The future of music
The world's first iPad album makes Bjork even weirder
It's well-known that Icelandic chanteuse Bjork is, well, infamously off.
So the singer-songwriter's most recent musical move should only make you nod your head more vigorously in the same vein.
Inauthentically touted by industry rags as "one of the most ambitious undertakings of her career (how many times have you heard her described that way?)," Bjork's latest project album, Biophilia, is actually unlike anything you've seen before. This time, we're finding out how pliable the art-pop queen's creative bones can be.
For once, it's not the breathy, ephemeral lyrics or the howling, ethereal sounds that are particularly arresting. It's the melded delivery of technological forces that makes this album sing.
In fact, the title of The World's First App Album belongs to Bjork.
The unfurling of this lofty project began on Tuesday, when Bjork's landing pad app — a twisting, interactive constellation that'll serve as the mothership for the full suite of songs — launched for the iPhone and iPad.
Besides providing an enigmatic visual introduction to Bjork's new work of audio art, the free app serves as a platform for slowly (read: not all at once) rolling out all 10 of her new tracks in digital form. The hands-on app comprises only one of the five essential elements of the Biophilia brew.
Complete availability of the songs will be timed to coincide with the album's full release, set for Sept. 27. In the meantime, the concept piece's first two singles, "Cosmogony" and "Crystalline," can be downloaded through the Biophilia app now.