Björk has joined forces with Rosalía to share the environmentally charged new track ‘Oral’. Check it out below.
Shared today (November 21), the track marks the first time that the iconic singer has joined forces with Rosalía, and sees the two musicians work together to shed light on the cruelty and negative consequences of open-pen salmon farming in Björk’s native Iceland.
Originally, ‘Oral’ was written by Björk over two decades ago, when she developed it between 1997’s ‘Homogenic’ and 2001’s ‘Vespertine’. It was later put on ice by the singer and soon forgotten about after she felt it wasn’t the right fit for either LP.
According to a press release, the artist rediscovered the track after being reminded of its name whilst on tour in Australia earlier this year.
Incidentally, this occurred at the same time that a report was released about the devastating impact of poorly regulated salmon farming operations on Iceland’s native ecosystems. From there, she enlisted Rosalía to help bring the song to life and in turn raise awareness of the issue.
“Is that the right thing to do?/ Oh, I just don’t know./ I just don’t know,” they both sing in the powerful and emotive chorus.
The track also comes alongside a triumphant music video, created by visual artist Carlota Guerrero. Here, the visual accompaniment sees two AI-generated deepfake versions of the artists train together – exploring themes of female rage and coming together to fight a bigger enemy.
“Carlota came up with the concept and executed the video, exploring the use of AI technology and embracing the glitches blurring the line between reality and virtuality whilst challenging the notions of identity,” reads a description of the video.
As well as helping raise awareness against the lack of regulations and rapid expansion of the open-pen farming practices – which in many cases has led to genetic mutations in the salmon’s DNA, as well becoming as a breeding ground for several parasites and diseases – the two artists are also donating profits made from the single to the cause.
Here, proceeds brought in from ‘Oral’ will be used to support a legal case against the fisheries brought forth by residents of the town of Seyðisfjörður, located on the eastern side of Iceland. You can learn more about Icelandic Fish Farming from the Icelandic Wildlife Fund here and donate to the cause here.
The new track is far from the first time that Björk has used her influence to highlight social injustices and call for more respect for the natural world.
Speaking with NME last year, the singer spoke about the influence of nature on her latest LP ‘Fossora’. “There’s a lot of pleasure in the album… it’s about enjoying that space. That’s why it ended up getting this kind of ‘fungus’ theme,” she said, recalling the connection between the album and nature.
“And when I say ‘fungus’, I mean more like a sound. Six bass clarinets and really fat, deep notes. It is designed for the bottom-end. You need to almost be inside all that bass. It fills the whole room. That’s the grounding of being able to stay in your house.
“‘Medulla’ and ‘Fossora’ are living in the world you’ve made. The lyrics are more about living this life day-to-day and loving it.”
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