Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk recently released her latest album Utopia. It stands in stark contrast to her emotionally-heavy and dark record Vulnicura which was centered around the end of a marriage and the searing realization of separation. Utopia is a harp and flute rich sound that is the product of Björk's collaboration with her musical consort, Arca. It has been jokingly described by the artist as her Tinder album. 

Björk Speaks Streaming

In an interview with FACT Magazine, Björk shared her view on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. With only two albums released after the 2000's (one of which she pulled from Spotify,) Björk has had her time with CD sales, free from free streaming. These days however, artists don't get to see that avenue of income reaching their pockets, instead they have to tour to make their money so that they can afford to release their work for free and keep the number of plays climbing. Bjork outlines the dark-side of tour life for young artists:

"It tears them away from their family and uproots them. Streaming has exaggerated that. Kids in their 30s now have been on the road for 10 years. You know? With no breaks. I’ve toured a lot, but I would tour for a year, then I would be somewhere for a year and a half and write an album. So you could lick your wounds and heal and get your shit together and be with your family members. Now, you don’t have that. Streaming is not fair. I’m hoping it will change. Maybe we are slowly figuring out a way that is going to be a solution, so musicians get paid for their work."

In the same interview, Björk revealed that there are some unheard collaborations lurking about. 

Wu-Tang Clan & Jay Z Collaborations

Around the time of recording 1997's Homegenic Björk & Wu-Tang Clan's travels coincided in Spain. Leader of Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, had decided to work on something together with her, however he did not make it to Spain as planned. He nevertheless messaged at some stage later on to let her know he was ready to work together, and so, spontaneously, the two recorded what Björk describes as 'magic.' Unfortunately the sound didn't work with the albums either of them were producing at the time, and so, it has never been released. 

When it comes to collaboration, the versatile Björk is wanted by artists throughout a range of genres. She was recently asked to write a section of a song for one of Jay Z's albums. This ended up not happening but she considers it a huge honor as she holds deep respect and love for what Jay Z does. 

"Blissing Me"

Utopia has been released (ironically) on streaming platforms, while the album's singles are slowly dripping through YouTube as official videos are being released. "Blissing Me," directed by Tim Walker & Emma Dalzell, is the latest single from the album and was filmed in one-shot. Watch below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHWAZNkqwN4

Image Source: deep_schismic