As the reviews come out on Björk’s Biophilia Live New York residency (check out this one from The New York Times), my anticipation is building for the February 25th show at Roseland Ballroom. I have a friend who attended one of her 5 shows at the New York Hall of Science last night and gave a rave review, after the show ended he texted me nothing more than “omg.” From what I’ve read and heard her performance is a multi-sensory masterpiece encompassing everything from large scale instruments, a choir, tesla coils, and video screens.
Björk has taken her craft to the next level with the release of her most recent album “Biophilia”, described as an exploration of music, nature, and technology. She has created a complete experience for her audience and in my opinion, has successfully brought her work full circle as an artist. The theme of “Biophilia” centers around life and its many naturally occurring processes; viruses, crystalline structures, thunderbolts, etc. and she not only brings each of these to life through her music but through a complete “Biophilia” experience. She began in her native home of Iceland, using her album as inspiration for the development of a complete educational program for Icelandic school children (see video below) which over the next 3 years will travel to all of Reykjavik’s schools. She has also developed a custom iPhone app, used in her educational program, which allows users to dive into her music through interactive experiences, I’ve downloaded it and it may be one of the most comprehensive, and trippy, apps I’ve used to date. She completes the “Biophilia” experience with her live concerts and instillation at the New York Hall of Science, which is also being used for an educational program for NYC school children. Attendees of these events get access to explore her exhibit prior to the show, something I must admit that I’m jealous I’ll be missing out on attending a Roseland Ballroom show. Not to mention, the Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science is an incredibly stunning venue.
Two and a half weeks and counting till I get to see the Icelandic beauty in person!