Ahead of the release of her tenth studio album, Fossora, musical innovator Björk is reflecting on her current discography in her own podcast, titled Sonic Symbolism. The first three episodes of the podcast will premiere on September 1, guiding listeners through the life events and musical process behind Debut, Post, and Homogenic—three absolutely monumental works.
On the inspiration behind Sonic Symbolism, Björk states:
“When I get asked about the differences of the music of my albums, I find it quickest to use visual short cuts. That’s kind of why my album covers are almost like homemade tarot cards. The image on the front might seem like just a visual moment, but for me it is simply describing the sound of it. I try to express it with the colour palette, the textures of the textiles, with what I am holding, the posture I am in, and the angle of it shows its relationship to the world. Also, the emotion of the mouth tries to share the overall mood of the album. Perhaps you can call it some sort of a sonic symbolism? Most of us go through phases in our lives that take roughly 3 years, and it is not a coincidence this is also how long it takes to make an album or a film. This podcast is an experiment to capture which moods, timbres, and tempos were vibrating during each of these phases.”
Joining her on her new venture are philosopher and writer Oddný Eir and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson The official trailer for Sonic Symbolism can be heard here.
In addition to the podcast, the singer recently announced the release of Fossora’s lead single, “Atopos,” and revealed the track’s mossy and fungi-filled cover art—fitting for what’s been described as her “mushroom album.”
The first three episodes of Sonic Symbolism premiere on September 1, with a new episode weekly through October 13.