Björk Digital
Björk Digital is an “immersive”[1] virtual reality exhibit by Icelandic musician Björk featuring 360-degree VR music videos from her eighth studio album, Vulnicura. The exhibit debuted at Carriageworks in Sydney, Australia as part of the Vivid Sydney festival on 4 June 2016 and has traveled across the globe to Tokyo, London, Mexico and the United States with future cities yet to be announced. It is expected to run a total of 18 months.[2]
Björk has promoted the traveling exhibit with a series of opening night DJ sets and acoustic, strings-only concert, premiering at London’s famous Royal Albert Hall on 21 September 2016. Her debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, took place on 30 May 2017.
Björk Digital is expected to be released on a wide variety of VR platforms as well as Apple and Android devices. The release date has not yet been announced.
Background and development
Björk first began experimenting with virtual reality technology in 2014 when she and director Andrew Thomas Hang made “Stonemilker”, the first song from the singer's critically acclaimed 2015 album Vulnicura. “I feel the chronological narrative of the album is ideal for the private circus virtual reality is,” Björk said, calling VR, “a theatre able to capture the emotional landscape of (Vulnicura)."
80 Samsung Gear VR headsets were utilized for Björk Digital, and the VR project was ported to the HTC Vive “for a more immersive experience that comes with full room tracking.” River Studios, a San Francisco-based VR COMPANY, produced the exhibit while the videos themselves were commissioned and produced by a wide variety of other collaborators.[3]
On 17 March 2016 Björk Digital was announced as one of the headlining events at Vivid Sydney 2016,[4][5] an annual music and arts festival in Sydney, Australia. In addition, Vivid Syndey announced that Björk herself would DJ the opening night party of the VR exhibit on 3 June 2016. Tickets to the opening night DJ set quickly sold out, leading to a second DJ set being added for the following day.[6]
A "work in progress",[7] Björk Digital premiered, free of charge, to Vivid Sydney attendees at Carriageworks with 4 virtual reality music videos. Carried over from 2015’s Museum of Modern Art Björk retrospective was the MoMA commissioned “Black Lake” video installation. Another previously available VR experience, “Stonemilker”, was also on display. Two VR music videos premiered at Carriageworks: “Mouth Mantra,” which had its 2D debut at the end of 2015, and “Notget” though in an unfinished form. The final “Notget” video would not be complete until September 2016.
Björk Digital borrows additional elements from the 2015 Björk retrospective, specifically the “Cinema” room showcasing the majority of the singer’s music videos from 1993-2015 in HD and the “Biophilia” room with several touchscreen devices loaded with the apps from Björk’s 2011 album, Biophilia. Unlike MoMA’s show, however, the innovative and unique instruments created and utilized for Biophilia were not on display.
Björk Digital ran in Sydney from 4 June 2016 to 18 June 2016 before making its second stop in Tokyo, Japan at Miraikan, which previously hosted Björk’s Biophilia Tokyo residency in 2013. No new VR videos were added though Björk again played an opening night DJ set on 29 June, with an encore set the following night. Björk Digital ran in Tokyo from 29 June 2016 to 18 July 2016. During the Miraikan residency, Björk made history by featuring in the world's first ever virtual reality live stream,[8] broadcast on YouTube. She gave a live performance of Vulnicura's final song, "Quicksand", and the footage was later incorporated into the "Quicksand" VR experience which debuted months later.
The next stop for Björk Digital was London, England.[9] News of the VR exhibit’s arrival in Europe was eclipsed by the announcement of a special acoustic, strings-only concert at the Royal Albert Hall.[10][11] Tickets quickly sold out, prompting a second acoustic concert at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.[12]
Björk Digital opened at the Somerset House in London on 1 September 2016 and ran until 23 October 2016. The final version of “Notget” premiered at Somerset House, but during the opening night party VIP guests were given the opportunity to see the work-in-progress version of the “Family” VR experience. Björk made her debut at the Royal Albert Hall on 21 September 2016. Her performance earned rave reviews,[13][14][15] with The Telegraph writing, "The tension between the rawness of the emotion, the alluring beauty of the string arrangements and the formal elegance of the classical presentation was utterly hypnotic." The Hammersmith show took place a few days later, on 24 September and was equally well received.[16]
Björk Digital next traveled to Montreal, Canada[17] for the Red Bull Music Academy festival where 2 additional VR videos were unveiled: “Quicksand” and “Family”, the latter having been co-commissioned by the Red Bull Music Academy. Björk did not perform live in Montreal but she gave 2 DJ sets during the middle of the exhibit’s run. Björk Digital opened in Montreal on 15 October 2016 and ran until 12 November.
Björk next took the VR exhibit to her native Iceland[18] where she also announced 2 acoustic concerts to be held at Harpa.[19] The first of these concerts, on 5 November 2016, was part of the Iceland Airwaves festival. Björk Digital ran from 2 November to 30 December 2016.
Björk Digital made its North American debut in Houston, Texas during the Day for Night festival[20] from 16–18 December 2016. Björk DJ’d on the 16th and 18th.
After a few months’ hiatus, Björk Digital made its debut in Mexico on 21 March 2017. Björk held another acoustic concert at Mexico City’s 10,000 seat Auditorio Nacional on 29 March. Björk played a second date in Mexico, this time in Toluca, on 2 April 2017 as part of the Ceremonia Festival. DJ and Vulnicura co-producer Arca joined Björk on stage for a strings-and-beats concert similar to her 2015 Vulnicura Tour sets. Ceremonia was almost cancelled due to poor weather but was pushed back a day in a scaled back form.[21] Björk Digital ran in Mexico City at the Fotomuseo Cuatro Caminos until 7 May 2017.
On 6 March 2017 it was announced that Björk would bring her VR exhibit to Los Angeles[22] with a special debut performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall scheduled for 30 May 2017, where the singer announced on stage that it would be her final Vulnicura concert.[23] Björk Digital played at the Magic Box at the Reef in Downtown LA from 19 May to 4 June 2017. Her long awaited songbook, 34 Scores for Piano, Organ, Harpsichord and Celeste, Björk's first ever collection of sheet music for her songs, was available early exclusively at the LA Björk Digital gift shop several weeks ahead of its official release date.[24]
One month after its time in Los Angeles, Björk Digital traveled to Barcelona for the 2017 Sónar Festival, where the singer celebrated the opening night with a 4 hour DJ set at Fira Montjuïc’s SonarHall stage.[25] The VR show is expected to run from 14 July to 24 September 2017 at Barcelona’s Centre for Contemporary Culture.[26] Additionally, Björk also gave a talk at Sónar + D, a congress of digital culture and creative technologies, which in 2017 will focus on the latest advances in artificial intelligence and virtual reality applied to the arts.[27]
Tour dates
| Dates | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4–18 June 2016[A] | Sydney | Australia | Carriageworks |
| 29 June - 18 July 2016 | Tokyo | Japan | Miraikan |
| 1 Sept - 23 Oct 2016 | London | England | Somerset House |
| 15 Oct - 12 Nov 2016[B] | Montreal | Canada | DHC/ART Fondation pour l'art contemporain |
| 2 Nov - 30 Dec 2016 | Reykjavik | Iceland | Harpa |
| 16 Dec - 18 Dec 2016[C] | Houston, TX | United States | Barbara Jordan Post Office |
| 21 March - 7 May 2017 | Mexico City | Mexico | Fotomuseo Cuatro Caminos |
| 19 May - 4 June 2017[D] | Los Angeles, CA | United States | Magic Box at the Reef |
| 14 July - 24 Sept 2017[E] | Barcelona | Spain | Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) |
Notes
