"Hyperballad" (sometimes written as "Hyper-Ballad") is a song by Icelandic musician and recording artist

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, released as the fourth single from her second solo album, '' Post'' (1995). The song was written by Björk and co-produced by long time collaborator

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer w ...

. It infuses

folktronica Folktronica is a genre of music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments – especially stringed instruments – and incorporating hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, although ...

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

. The lyrical content discusses a dream that Björk experienced, in which she wakes early before her lover and throws small objects off a cliff, watching them smash. She imagines her body in their place, which makes her feel better about returning to her safe home and the arms of her lover. "Hyperballad" was heavily lauded by contemporary music critics, who stated that it was the best song of Björk's career. The song's lyrical content, vocal performance and experimentation in its production and composition were also highly praised. The song was moderately successful in the countries it charted in, including Finland, Australia, United States, Sweden and the United Kingdom (where it was the last of three top ten hits, after "

Army of Me "Army of Me" is a song recorded by Icelandic musician Björk for her second studio album ''Post'' (1995). It was released on 24 April 1995 by One Little Indian as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Björk and G ...

" and " It's Oh So Quiet"). A music video was released for the single, featuring a digitalised Björk running and falling from a cliff. Björk performed the song at the 1997

Tibetan Freedom Concert Tibetan Freedom Concert is the name given to a series of socio-political music festivals held in North America, Europe and Asia from 1996 onwards to support the cause of Tibetan independence. The concerts were originally organized by the Beastie ...

in New York, which was recorded by Sylvia Massy for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

. This live version was subsequently included on the second disc of the Tibetan Freedom Concert album released later that year.

Composition

Production and musical influence

"Hyperballad" was written by Björk and co-produced by her and

, who had contributed to other Björk albums. The chords and lyrics in the verses move in three bar phrases; the choruses are in four bar phrases. It combines a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

beat with a string section conducted by Brazilian musician

Eumir Deodato Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...

. Heather Phares from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

compared the song to the work of

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publicati ...

. Lorraine Ali from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' said that Björk "turns fantasy into morbid but honest wonderment for 'Hyperballad.' Here's what she sings over a sweeping, panoramic vista: 'I imagine what my body would sound like slamming against the rocks, and when it lands, will my eyes be closed or open?'"

Lyrical content

In the lyrics, Björk describes living at the top of a mountain and going to a cliff at sunrise. She throws objects off while pondering her own suicide. The ritual allows her to exorcise darker thoughts and return to her partner. Björk stated that "I feel that words can have a mysticism or a hidden meaning. On Hyperballad, the idea that I'm throwing car parts from a cliff is about getting out my frustrations." Björk explains: "I guess that song is about when you're in a relationship and it's going really well and you're really happy and maybe you have given up parts of yourself. To fall in love and be in a relationship for a long time is like giving a lot of parts of you away because the relationship becomes more important than you as individuals. It's a bit of a tricky balance. I think everyone in a relationship needs to know not to forget themselves..." (from an interview by David Hemingway) She also explained how the song relates to the hiding of an aggressive part of oneself from a lover.

Critical reception

"Hyperballad" was heavily acclaimed from music critics. Glenn Swan from

gave it a separate review, and awarded it 4 stars out of five, making it Björk's highest viewed single on the website. Mike Diver from

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

said "Hyper-Ballad – single four of six taken from this 11-tracker – is similarly striking, and remains among the very finest songs in Björk’s canon ..perfectly is an indelibly excellent example of music meeting art. It’s a benchmark of successful audio-visual synergy." Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' named it Pick of the Week, noting that it "glistens with the dazzling light heartedness that characterizes the critically-hailed ''Post'' collection." He added, "With

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

undercurrents beneath the strong pop grooves, "Hyper-Ballad" is a delightful track that all fans of quality music will enjoy. ..Don’t be surprised if this song becomes a club hit." Chuck Campbell from ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' found that the "humming, low-slung" track "is much darker as Bjork reveals an early morning ritual of throwing objects from a cliff and imagines taking the plunge herself."

James Hyman James Hyman (born 1970), is the owner and founder of HyMag, a radio and television presenter, music supervisor and DJ. Hyman put aside his university to work at MTV Europe despite his parents' misgivings (partly because of his father's glimp ...

from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update rated it 5 stars out of five, adding, "From day one, Bjork embraced dance culture, realising its importance in running parallel to the commercial release. 'Hyperballad' is icing on that cake". Another editor, James Hamilton, noted its "winsome caterwauling quirkiness". Also Eric Henderson from

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

was favorable, saying, "Without missing a beat, Björk puts herself into the role of fragile suicidist on "Hyper-Ballad," as she throws tchotchkes over a cliff to approximate the nature of her own plunge. A phenomenal journey, the track begins with lightly shuffling drum n' bass before expanding into an immense house groove." ''

Drowned In Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History '' ...

'' listed it at number #8 on their top ten Björk singles. ''XFM Radio'' listed it at number 686 on their The XFM Top 1,000 Songs Of All Time. '' NME'' listed the song as the 69th best song of the 1990s, stating that "'Hyperballad' was an earnest attempt to try and make old love alive once more. She said it was about the art of "not forgetting about yourself" in a relationship and this was reflected in the music which altered from gentle

to drum and bass-tinted

." ''Diffuser.fm'' described the song as "lush, sweeping cinematic

." "Hyperballad" was the song receiving most votes from Björk fans on the overall survey for her ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album's song list. In September 2010,

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

included the song at number #2 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s", behind only Mariah Carey's " Fantasy (Bad Boy Remix)".

Music video

During this scene, a three-dimensional shot of Björk lying amongst a mountainous landscape and she sings in a live video. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for "Hyperballad" was directed by Michel Gondry. It features Björk as a video game character who runs through an obscure,

two-dimensional In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean ( flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as ...

landscape of pylons before throwing herself off a cliff. This sequence, along with several others (including blinking lights and some of herself performing the song), are projected onto a

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called '' parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the inform ...

shot of Björk lying amongst a mountainous landscape. The video was filmed at Telecine Cell in London, using a motion control system. The entire video and all the effects were shot on a single 400 ft roll of film, by multiple exposure and frame-accurate backwinding of the film strip. The graphics were shot as a series of secondary exposures using a television monitor, and the flashing lights were created with an LED strip board, also exposed on the same piece of film. At Gondry's insistence, no edits were made after the film was exposed; the only post processing consisted of colour correction during transfer of the piece to videotape. Björk sings live in the video. This new vocal take was later featured in the CD2 of the "Hyperballad" single, and in the 5.1 edition of '' Surrounded''. Mike Diver from

gave it a positive review, saying "its accompanying video is a masterstroke of suggestive simplicity, evocative elegance; that it suits its skittering beats and contorting vocal ..

Reception

Music writer Carol Vernallis felt Gondry developed texture with an aesthetic that does not become "too coy or sickly sweet" by incorporating "a whiff of death"; pointing out that in the video, "Björk's head resembles a death mask". A reviewer, D File, wrote: "Due partially to my personal puzzlement in understanding this video and the construction of its imagery, I’ve concluded that 'Hyperballad' is, if nothing else, one of the most avant-garde pieces of music video in the late 20th century. At one glance, the composites completely coalesce with the elements of the song. Yet the imagery is so transcendent of any other pop promo. Upside, inside out."

Henry Keazor Henry Keazor (born 4 March 1965) is a German art historian. He is a Professor of Art History at Heidelberg University. Career Keazor studied art history, German literature, musicology and philosophy at the Heidelberg University and at the Sorbo ...

and Thorsten Wübbena considered that the clip " astaught us that electronic bodies are rather intangible, dematerialized, purer in a certain way." The music video, with its play on the boundaries between real and virtual, has been absorbed by club culture, as a representative of the scene's visual forms of expression.

Rick Poynor Rick Poynor is a British writer on design, graphic design, typography, and visual culture. Career He began as a general visual arts journalist, working on ''Blueprint'' magazine in London. After founding ''Eye'' magazine, which he edited from 19 ...

wrote that the video showcases " jörk's commitmentto a 'techno' sensibility". Gondry and Björk—who have worked together continuously—"shared delight in playing interpretative games with her visual identity." He also said that the video demonstrated the musician's " mbrace ofthe computer's shape-shifting powers."

Track listing

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Hyperballad". *European CD single #1 #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 3:58 #"Cover Me" (

Plaid Plaid () may refer to: Fabric * Full plaid, a cloth made with a tartan pattern, wrapped around the waist, cast over the shoulder and fastened at the front * A synonym for tartan in North America * A plaid shirt, typically of flannel and worn du ...

Mix) – 5:24 *European CD single #2 /Australian/Japanese/Mexican CD single #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 4:01 #"Hyperballad" ( Robin Hood Riding Through the Glen Remix) – 6:31 #"Hyperballad" ( Disco Sync Mix) – 4:24 #"Hyperballad" ( Subtle Abuse Mix) – 6:54 *UK Cassette single #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 4:00 #"Hyperballad" (Robin Hood Riding Through the Glen Mix) – 6:32 *UK CD single #1 / digital download #1 #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 4:00 #"Hyperballad" (Robin Hood Riding Through the Glen Remix) – 6:32 #"Hyperballad" (

The Stomp ''Barely Legal'' is the debut studio album by Sweden, Swedish rock band The Hives, from Fagersta, Sweden. The album's second track, "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T", had a video produced, but it was not commercially released until it was included as an extra ...

Mix) – 5:09 #"Hyperballad" (The Hyperballad

Fluke Fluke may refer to: Biology * Fluke (fish), a species of marine flatfish * Fluke (tail), the lobes of the tail of a cetacean, such as dolphins or whales, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and metriorhynchids. * Fluke (flatworm), parasiti ...

Mix) – 6:38 #"Hyperballad" (Subtle Abuse Mix) – 6:56 #"Hyperballad" ( Tee's Freeze Mix) – 7:19 *UK CD single #2 / digital download #2 #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 3:58 #"

Isobel Isobel, is the Scottish form of the female given name Isabel. It originates from the medieval form of the name Elisabeth (Hebrew Elisheba). Isobel is a feminine given name. People named Isobel include: * Isobel of Huntingdon (1199-1251), Scottish ...

" (The

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

Remix) – 5:41 #"Cover Me" (Plaid Mix) – 5:24 #"Hyperballad" (

Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his s ...

Remix) – 8:12 *US CD single #"Hyperballad" (Radio Edit) – 3:58 #"Hyperballad" (Robin Hood Riding Through the Glen Mix) – 6:29 #"Hyperballad" (Subtle Abuse Mix) – 6:53 #"Hyperballad" (Tee's Freeze Mix) – 7:19 #"Hyperballad" (

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including ...

Classic Mix) – 9:10 #"Hyperballad" (Towa Tei Choice Mix) – 8:13 *US 12" single #"Hyperballad" (David Morales Classic Mix) – 9:09 #"Hyperballad" (Tee's Freeze Mix) – 7:18 #"Hyperballad" (Disco Sync Mix) – 4:20 #"Hyperballad" (Subtle Abuse Mix) – 6:53

Official versions

*Album version *

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet". Only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas remain as original members. In addition to performing classical music, and in par ...

version *

Boss Dub mix *David Morales Classic mix *David Morales radio edit *Disco Sync mix *

mix *Girls Blouse mix * LFO 3.A.M mix *Over the Edge mix *Radio edit (edit of album version) *Radio edit (video version) *Robin Hood Riding Through the Glen mix *Subtle Abuse mix *Tee's Freeze mix *The Stomp mix *Tom Apella remix *

remix/Towa Tei Choice mix Note: UK CD 1 and 2 both include a mix labelled "radio edit," however the mix on CD 1 is an edit of the album version, while CD 2 features newly recorded vocals taken from the video.

Charts

Covers

The song has been covered by many artists.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compl ...

The Ladybird Sideshow Ladybird Sideshow is a Canadian folk/pop band. Members include Melissa McClelland, Janine Stoll, Erin Smith and Lisa Winn, all also solo artists, the first three from Toronto, Ontario.Schneider, Jason (2005)Ladybird Sideshow Live At The Orange Lou ...

, and Glen Phillips covered it during their live shows. Peruvian band Ni Voz Ni Voto covered it for their Unplugged Album Acustico 2002, Greg Dulli and his band The Twilight Singers covered it in their album of 2004, ''

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

''. John Nolan covered this song at

Kevin Devine Kevin Devine (born December 19, 1979) is an American songwriter and musician from Staten Island, New York City, who is known for his introspective and political themes. He is a contemporary member of the underground indie rock and indie folk m ...

's Record Release Party in 2005. Big Heavy Stuff covers this song on ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

'', a compilation album by the Australian radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

covered parts of this song as an intro or bridge to ''Butterfly''. She also covered a full version on her "Summer of Sin" tour.

contributed their talents to a remix of the song, which first appeared on Björk's ''Post'' album, and later on ''

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

''. The song is mistitled "Hyperballad (Brodski Quartet Version)" on all pressings of the limited two CD edition Australian of ''Post''. Indonesian band Mocca covered this song on their album of 2007, ''Colours''. The same year also saw an Australian collaboration album named '' No Man's Woman'', featured male vocalists covering some of the most famous songs performed by women. Folk singer Whitley delivered an arrangement of Hyperballad for this project. In 2008, the Spanish group

Celtas Cortos Celtas Cortos is a Spanish Celtic rock band. They have sold over two million records during their career, making them one of the most commercially successful Spanish groups of all time. They formed in Valladolid (Castilla y León) in 1986. Eig ...

made a cover of it in their album ''40 de abril'', under the title of "Abismo" (meaning "Cliff").

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The ...

also covered the song on ''Enjoyed: A Tribute to Björk's Post''. Japanese singer-songwriter UA covered Hyperballad on her 2010 album KABA. In 2010, Robyn performed a cover of the song at the

Polar Music Prize The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporar ...

ceremony, when Björk and

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...

were awarded the prize. In jazz, the song has been covered by

Marcin Wasilewski Marcin Ryszard Wasilewski (; born 9 June 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He is best known for winning Premier League with Leicester City FC and getting injured after a horrible challenge by Axel Wits ...

, Slawomir Kurkiewicz, and Michal Miskiewicz on their album of 2004, '' Trio'', and by the

Verneri Pohjola Verneri Pohjola (born 23 December 1977 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish jazz trumpeter. Biography The son of bassist Pekka Pohjola, Pohjola studied at the Jazz and Pop Conservatory in Helsinki and the Örebro Music School. From 1999 he s ...

Quartet on the album of 2012 ''Ancient History''. British singer

Matt Fishel Matt Fishel is a British singer, songwriter, music producer and record label owner. He plays guitar, piano, bass and keyboards. He grew up in Nottingham in the East Midlands in the late 1990s, going on to study Music and Performing Arts at Paul ...

recorded a choral

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

cover of the song. After receiving numerous requests from his fans to release it officially after he originally uploaded it to his MySpace page in the mid 2000s,Fishel, Matt

"A bit more info on Cover Boy...", 5 July 2014. Retrieved on 29 July 2014. Matt Fishel, Fishel's cover was eventually released on his 2014 covers EP '' Cover Boy''."iTunes-Music-Matt Fishel-Cover-Boy"
Retrieved on 29 July 2014.Stump, Howard
"Matt Fishel * Cover Boy"
, ''Soundtrack To My Day'', United States, 16 July 2014. Retrieved on 29 July 2014. In July 2014,

covered the song on her '' Unrepentant Geraldines Tour''.

References

External links

Hyperballad webpage

{{Authority control Björk songs Music videos directed by Michel Gondry 1996 singles Songs written by Björk Songs written by Marius de Vries Songs written by Nellee Hooper Song recordings produced by Nellee Hooper Song recordings produced by Björk House music songs Songs about suicide 1995 songs