All Is Full of Love

"All Is Full of Love", the closing track of Homogenic, was the album's last song to be written and recorded. Produced by Björk, the original version of the song was replaced "at the last minute" with a remixed version by Howie B. It was inspired by the spring while producing the album in Málaga, Spain. After living in the mountains among other people for six months, Björk felt lonely, but a morning walk in April inspired her to write the track. She had a rough winter and then she realised it was spring after she could hear the birds singing. She wrote and recorded the song in half a day. This is musically effected by Björk's vocals as she sings the lyric "All is full of love" in counterpoint with herself. focusing instead on "[creating] an intimacy between the growing dynamics of the instrumentation and Björk's impressive vocal abilities." It uses a long reverb, which results in a wash of sound that suggests a very large space suggestive of the "heavenly" environment Björk envisaged for the track. According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, the song has a soft pulse with intervals that build up to an electronic orchestration of industrial beats. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called it a "moony lullaby" and compared it to the music of Enya. In his review for Spin, James Hunter wrote that the track is one of the times Björk "dips her toe into the warm lake of tradition" and noted its "rockish minor-key verses traipse off into her gospel." The video version of the song is a midtempo trip hop ballad with soul influences. In opposition to the sonically minimalist mix included on the album, this version has been described as "lushly produced" and includes "fluttering" harps and "shivering" strings. Reportedly the best known and the preferred version by Björk's fans and herself, it is further known under the names of "Mark Stent Mix" and "Video Mix". == Release ==

In August 1998, a 12-inch single of "All Is Full of Love", containing a remix by German IDM duo Funkstörung, was released through FatCat Records as a limited release. This remix had been previously distributed as a B-side for "Hunter" (1998), and another remix of the song had been released as a B-side of "Jóga" in 1998. In January 1999, it was announced that the track would be released later that year as a single and that its music video would be shot soon. "All Is Full of Love" was released as two 12-inch singles, two CD singles, a DVD single, and a box set, which included the CD singles and the music video in VHS format. In the United Kingdom, it was also made available as two different promotional singles in 1999, and as two VHS singles. The single's artwork consists of shots from the music video and features the official logo, which can be seen in the video as well. The song was also included as the opening track of Björk's 2002 compilation album Greatest Hits, whose songs were selected by fans through a survey, in which the single was the second most voted song, coming after "Hyperballad" (1996). == Critical reception ==

Both versions of "All Is Full of Love" received acclaim from music critics. In a review for Homogenic, Phares from AllMusic described the track as a "reassuring finale". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it a "sublime rebirth", In a retrospective review, Music Tech described the song as "hauntingly-beautiful". Entertainment Weeklys David Browne was less enthusiastic, considering it "the weakest track" of the album. Douglas Wolk of CMJ New Music Monthly also gave the single a positive review, commending its B-sides and writing it "was hardly the most striking piece at the time—but the tune turns out to have been something of a sleeper." both published in 2003. The staff members of Slant Magazine placed "All Is Full of Love" at number 59 on their list of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s", writing: "Though it has been as oft-remixed as any other Björk single from the landmark Homogenic set, no version quite achieves the ethereal effect that the album mix of the song does. Coming off the tail-end of "Pluto," a sonic threnody for a suicidal fan, Björk's open-source, beat-free echo chamber is both absolution and resurrection". == Music video ==

Background and development The music video for "All Is Full of Love" was directed by Chris Cunningham. Björk was impressed by Cunningham's original music videos for IDM musicians Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin, and by his clear lines, science fiction inclinations, and discordant imagery. This resulted in Björk contacting him to meet at his London office; she brought a Chinese Kama Sutra as a guide to what she wanted. Cunningham had also associated the track with sex upon hearing it, but could not figure out how to make the video explicit yet broadcastable. by Chris Cunningham. Initially, the two protagonist robots would unfold like a flower as they mated, but the team could not manage to materialise this thought. When Cunningham first heard the track, he wrote down the words "milk", "sexual", "surgery", and "white porcelain"; they outline what would become the music video. Concerning this, Cunningham added that it was like Kama Sutra meeting industrial robotics and that because of the surreal nature of the images, they could be "sexually suggestive" as they liked. Initially, it was planned that during the visual's ending, the robots would unfold like a flower as they mated, revealing an abstract life form made from the two artificial forms. using the software programs Softimage and Flame. Cunningham said that every shot in the clip had four layers. He reportedly first shot the set and the props doing nothing for about 21 seconds, and then removed the robot and replaced it with Björk, who had her face painted white and wore a blue suit. Using a mix of the master shot and a live feed of Björk in frame, the production team tried to match up her face and the robot body as much as possible. The camera follows these cables to an ethereal, white room where a robot with Björk's features lies in a fetal position. As the room becomes illuminated by fluorescent lights flickering on, two mechanical arms begin to assemble the robot, which opens its eyes and begins to sing the song. Pistons pumping white fluids, as well as drilling and penetrative motions are seen, featuring a "clear" sexual subtext. Now sitting upright, the robot looks up to see another robotic Björk as the machines stop the assembly. It smiles and extends its hand to the sitting robot, joining in the song. In the climax of the video, the robots passionately kiss and embrace while the machines assemble their backs and light comes and goes. The images of the kissing robots are interposed with shots of white fluid washing over robotic parts and the mechanical arms assembling them. According to the Institute for the Unstable Media, "as the music fades and the pulsating beat becomes more dominant, we are once again drawn in the womb-like dark space, making it clear to us that we sampled a glimpse of a black-boxed kingdom". MusicRadar considered the music video to be "one of the most visually striking promos of Björk's career." NME also praised the "All Is Full of Love" clip as one of Björk's best, and particularly commended the wide angle shot of the cyborgs kissing as the chorus kicks in. Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine dubbed it "the perfect pre-millennial precursor to our current gadget-assisted culture of self-love" and also wrote, "When it was released, I thought it looked cool and stressed the importance of loving yourself. Now I think it's a terrifying and sealed-off nightmare wherein you find out that you are the only person who will ever love you." Writing for Pitchfork Media, Scott Plagenhoef considered that "the strongest single images from any video of the 1990s come from [the clip]", also calling it "strange and moving". CMJ New Music Monthly's Douglas Wolk called the video "magnificent" and praised it for "[bringing] out the beauty of the song". Recognition and legacy at MoMA, New York City. The music video has won various awards and accolades. It won the Jury Prize at ArtFutura Festival of 1999, Best Video in the 2000 Fantasporto, Best Video at the 2000 Australian Effects and Animation Festival and Best Art Direction in a Video and Best Special Effects in a Video at the Music Week Awards. and the music video award at the London Effects and Animation Festival. Furthermore, at the MVPA Awards, Cunningham received the award for Best Direction of a Female Artist in a Music Video. Björk won two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000: Breakthrough Video and Best Special Effects in a Video. The music video also received the Best Special Effects in a Music Video and Best 3D Animation Music Video during the 2000 International Monitor Awards. and Best Alternative Video, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing in a Video at the 2000 Music Week Awards. In 2011, "All Is Full of Love" was placed at number 14 in MusicRadar's list of the 30 best music videos of all time, the 49th Venice Biennale, While Interwoven Echoes Drip into a Hybrid Body – an Exhibition about Sound, Performance and Sculpture in the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zürich, and This Is Not a Love Song in La Virreina Centre de la Imatge in Barcelona. The music video was also on permanent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Chris Cunningham served as a model for a character in the novel Pattern Recognition (2003) by William Gibson, in which a fictitious music video director who puts "robot girls in his video" makes a clip characterised by the following words: "No sci-fi kitsch for Damien. Dreamlike things in the dawn half-light, their small breasts gleaming, white plastic shining faint as old marble", as a reference to "All Is Full of Love". In 2004, similarities were noted between the design of the robots in the music video and those in the film I, Robot, raising accusations of plagiarism by fans. E! News contacted Cunningham and 20th Century Fox—the studio behind the film—but neither of them returned calls for comment. It also was an inspiration for the opening title sequence of the television series Westworld. == Live performances ==

during her Vespertine world tour in 2001 Björk first performed "All Is Full of Love" live in July 1997, playing the whole album for a press conference and presentation concert concerning Homogenic at the Old Truman Building, an old beer factory in London, wearing a pink dress designed by Hussein Chalayan, which she would later sport in the video for "Bachelorette" (1997) and photoshoots. The song was part of the set list for her Homogenic tour, on which Björk embarked with Mark Bell and Icelandic String Octet from late 1997 to early 1999. "All Is Full of Love" was also performed during the Vespertine world tour in 2001, which featured Vespertine collaborators Matmos and Zeena Parkins, an Inuit choir, and an orchestra. During the tour, Björk performed in concert halls and opera houses in order to "have the best acoustics possible" and avoid the "appalling acoustics" of stadiums and rock venues. Björk's concert at the Royal Opera House of 16 December 2001, which included a performance of the song, was broadcast on BBC Four and released as the DVD Live at Royal Opera House in 2002. A live version of the track can also be found on the tour documentary DVD Minuscule of 2003. A Vespertine tour live version of the song was released through Vespertine Live, a live album of the tour included in the box set Live Box (2003). The headliner of the 2002 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Björk opened the set with the track, wearing a white Comme des Garçons dress. This performance was included on the 2006 video documentary Coachella. The song was also part of the set list of the Greatest Hits tour (2003), which once again featured the Icelandic String Octet, but with the addition of Vespertine world tour collaborators Matmos and Zeena Parkins. It was one of the most played songs of the tour. Björk's performance of the song in New York City during the tour was included in the 2005 documentary film Screaming Masterpiece. "All Is Full of Love" was also performed during the Volta tour (2007–08), a tour she undertook with Mark Bell, Jónas Sen, Damian Taylor, Chris Corsano, and a 10-piece female brass band. Several of the concerts were part of festivals, including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Rock en Seine, among others. A live performance of the track during the tour was included in the box set Voltaïc (2009), specifically the CD Songs from the Volta Tour Performed Live at the Olympic Studios. The track was also performed a few times during Björk's Biophilia tour (2011–13). The song was performed only once on the 2015 Vulnicura tour. == Cover versions ==

In 2001, American indie rock band the Microphones covered "All Is Full of Love" for their 2001 studio album, Blood. It was also covered by Death Cab for Cutie and was released on their 2002 The Stability EP. The Vitamin String Quartet, a musical group known for its tributes to popular music acts, covered the track as part of their 2005 tribute to Björk Violently: The String Quartet Tribute To Bjork. In 2022, Rosie Thomas covered "All Is Full of Love" with guest vocalists including Sufjan Stevens and the Shins. == Track listings ==

1998 • UK CD • Björk mit Funkstörung – "All Is Full of Love (In Love With Funkstörung Mix)" – 5:29 • Funkstörung – "This Shit" – 5:01 • Björk mit Funkstörung – "All Is Full of Love (Secondotted by Funkstörung)" – 4:37 : The 12-inch vinyl version of the single only featured the first two tracks. The "Secondotted by Funkstörung" mix was included on the 1999 single as the "Funkstörung Exclusive Mix". 1999 • European CD • "All Is Full of Love" (Radio mix) – 4:50 • "All Is Full of Love" (Radio Strings Mix) – 4:46 • "All Is Full of Love" (Guy Sigsworth mix) – 4:22 • "All Is Full of Love" (Funkstörung Exclusive mix) – 4:36 • "All Is Full of Love" (Plaid mix) – 4:15 • US CD • "All Is Full of Love" (video version) – 4:50 • "All Is Full of Love" (Funkstörung Exclusive mix) – 4:36 • "All Is Full of Love" (Strings) – 4:46 • "All Is Full of Love" (album version) – 4:32 • "All Is Full of Love" (Plaid mix) – 4:15 • "All Is Full of Love" (Guy Sigsworth mix) – 4:22 • UK CD1 • "All Is Full of Love" – 4:50 • "All Is Full of Love" (Funkstörung Exclusive mix) – 4:36 • "All Is Full of Love" (Strings) – 4:46 • UK CD2 • "All Is Full of Love" (Album version) – 4:32 • "All Is Full of Love" (Plaid mix) – 4:15 • "All Is Full of Love" (Guy Sigsworth mix) – 4:22 • UK DVD • "All Is Full of Love" (Video) – 4:50 • "All Is Full of Love" (Funkstörung Exclusive mix) (audio) – 4:36 • "All Is Full of Love" (Strings) (audio) – 4:46 • 12-inch vinyl 1 • "All Is Full of Love" (μ-ziq 7 minute mix) – 3:51 • "All Is Full of Love" (μ-ziq 1 minute mix) – 1:05 • "All Is Full of Love" (Funkstörung Exclusive mix) – 4:36 • 12-inch vinyl 2 • "All Is Full of Love" (Plaid remix) – 4:15 • "All Is Full of Love" (Guy Sigsworth mix) – 4:22 == Credits and personnel ==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Homogenic and the single's physical release. • Written by Björk • Production – Howie B (album version) – Björk (video version) • Mixing engineer – Howie B (album version) – Björk, Mark Stent (video version) • Assistants – Rebecca Storey, Russell Polden, Paul "P-Dub" Walton, Jason Westbrook, Danny Brown, Kirsten Cowie, Sie Midway-Smith, James Loughrey, Rob Murphy and Jason Groucott • Keyboards – Björk, Mark Bell and Guy Sigsworth • Programming – Mark Bell and Markus Dravs • Electronic drumkit – Trevor Morais • Clavichord and pipe organ – Guy Sigsworth • Accordion – Yasuhiro "Coba" Kobayashi • Glass harmonica – Alasdair Malloy • Published by Polygram Music Publishing Ltd == Charts ==