Björk Plots Release Of First Album In Five Years, ‘Fossora’

August 21, 2022

Björk is reportedly on track to release a new album this year. The forthcoming record, her 10th studio album overall, was confirmed in an interview with The Guardian, and is set to arrive in the Australian spring.

As explained by The Guardian’s Chal Ravens in their long-reaching piece with the Icelandic music icon, the new album – dubbed Fossora, after the feminine version of the Latin word for ‘digger’ – will be Björk’s first since 2017’s Utopia, and is the result of numerous changes over the last few years, including the passing of Björk’s mother, the effect of lockdown in Reykjavík, and the impact of her pandemic-inspired “crazy DJ nights”.

Björk – ‘The Gate’

Despite an infusion of gabber beats, Fossora still features a sound rooted in earthiness, according to The Guardian, with a sextet of bass clarinets featuring throughout. Speaking to collaborators Ican Harem and DJ Kasimyn during its creation, Björk reportedly described it to them as her “mushroom album”.

“It’s like digging a hole in the ground,” she told them (per The Guardian). “This time around, I’m living with moles and really grounding myself. I don’t know if that’s too far-fetched for you guys, but I have to speak in this sort of music lingo.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Björk compared the sound of Fossora to her last studio effort, Utopia, which she described as being “like a pacifist, idealistic album with flutes and synths and birds”. Fossora explores the resulting dreamland: “Let’s see what it’s like when you walk into this fantasy and, you know, have a lunch and farrrrt and do normal things, like meet your friends,” the artist told The Guardian.

Currently, full details of the new record have not been released, including its release date, track listing, or credits. However, Björk has said the album includes a pair of tracks dedicated to her late mother, while a retrospective podcast series is also in the works.