanced resolution 5.1 mix. The DualDisc also formed part of the ( surrounded): box set.

Promotion

"Oceania" was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee and performed at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games. 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.^[5] Additionally, Björk wore "bluish-purple glittery eye shadow across her lids. Her dark hair dangled in tiny twists that framed her pixieish, freckled face".^[6]

On October 8, 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.^[7]

On October 15, 2004, Björk performed a set of six songs for the French television show Album de la Semaine at Canal Studio in Paris, France.

On July 2, 2005, Björk performed in Tokyo, Japan at the Makuhari Messe for Live 8.^[8] She performed a set of nine songs, accompanied by electronic duo Matmos, a Japanese string octet and harpist Zeena Parkins.

On January 7, 2006, Björk performed in Reykjavík, Iceland at the Stórtónleikar. The major concert in Iceland was announced in the Icelandic Morgunblaðið newspaper in support of the Icelandic Nature Preserve. Björk appeared on the bill alongside Ham, Magga Stína, Múm, Sigur Rós, Hjálmar, KK, Rass, Ghostigital, Damon Albarn and Egó. Björk was accompanied by Zeena Parkins on harp and she performed three songs.

Some tracks such as "Who Is It?" or "Show Me Forgiveness" were previously performed on the Greatest Hits Tour.

Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla. Björk said in numerous interviews that this was because she wished to immediately continue writing and recording yet another new album. She spoke to Rolling Stone in June 2004: "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." Also, Björk thought it would be too difficult to play the songs live.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
The A.V. Club	favourable [12]
Entertainment Weekly	A [13]
The Guardian	[14]
NME	8/10[15]
Pitchfork Media	8.4/10 [16]
Spin	B+ [17]
Stylus Magazine	A [18]
Robert Christgau	[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]

Medúlla received general acclaim from critics; The Guardian gave it 5 stars out of 5 and heralded it as "brave and unique". Pitchfork Media concluded: "Medulla is an interesting record...(Björk)'s found a way to bathe her immediately distinctive melodies and vocal nuances in solutions that cause me to reevaluate her voice and her craft". Rolling Stone stated that "Medulla is both the most extreme record Bjork has ever released and the most immediately accessible." In more balanced reviews, Andy Battaglia of A.V. Music said that "Once perceptions and expectations settle out... the album proves arrestingly in thrall to its own twisted tongue", while Allmusic thought that Medúlla is "not an immediate album, but it is a fascinating one, especially for anyone interested in the world's oldest instrument being used in unexpected ways."

Björk received two Grammy Award nominations for Medúlla, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Oceania", and Best Alternative Music Album. The album holds a rating of 84/100 at Metacritic. This album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The album reached a position of number nine on the UK Albums Chart and number 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200, her highest position at the time. It also reached number one in Estonia, France, Iceland and Belgium (Wallonia).

Medúlla has sold 235,000 copies in the U.S. and more than 1 million worldwide.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Björk, except where noted. 

Personnel

Produced by Björk, except #3, 7 and 9, co-produced by Mark Bell.
Björk - vocals, bass synthesizer (on 1,6)
Additional vocals - Tagaq (1,6,11,12), Mike Patton (1,3), Robert Wyatt (7,9)
Human beatbox - Rahzel (1,3,6,12,14), Shlomo (9), Dokaka (14)
Gregory Purnhagen - human trombone (3,14)
The Icelandic Choir (1,3,4,8,10,11)
The London Choir (9)
Nico Muhly - piano (11)
Mark Bell - bass synthesizer (12)
Peter Van Hooke - gong (1) ^[22]

Charts and certifications

References

External links

• Medúlla mini-site
• Medúlla at Metacritic
• Medúlla releases at Discogs