Volta

by Bjoerk

Overview

Once again finding harmony and creating alchemy between seeming opposites, on Volta Bjoerk is bold but thoughtful, delicate yet strong, accessible and avant. The intricacy and complexity of projects like Medulla and Drawing Restraint 9 suggested that she might have left the more direct side of her work behind, but Volta's opening track and lead single, "Earth Intruders," puts that notion to rest: the song literally marches in, riding a bubbling, ritualistic beat courtesy of Timbaland and Konono No. 1's electric thumb-pianos. Bjoerk howls "Turmoil! Carnage!" like incantations over the din, and after several albums' worth of beautiful whispers, it's a joy to hear her raise her voice and volume like this. "Wanderlust" follows and provides the yin to "Earth Intruders"' yang, its horns and brooding melody giving it the feel of a moodier, more contemplative version of "The Anchor Song." These two songs set the tone for the rest of Volta's pendulum-like swings between sounds and moods, all of which are tied together by found-sound and brass-driven interludes that give the impression that the album was recorded in a harbor -- an apt metaphor for how ideas and collaborators come and go on this album. Timbaland's beats resurface on "Innocence," another of Volta's most potent moments; a sample of what sounds like a man getting punched in the gut underscores Bjoerk's viewpoint that purity is something powerful, not gentle. Antony and the Johnsons' Antony Hegarty lends his velvety voice to two outstanding but very different love songs: "The Dull Flame of Desire" captures swooning romance by pairing Bjoerk and Hegarty's voices with a slowly building tattoo courtesy of Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale; "My Juvenile," which is dedicated to Bjoerk's son Sindri, closes Volta with a much gentler duet. Considering how much sonic and emotional territory the album spans -- from the brash, anthemic "Declare Independence," which sounds a bit like Homogenic's "Pluto," to "Pneumonia" and "Vertebrae by Vertebrae," which are as elliptical and gentle as anything on Vespertine or Drawing Restraint 9 -- Volta could very easily sound scattered, but this isn't the case. Instead, it finds the perfect balance between the vibrancy of her poppier work in the '90s and her experiments in the 2000s. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	03/11/2011
Label:	One Little Indian
UPC:	0827954046041

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bjoerk   Primary Artist,Vocals,Clavichord,Synthesizer Bass
Anohni   Primary Artist
Mark Blakkat Bell   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Brian Chippendale   Drums
Eirikur Oern Palsson   Brass
Antony Hegarty   Vocals,Clavichord,Featured Artist
Emil Fridjfinnsson   Brass
Mark Bell   Keyboards
Jonas Sen   Clavichord
Nate Hills   Drums,Keyboards
Timbaland   Keyboards,Percussion
Toumani Diabate   Kora
Susan Panny   Horn
Sigurdjur Porbergsson   Brass
David Bobroff   Brass
Sharon Moe   Horn
Chris Corsano   Drums,Percussion
Nico Muhly   Conductor

Technical Credits

Daniel Morrison   Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
David Emery   Audio Engineer
Mark Bell   Audio Production,Beats,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Alex Dromgoole   Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Bjoerk   Audio Production,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Brass Arrangement
Jonathan Tams   Audio Engineer
Jimmy Douglass   Mixing,Engineer
Neil Dorfsman   Mixing,Engineer
Danja   Producer
Yves Wernert   Engineer
Damian Taylor   Beats,Editing,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Treatments,Vocal Programming
Andy Manganello   Mixing,Engineer
Mark Blakkat Bell   Beats,Producer,Programming
Christophe Tonglet   Assistant Engineer
Sjon   Composer
Nick Knight   Photography
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Jason Agel   Assistant Engineer
Nate Hills   Beats,Composer
Timothy Mosley   Composer
Timbaland   Beats,Producer
Michael Paert   Editing,Engineer,Musician
Andrea Helgadottir   Make-Up
Aron Por Arnarsson   Musician,Assistant Engineer
Christian Rutledge   Musician,Contractor
Ichiho Nishiki   Assistant Engineer
Inez VanLamsweerde   Photography
Vinoodh Matadin   Photography
Matt Robertson   Musician
Damien Taylor   Engineer,Producer
Paul "P-Dub" Walton   Engineer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Sigurjon Sigurdsson   Composer
Chris Corsano   Musician
Hector Castillo   Engineer
Bjoerk Gudjmundsdottir   Composer
Pete Davis   Programming
Nico Muhly   Adaptation
Vincent Kenis   Engineer