# Björk: Sonic Symbolism

Björk: Sonic Symbolism is a podcast featuring Icelandic singer-songwriter and actress Björk in conversation with philosopher and writer Oddný Eir and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson. The series provides an intimate reflection on the creation of each of Björk's albums, exploring the textures, timbres, and emotional landscapes that characterized their development.
The podcast delves into the inspirations and life phases influencing Björk's work, offering listeners insight into her creative process. Each episode focuses on a specific album, beginning with the release of her first album, and continues chronologically through her discography. The first three episodes, covering Debut (1993) Post (1995) and Homogenic (1997) were released simultaneously on September 1, 2022, with subsequent episodes following weekly. The podcast lead up to the release of Björk's tenth studio album, Fossora (2022).
In the podcast Björk discusses how visual elements, such as album covers, serve as "homemade tarot cards" that convey the sound and mood of each album. She explains that the color palettes, textiles, and imagery associated with her albums are deliberate expressions of their sonic qualities.
The podcast was made in a collaboration between Mailchimp and Talkhouse, and was produced by Christian Koons and edited by Koons and Anna Gyða.

## Background and development

The conception of the podcast emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that afforded Björk the opportunity to reflect on her creative journey. Björk sought to delve into the intricate processes behind each of her albums, to explore the moods, timbres, and tempos that characterized her work at various stages of her career. For the podcast, she collaborated with longterm friends and collaborators, including philosopher and writer Oddný Eir, with whom she co-wrote "Thunderbolt" on Biophilia (2011) and "Atom Dance" from Vulnicura (2015), and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson, which helped her compile her Live Box compilation (2003).
The podcast series was structured to provide an intimate, chronological exploration of Björk's discography, beginning with her 1993 album Debut and progressing through subsequent releases. Each episode focuses on a specific album, offering insights into the personal experiences, artistic influences, and cultural contexts that shaped its creation. The podcast was firstly announced on August 25, 2022, while the first three episodes, covering Debut, Post and Homogenic were released simultaneously on September 1, 2022, with subsequent episodes following on a weekly basis.
In Sonic Symbolism Björk emphasizes the significance of visual elements in her work, describing album covers as "homemade tarot cards" that convey the sound and mood of each album. She explains that the color palettes, textiles, and imagery associated with her albums are deliberate expressions of their sonic qualities, providing listeners with a multisensory understanding of her artistic vision.
To promote Sonic Symbolism, Björk appeared in the August 31, 2022 episode of the fellow Mailchimp-promoted podcast Listening, where she debuted an original composition made up of two live performances from her Björk Orkestral tour, "Hidden Place" from Vespertine (2001) and "New World" from Selmasongs (2000), accompanied by The Hamrahlid Choir and mixed with field recordings from Icelandic environment.

## Reception

Upon its release, Björk: Sonic Symbolism has been received positively by critics, who commend its depth, production quality, and the unique insights it offers into Björk's creative process.
In a review for Pitchfork, writer Eric Torres describes the podcast as "an intimate, worthy deep dive" into Björk's discography. Torres notes that the series provides a "rare glimpse" into the artist's creative process, highlighting Björk's discussions about the personal and emotional contexts of her albums. The review emphasizes the podcast's appeal to long-time fans, offering nuanced insights that enrich the listening experience.
The Guardian's review by Rachel Aroesti describes the podcast as "certainly meditative but [...] never boring". The writer describes the podcast as "one of the most mesmerically soothing podcasts on the market. The Times included the podcast in its list of "10 best music podcasts", with its author Patricia Nicol observing how in the podcast "Björk is insightful about how a male-dominated industry sought to pigeon-hole female artists. The succour she derives from Iceland’s extremes has been a constant".
City Live Glasgow describes Sonic Symbolism as "a podcast worth listening to, showing an insight of Björk’s life and the beauty behind her musical thought process". Hit The North's review highlights the podcast's production quality, praising Björk as she "continues to delight and confound in equal measure".
Jezebel's author Rich Juzwiak highlights Björk for being "subdued, clear, and adept at articulating the rationale behind her most alien of sounds". The writer observes how "because Björk’s albums were reflections of where she was in life, the podcast doubles as a memoir", concluding that the artist's career "has made for a public arc like no other in modern music, and given its serialized nature, one hell of a podcast."
The Journal of Popular Music Studies published an academic analysis of the podcast, discussing its role in "voicing authorship" and challenging traditional narratives in pop music criticism. The article highlighted how the podcast allowed Björk to assert her creative authority and provided a platform for her to articulate her artistic vision.
The New Yorker's review, penned by Rachel Syme, offers a more critical perspective, suggesting that the podcast is "a rare chance to listen in as one of the most mysterious and mystical artists working today explains herself", but at the same time "never [explaining herself] so clearly as to totally unravel her own mythology", concluding that Björk "keeps it weird".

### Accolades

The Björk: Sonic Symbolism podcast series received a Webby Award nomination in the category of Best Partnership or Collaboration. The podcast additionally won a Signal Award for Most Innovative Audio Experience – Limited Series & Specials, and a bronze prize from the Clio Awards in the Streaming/Downloadable Content category.

## Episodes

Each episode describes the featured album by using a selection of words relating to the conception of the record, ranging from colors to character traits.
| No. | Title | Length | Original release date |
| 1 | "Debut" | 50:40 | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) |
| Shy, beginner, humility, virgin, beige, silver, mohair, the messenger. ||||
| 2 | "Post" | 48:15 | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) |
| Urban, greedy, promiscuity, euphoric, absorb, orange, pink. ||||
| 3 | "Homogenic" | 46:16 | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) |
| Warrior, active, volcanic beats, confrontational, icelandic octet, beats, cosmopolitan/icelandic contrast, green, patriotic. ||||
| 4 | "Vespertine" | 41:34 | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) |
| Winter world, paradise, frozen, celestial, whispered vocals, microbeats, loyal, swans, harps, music boxes, laptops, orchestra, glockenspiels, salvation, choir. ||||
| 5 | "Medúlla" | 44:47 | September 15, 2022 (2022-09-15) |
| Primordial, motherhood, black braided hair, breastfeeding, passive, pre-civilisation, goth, folk, archeology, bones, family around campfire. ||||
| 6 | "Volta" | 39:13 | September 22, 2022 (2022-09-22) |
| Justice, fire, anthropology, wanderlust, activist, brass, boats, feminist, red, neon green, electric blue, flags, trumpets, tribal beats, bombastic. ||||
| 7 | "Biophilia" | 42:51 | September 29, 2022 (2022-09-29) |
| Equilibrium, synchronising opposites, electric blue, copper, pedagogic, cosmic, atom, element table, no human scale, galaxies, nasa, not narrative, pacifist, nature/technology, solutions, kofi annan. ||||
| 8 | "Vulnicura" | 54:14 | October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06) |
| Confessional, victimhood, lieder-songs, moss tundra, greek tragedy update, man-woman-conflict, chamber orchestra, lavender wax, the ritual of mourning, sewing wound, recovery narrative, heartbreak, shock, neon, yellow, lava. ||||
| 9 | "Utopia" | 50:47 | October 13, 2022 (2022-10-13) |
| Sci-fi island in the clouds, plant-human-bird mutant, post-apocalyptic optimism, air, flutes, synths, pacifist, #metoo, matriarchal, peach, mint, idealistic, women and children surviving violence, manifesto the future, sensuality. ||||