"Possibly Maybe" is a song by

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 fifth single from her second album ''

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

'' (1995). It is a song with deep electronic tones and soft beats that reflects on potential love. Released in the United Kingdom as the fifth single from the album, it reached number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1996. There were three different single releases. This was the first Björk single to be released in three parts; two of these three parts are rarities in the music world in that their A-side is not the first track. The first CD came with a slipcase that could also house the other two. The song has been covered by numerous other artists.

Background

The song details different stages of a breakup. Björk has said it was "the first unhappy song I wrote… I felt ashamed writing a song that was not giving hope". The melancholic piece was dedicated to her broken relationship with

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited ...

, who, curiously, also directed the video. Rumours have persisted that Björk recorded the song in the nude, although this has not been publicly commented on. Björk was sued by British electronic musician Scanner for the uncleared sample of telephones ringing (from his album ''Mass Observation'') at the start of the track. The situation caused her record label,

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

, to retire all current copies of ''Post'' in the shops, and release a new version of the album that included a version of "Possibly Maybe" without the sample. Later on, when the issue was solved, the single version of the song included the sample again, as it appears in the music video. The B-side of single was "Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu", taken from the 1994 album ''

Chansons des mers froides ''Chansons des mers froides'' ( French: Songs from the Cold Seas) is a 1994 album by French musician Hector Zazou. Zazou approached Sony Records with merely the title and the concept of songs from the Arctic. He was accompanied by cameraman Phi ...

'' by

Hector Zazou Hector Zazou (11 July 1948 – 8 September 2008) was a prolific French composer and record producer who worked with, produced, and collaborated with an international array of recording artists. He worked on his own and other artists' albums, inclu ...

. A short

making-of In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecomm ...

was recorded as part of the album.

Critical reception

British magazine ''

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 ...

'' rated the song four out of five, adding that "this gorgeous

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

from ''Post'' is released with some diverse, and weird, mixes as a taster for the upcoming mixes album ''Telegram''."

Music 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 "Possibly Maybe" was directed by French artist Stéphane Sednaoui, for a song that is about his failed relationship with Björk. The singer and the director had previously worked together in the music video for "

Big Time Sensuality "Big Time Sensuality" is a song by Icelandic singer and songwriter Björk, released as the fourth single from her debut album, '' Debut'' (1993). Written by Björk and staple collaborator Nellee Hooper and produced by Hooper, "Big Time Sensualit ...

". In the clip, she appears "as a goddess, floating out from a numinous light-streaked background." It shows Björk in a variety of different rooms in an apartment. She is primarily shown in a large, stylish bedroom with modern décor. These scenes are intercut with shots in ultra-violet lighting (which subsequently causes everything to appear in

day-glo The Day-Glo Color Corp. (also styled as DayGlo) is a privately held American paint and pigments manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1946 by brothers Joseph and Robert Switzer and is currently owned by RPM International. It ...

colours). She is also shown in three other rooms: submerged in the bathtub of a bathroom; an Asian-themed room; and a room full of stereo equipment. These scenes are intercut with an angelic image of her dressed all in white, floating out of a blue sky with the sun behind her. The majority of objects appearing in the video were Björk's own. Sednaoui is known for having a particularly filmic technique for each of his clips; in "Possibly Maybe", the use of

blacklight A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a sepa ...

ing "makes Björk glow sensuously and perversely". It was conceived in a

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

way: nearly all of the scenes were filmed in the same space, which is transformed with changes in the '' mise en scène''. The style of "Possibly Maybe"'s scenery and Björk's wardrobe reference East Asian imagery, and a Japanese traditional doll is featured as Björk's only accompaniment; as a silent witness, it is the object on which the protagonist casts reflections on her own identity. Short interviews with both Stéphane and Björk discussing the video are included on the Stéphane Sednaoui '' Directors Label'' DVD. The music video was included along with all of ''Post''s music videos on the 1998 video release '' Volumen'', and its 2002 reissue ''

Volumen Plus ''Volumen Plus'' is an official DVD released by Icelandic musician Björk on 2 December 2002. The DVD, whose release coincided with the release of the comprehensive ''Greatest Hits - Volumen 1993–2003'', offers those who purchased the orig ...

''. They also appear on ''Greatest Hits – Volumen 1993–2003'', a release that includes the videos featured on ''Volumen'' and ''Volumen Plus''.

Live performances

The track was performed during the

Post Tour Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service ** Iraqi Post, Ir ...

, a performance of which can be found on the 1998 live DVD/ VHS '' Live at Shepherds Bush Empire'', a fan-club only concert held at the end of the tour. To support the release of ''Post'', the song was performed on the UK TV show Later... with Jools Holland on 17 June 1995 with

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos t ...

ist

BJ Cole Brian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from mainstream pop and rock to ...

. This performance was featured on Björk's 2003 DVD release ''

Later Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

''. Björk also performed the track on

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

on 1 November 1996 to promote the official single release. The track was also included on a 1996 ChildLine charity album release, whose cover-art featured a parody of the ''Post'' cover. In support of this album, Björk performed the song on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

. Björk's then manager Netty Walker noted later that it "was the worst performance I've ever seen her do." A live performance recorded for US TV show ''

Reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

'' in 2001 included a performance of "Possibly Maybe". The track has been performed on Björk's subsequent tours, the

Homogenic Tour ''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 20 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dravs, the album marked a stylist ...

and the

Vespertine World Tour The Vespertine World Tour was a tour by the singer Björk that focused on her album ''Vespertine''. She also performed songs from ''Debut'', ''Post'', ''Homogenic'' and ''Selmasongs''. She performed 35 shows on this tour and 31 different songs. Th ...

, the latter version of which appears on the 2002 DVD release '' Live at Royal Opera House''. After 2001, the song was not performed live until 2 March 2012 at the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during her

Biophilia Tour The Biophilia Tour was the seventh concert tour by Icelandic musician Björk. The tour was centered on her multimedia project and studio album '' Biophilia'' (2011). The tour premiered at the Manchester International Festival and visited Europe, A ...

, using only a hang drum and a

Tesla coil A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low- current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. Tesla experimented with a number of differen ...

Track listings

The release features remixes by

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...

, Mark Bell from LFO,

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...

Trevor Morais Trevor Morais (born 10 October 1944) is an English drummer who has been a member of several notable groups such as Faron's Flamingos, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, The Peddlers, Quantum Jump and the Elkie Brooks backing band. He is also a s ...

(who was the drummer on the Post Tour),

Photek Rupert Parkes (born 6 September 1971), known as Photek, is a Los Angeles-based British electronic music DJ/record producer, and TV and film score composer. Photek was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Photek has contributed music ...

and

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 ...

. The single was planned to coincide with Björk's tour dates in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in October 1996, although the South American concerts were cancelled only two shows in due to Björk suffering from

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and dysphagia, trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is c ...

. Two live tracks ("Possibly Maybe" and "Hyperballad") recorded at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

as part of a ''

'' show are included on CD3. UK CD1 (193TP7CD; released 28 October 1996) # "Possibly Maybe" – 5:04 # "Possibly Maybe" (Lucy Mix) (also featured 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 ...

'') – 3:03 # "Possibly Maybe" (Calcutta Cyber Cafe Mix) – 5:33 # "Possibly Maybe" (Dallas Austin Mix) – 4:50 UK CD2 (193TP7CDL; released 28 October 1996) # "Cover Me" (Dillinja Mix) – 6:22 # "One Day" (Trevor Morais Mix) – 7:01 # "Possibly Maybe" (Calcutta Cyber Cafe Dub Mix) – 4:56 # " I Miss You" (Photek Mix) – 5:53 UK CD3 (193TP7CDT; released 28 October 1996) # "

" (Plaid Mix) – 5:21 # " Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu" – 4:20 # "Possibly Maybe" (live at Wembley Arena) – 4:53 # "

Hyperballad "Hyperballad" (sometimes written as "Hyper-Ballad") is a song by Icelandic musician and recording artist Björk, released as the fourth single from her second solo album, '' Post'' (1995). The song was written by Björk and co-produced by long ...

" (Over the Edge Mix) (live at Wembley Arena) – 4:56 UK and US 12-inch vinyl (193TP12TD) # "Possibly Maybe" (Calcutta Cyber Cafe Mix) # "I Miss You" (Dobie Rub Part One – Sunshine Mix) European CD single (MUMTT 86) # "Possibly Maybe" (single version) – 5:04 # "Cover Me" (Dillinja Mix) – 6:22 European 12-inch vinyl (193TP12TDM) # "

Enjoy Enjoy may refer to: Music *Enjoy, an album by Bob Sinclar *Enjoy, a song by Janet Jackson *Enjoy, a song from Björk's album ''Post'' *Enjoy Records, an American record label * ''Enjoy'' (play), a 1980 comedy play by Alan Bennett * ''Enjoy!'' (Des ...

" (The Beats Mix) – 6:57 # "Possibly Maybe" (Lucy Remix) – 3:03

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Posts liner notes. *

– production, keyboards *

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 ...

– production *

Marius de Vries Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award. Education Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...

– programming, keyboards *

Howie B Howard Bernstein (born 18 April 1963, Glasgow, Scotland), professionally known as Howie B, is a Scottish musician, producer and DJ who has worked with artists including: Björk, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soul II Soul, Robbie ...

ernstein – mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

* Oswald "Wiz" Bowe – assistant engineering

Charts

Covers

The track was covered by

Final Fantasy is a Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games. The ...

and

Ed Droste Edward Droste (born October 22, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, formerly of the rock band Grizzly Bear. The group began as the solo effort of Droste with the release of 2004's '' Horn of Plenty'', originally released on Kan ...

for music website

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

's 2008 online tribute to ''Post''. As Droste has stated, "Björk is probably my most listened to and adored artist thus far in my life". Michael Armstrong interpreted the song as an instrumental lullaby for the ''Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Björk'' tribute album. London Resonance Quartet created another instrumental cover for tribute album ''Violently''. Italian singer Serena Fortebraccio recorded a version for the album ''In A Shape Of A Girl … Playing On Björk's Heartbeat''. The artists, who released "Possibly Maybe" covers on their own releases include prog-rock band

The Roots of Orchis The Roots of Orchis was an American progressive rock band from San Francisco, California, on the Slowdance Records label. The band was active from 1997 to 2010. Summary Formed by in 1997 by Kris Bennett, Dan Lydersen and Justin Pinkerton. La ...

, Polish jazz singer

Monika Borzym Monika Borzym (; born March 3, 1990) is a Polish jazz singer who studied at Los Angeles Music Academy. Her debut album ''Girl Talk'', released in 2011 was certified platinum in Poland. History Early life and education (1998–2008) Monika Borzy ...

, hip-hop artist Mumbls, jazz-funk bands Spirit Tuck and The Poma-Swank and the acts such as Wino Willy, Sallow, LumpyPork and others.

Samples

A sample of this song was used in the bumpers for VH1's 'Insomniac Music Theater' late night music video block from the song's release until the program was cancelled in 2005 and renamed 'Nocturnal State'.

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

sampled this song for the track "Mutual Slump" from his debut album '' Endtroducing.....''.

References

External links

Possibly Maybe webpage

Stéphane Sednaoui official website

Björk on Discogs.com
{{Authority control 1995 songs 1996 singles Björk songs Downtempo songs Music videos directed by Stéphane Sednaoui One Little Indian Records singles Song recordings produced by Björk Song recordings produced by Nellee Hooper Songs written by Björk Chill-out music