Are apps the new albums? We’ll find out this summer when Björk brings her multimedia extravaganza Biophilia to the stage for a six-night residency at the Manchester International Festival.
At the shows, the singer will perform songs from her forthcoming seventh studio LP — also called Biophilia — which she partially recorded on an Apple iPad and plans to release as a series of apps. According to Dazed Digital, the show will “explore ideas like how sound works, the infinite expanse of the universe, from planetary systems to atomic structures” and encompass installations, the Internet and of course, apps. Björk has also created a series of bespoke instruments especially for the project, including a digitally-controlled pipe organ; a 30 foot pendulum that harnesses the earth’s gravitational pull to create musical patterns(!), a gamelan-celeste hybrid and a one-off pin barrel harp.
Sounds fun, educational and difficult to bootleg. Will the app-o-sphere ever be the same?
Following the Manchester International Festival residency, the show will tour to other cities. Check out Björk’s summer dates and a Biophilia track that was included in the Solar System iPad app after the jump.