Björk announces ‘Cornucopia: The Book’
After the release of her beautiful album Utopia, Björk began planning a tour that would become Cornucopia. The first date debuted in Manhattan in 2019, and Björk subsequently performed the tour across the world for the next four years. Now, she is releasing a book to document this impressive and theatrical feat.
Cornucopia: The Book features 480 pages full of information and images of the tour – a must-have for any diehard fan of the musical icon. It was her most elaborate and extravagant tour yet, with everything from the stage design to costumes matching perfectly with Björk’s artistic vision. She typically wore outfits designed by Iris van Herpen, with many of her costumes making her appear alien-like and otherworldly.
Alongside stunning projections and stage design inspired by fungi due to Björk’s exploration of the natural world in her music (she even has a song called ‘Fungal City’), the Cornucopia visuals were aligned with the themes reflected in her previous two albums, Utopia and Fossora.
The high-quality book will feature 313 colour images of the tour, which saw Björk perform everywhere, from her native Iceland to the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia. Each performance was accompanied by The Hamrahlíð Choir, making every show feel like a true spectacle.
In a press release, Björk revealed, “Before this tour, I spent a decade working with 360-degree sound and visual software in virtual reality and animation, creating Biophilia, the first app album, and later Vulnicura as a VR album.”
“I was deeply inspired by the idea of a fully-immersive experience, spending a spring in an Icelandic lighthouse, spreading Utopia into fully surround speakers. My intention was to bring what we had created for 21st-century VR into a 19th-century theatre—taking it from the headset to the stage.”
The musician’s vision for the tour was incredibly detailed. “This vision was realized with 27 moving curtains that captured projections on different textures and LED screens, creating a digitally animated show: a modern lanterna magica for live music. I also wanted to feature bespoke instruments: a magnetic harp, an aluphone, a circular flute, and a reverb chamber, specially built with an audio architect to enhance the most intimate version of a performance – in a personal chapel.”
Cornucopia: The Book will be available to buy on November 15th via One Little Independent Records.
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