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''Fossora'' is the tenth studio album by Icelandic singer-musician
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 voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
. It was released on 30 September 2022 through One Little Independent Records. The album was recorded mainly during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and centers around the theme of isolation, loss, and grief, mainly of the death of her mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, in 2018. The album entered the
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at number 11 and the US ''Billboard'' 200 at number 100. It received a nomination for
Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
at the
65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year – October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 – as de ...
, becoming Björk's ninth consecutive nomination in the category.


Background

''Fossora'' was partially inspired by the 2018 death of Björk's mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir; the songs "Sorrowful Soil" and "
Ancestress An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...
" are about her, as well as how Björk dealt with her grief. In the album's liner notes, the former is subtitled "a
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...
for Hildur Rúna", and the latter is subtitled "an
epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
for Hildur Rúna". The album was conceptualized during the
COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...
after Björk travelled to Iceland to record. Keeping with the album's themes, its title is the ungrammatical feminine version of the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for "digger". The album features contributions from American singer
Serpentwithfeet Jonathan Josiah Wise (born July 9, 1988), known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an R&B singer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise signed with the English record label Tri Angle (record label), Tri Angle to release his debut extended pl ...
, Björk's two children Sindri and Ísadóra, Indonesian
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
duo Gabber Modus Operandi, and
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
sextet Murmuri. The album was also set to feature contributions from the Venezuelan producer Arca like Björk's previous two albums '' Vulnicura'' (2015) and ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'' (2017), but due to the
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
, Björk was unable to visit her in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
or to welcome her at home. "Allow" is an outtake from the sessions for ''Utopia'', that was rearranged for ''Fossora''. Per an interview with ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
''s Jazz Monroe, Björk says the album began as "very conceptual, like: 'This is the clarinet album!' Then halfway through, I was like, 'Fuck that. She described it as an Iceland album': often uninhibited and volatile, but also steeped in the country's choral and
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
traditions, with strings Björk programmed at her local coffee shop." Her interest in mushrooms "unified the record's themes of survival, death, and
ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
meditation." She frames the album in contrast to her previous ''Utopia'', with that album being "a skybound haven after her traumatic divorce" from longtime partner
Matthew Barney Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...
and ''Fossora'' being her return to Earth. She describes the
fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
metaphor as "something that lives underground, but not tree roots. A tree root album would be quite severe and stoic, but mushrooms are psychedelic and they pop up everywhere."


Promotional campaign and release

The lead single, " Atopos", along with its cover art, was announced on 24 August. The release date was later confirmed for 6 September, with the song premiering on
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
. The second single, "
Ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...
", was released without any prior announcement on 14 September, along with a music video directed by Nick Knight, who had also worked on Björk's own " Pagan Poetry" music video in 2001. The third single, "Ancestress", featuring Björk's son, Sindri Eldon, was released on 22 September. The title track was released as the fourth single on 27 September 2022. The music video for "Sorrowful Soil" premiered on 2 December. On 30 March 2023, the music video to the title track was released. Premiering at one of Björk's Cornucopia shows in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal, the "Victimhood" music video was not officially released until 5 September 2023, alongside an interview with the music video's director, Gabríela Fridriksdóttir. ''Fossora'' was released as a digisleeve CD, deluxe hardbound book CD, limited clear and silver '
spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...
' glitter cassette, and double LP; a turquoise variant of the LP exclusive to her official website and record label; a green variant of the LP being exclusive to indie record stores; standard black and 4 other color variants (burgundy, lime, silver, and clear) were also available from other specific retailers. A second cassette edition released with a turquoise tape shell was released in November 2022, in addition to full 2023 represses of several colour vinyl editions with the updated master audio that was finished after the first 2022 pressings had gone in to production. On 7 November 2023, on Björk's website, a ''Fossora'' boxset was announced as a pre-order (to ship later, in November 2023). This boxset includes two 10-inch records on crystal clear vinyl, with five "re-imagined" tracks from the ''Fossora'' album, a 100% silk oversized scarf, two fine art pigment prints, an "Atopos" score book, an illustrated booklet, a music notebook, a ''Fossora'' alphabet poster, and a certificate of authenticity. This boxset was priced at £200.00; roughly US$245.


''The Fossora Remixes''

On 9 December 2022, Icelandic electronic trio Sideproject unveiled their remix of "Atopos". On 20 January 2023, Irish-Scottish producer Sega Bodega released a remix of "Ovule". The remix features vocals from English rapper and DJ Shygirl, and Sega "exploring chill-bassdrum-gabba". On 22 April 2023, the
Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
, Björk released a
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
12" of both remixes. The reversible two image sleeve featured Nick Knight and Viðar Logi imagery with black metallic hotfoil lettering designed by M/M Paris and crystal-clear vinyl.


Critical reception

''Fossora'' was met with acclaim from critics upon its release. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 85, based on 22 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Concluding the review for
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 Mus ...
, Heather Phares declared that "On this soul-nourishing ''tour de force'', her one-of-a-kind mix of innovation and emotion is as inspiring as it's ever been over her decades-long career." At '' Clash'', David Weaver claimed that, "there is no doubt that with ''Fossora'', Björk is restating her individuality, thematically examining her place in the world as a 56-year old musician, whilst assuredly pushing sonic boundaries from neo-classical to industrial
noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
." Paul Bridgewater shared similar sentiments in the review for ''
The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
''; "''Fossora'' does indeed bang harder than any of her albums have for a long time and yet it's not an abrasive record at heart." In a review of the album for ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Emily MacKay declared it "An album of reinfatuation and reaffirmation, ''Fossora'' is invigorating in its drive, if there's little of real surprise here; hard as the mushroom-
gabber Gabber ( ; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of Hardcore (electronic dance music genre), hardcore, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as hardcore, and is characterised by fast beats ...
beats are, if you've heard '
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...
' or ' Mutual Core', you won't be shocked." ''Pitchfork'' reviewer Jill Mapes described Björk's performance as being "grounded back on earth, searching for hope in death, mushrooms, and
matriarchy Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of Power (social and political), power and Social privilege, privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. Whil ...
, and finding it in bass clarinet and gabber beats." Will Hermes at ''
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. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' stated that "''Fossora'' zooms in Google Map-style, looking at people on the ground and in the room, measuring distances between them. The sonic landscape is still huge—awesome, as alien as it is familiar, full of otherworldly arrangements,
tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...
beats, and craggy melodies that conjure the terrain of her native Iceland. The artist described it as something of her 'mushroom' album, using metaphors about burrowing in the dirt. In short, it's Björk at her absolute Björkiest." Amongst the few reviewers that were more critical of the album, ''
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 Yor ...
'' writer Sam C. Mac wrote that, "The Icelandic iconoclast's compositional sense is as unbound as ever, her songs
amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by ...
-like organisms transfiguring from one second to the next across the album, in line with a logic that's defiantly hers alone, both for better and worse." Austin Saalman compared the album less favorably to Björk's oeuvre, in the review for '' Under the Radar''; "Fossora is less engaging than ''Utopia'', ''Vulnicura'', and '' Biophilia'', and except for 'Ovule', 'Ancestress', and 'Allow', cannot compete with her
1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...
and early
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output." At '' Paste'', Max Feedman called it "a dense, challenging experiment that gradually coheres into an immersive and sometimes unsettling experience," but also noted that it wasn't without its, "occasional missteps along the way." The album's third single, "Ancestress", was named the 18th best song of 2022 by ''Pitchfork''.


Accolades


Awards and nominations


Year-end lists


Track listing

All tracks produced 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 voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
, except for "
Ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...
" additionally produced by el Guincho and Sideproject. ;Notes * Original pressings of the album credit Gabber Modus Operandi as a whole rather than Kasimyn. Streaming versions, alongside the 2023 repress of the album instead solely credit Kasimyn.


Personnel

"Atopos" *
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 voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
– vocals, clarinet arrangement, beat, beat editing, production *Gabber Modus Operandi – beat *Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason – clarinet *Grimur Helgason – clarinet *Helga Björg Arnardóttir – clarinet *Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir – clarinet *Kristín Þóra Pétursdóttir – clarinet *Rúnar Óskarsson – clarinet *Matthías Birgír Nardeau – oboe "Ovule" *Björk – vocals, trombone and timpani arrangements, beat, production * El Guincho – additional beat production *Sideproject – additional beat production *Soraya Nayyar – percussion *Bergur Þórisson – trombone "Mycelia" *Björk – vocals, programming, editing, production "Sorrowful Soil" *Björk – vocals, choir arrangement, bassline, production * Hamrahlíðarkórinn – vocals *Þorgerður Ingólsfdóttir – conducting "Ancestress" *Björk – vocals, vocal arrangement, string and percussion arrangements, beat, programming, production *Sindri Eldon – vocals, vocal arrangement *Una Sveinbjarnardóttir – violin *Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir – violin *Laura Liu – violin *Ingrid Karlsdóttir – violin *Geirþrúður Ása Guðjónsdóttir – violin *Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir – viola *Lucja Koczot – viola *Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson – cello *Júlia Mogenson – cello *Xun Yang – contrabass *Soraya Nayyar – percussion *Ragenheiður Ingunn Jóhannsdóttir – conducting "Fagurt Er í Fjörðum" *Björk – vocals, production *Ferdinand Rauter – bassline MIDI "Victimhood" *Björk – vocals, clarinet arrangement, beat, production *Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason – clarinet *Grimur Helgason – clarinet *Helga Björg Arnardóttir – clarinet *Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir – clarinet *Kristín Þóra Pétursdóttir – clarinet *Rúnar Óskarsson – clarinet *Matthías Birgír Nardeau – oboe "Allow" *Björk – vocals, flute arrangement, beat, production * Emilie Nicolas – vocals *Eivind Helgerød – additional vocal production *Áshildur Haraldsdóttir – flute *Berglind María Tómasdóttir – flute *Björg Brjánsdóttir – flute *Dagný Marinósdóttir – flute *Emilía Rós Sigfúsdóttir – flute *Hafdis Vigfúsdóttir – flute *Melkorka Ólafsdóttir – flute *Pamela De Sensi – flute *Sigríður Hjördís Indriðadóttir – flute *Sólveig Magnúsdóttir – flute *Steinunn Vala Pálsdóttir – flute *Þuríður Jónsdóttir – flute "Fungal City" *Björk – vocals, vocal arrangement, clarinet and string arrangements, beat, beat editing, production *
Serpentwithfeet Jonathan Josiah Wise (born July 9, 1988), known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an R&B singer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise signed with the English record label Tri Angle (record label), Tri Angle to release his debut extended pl ...
– vocal arrangement *Gabber Modus Operandi – beat *Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason – clarinet *Grimur Helgason – clarinet *Helga Björg Arnardóttir – clarinet *Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir – clarinet *Kristín Þóra Pétursdóttir – clarinet *Rúnar Óskarsson – clarinet *Una Sveinbjarnardóttir – violin *Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir – violin *Laura Liu – violin *Ingrid Karlsdóttir – violin *Geirþrúður Ása Guðjónsdóttir – violin *Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir – viola *Lucja Koczot – viola *Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson – cello *Júlia Mogenson – cello *Xun Yang – contrabass *Ragenheiður Ingunn Jóhannsdóttir – conducting *Matthías Birgír Nardeau – oboe "Trölla-Gabba" *Björk – vocals, programming, editing, production *Gabber Modus Operandi – beat, backing vocals (physical versions) "Freefall" *Björk – vocals, string arrangement, production *Una Sveínbjarnardóttir – violin *Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir – violin *Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir – viola *Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson – cello *Xun Yang – contrabass "Fossora" *Björk – vocals, clarinet and oboe arrangements, editing, production *Gabber Modus Operandi – beat, backing vocals (physical versions) *Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason – clarinet *Grimur Helgason – clarinet *Helga Björg Arnardóttir – clarinet *Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir – clarinet *Kristín Þóra Pétursdóttir – clarinet *Rúnar Óskarsson – clarinet *Matthías Birgír Nardeau – oboe "Her Mother's House" *Björk – vocals, cor anglais arrangement, keyboard programming, production *Ìsadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney – vocals *Matthías Birgír Nardeau – cor anglais


Charts


Notes


References


External links


Official website
{{Björk 2022 albums Albums produced by Björk Björk albums One Little Independent Records albums