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Biophilia tour

The Biophilia tour was the seventh concert tour by Icelandic musician Björk. The tour was centered on her multimedia project and studio album Biophilia (2011). The tour premiered at the Manchester International Festival and visited Europe, Americas, Asia, including her first visit to Taiwan, and featured the first performance in Africa.

Background
At the end of 2010, Björk confirmed she was working on a new album. In an interview published on Fréttablaðið, the singer stated that the project was midway through the completion and that she hoped to go on tour before the end of 2011. Björk originally conceived the idea for the tour as a house in Iceland where each room would represent a song from the album. When she was contacted from National Geographic they proposed to produce a 3D film from that original idea. Because of that, the singer contacted long time collaborator Michel Gondry and they started to write a script for the movie. Because of the director conflicting schedule with the editing of The Green Hornet, the project was scrapped. The project was officialised in March 2011, with the announcement of Björk performance at Manchester International Festival. The project, called Biophilia, comprises a series of live performances, a new website, a documentary and a series of apps, besides the release as a music album which is partly composed on an iPad. The Biophilia tour was said to be touring eight cities for three years and to be including a series of workshops for children in collaboration with local schools. with one show being added later and dubbed as a "preview show" on June 27, 2011. In July 2011, Björk was announced as the headliner of Bestival, her only planned outdoor concert of that year. On July 8, 2011, the second residency was announced to be at Harpa in Reykjavík, with six shows planned. The first two shows were also part of Iceland Airwaves. with a last one being announced later. The Icelandic residency went sold out. In the beginning of 2012, the third residency was announced to take place in New York City, in partnership with The Creators Project and the New York Hall of Science, where six of the ten planned gigs were announced to take place, with the other four being at Roseland Ballroom. However, due to an illness, one show that was to take place at the Hall of Science was rescheduled and moved to the Roseland Ballroom. After the end of the residency, another one was announced at Centro de Exposiciones of Buenos Aires, with the last show taking place at the Estadio G.E.B.A. However, due to the discovery of a nodule on her vocal cords, Björk had to cancel the last show at the Centro de Exposiciones and the concert at the Estadio G.E.B.A. The tour started again in February 2013, with the fifth residency in Paris, where four concerts took place at the Cirque en Chantier on the Île Seguin and two at the Zénith de Paris. When a fund-raising project appeared on the website for the company Kickstarter, it was stated that the Biophilia tour would visit San Francisco, Los Angeles and Tokyo as the next residencies. The California residency was announced on April 1, 2013, with three dates in Richmond, and three in Los Angeles. Once again, because of ticket requests, another date at the Hollywood Palladium was added. On May 21, 2013, the website of music promoters Smash was updated with details on the last Biophilia residency at the Miraikan museum in Tokyo, with three dates to take place at the end of July and the beginning of August. After an announcement was previewed on Björk's official Facebook page, on June 10, 2013, the last Biophilia concert with the "in round format" was announced at the Alexandra Palace of London. ==Concert synopsis==
Concert synopsis
in New York, featured Björk accompanied by an Icelandic choir called Graduale Nobili. Many instruments were created and brought on stage specifically for the shows: a tesla coil, a bespoke pipe organ that accepts digital information, a pin-barrel harp, a midi-controlled gamelan-celesta hybrid, and a pendulum-harp that harnesses the earth's gravitational pull to create musical patterns. Musicians include Max Weisel (app developer), Matt Robertson (electronics, midi instruments and musical director), Manu Delago (hang drum and percussion), the Icelandic Female Choir and Jón Stefánsson (choir conductor). Jónas Sen (harpsichord, pipe organ and gameleste) also participated in the concerts during the Reykjavík and Paris residencies. Zeena Parkins joined the tour for the North American residencies. Animations by Stephen Malinowski are shown during the performances. A total of 40 songs have been performed. The show is conceived the following way: the stage is in the middle of the venue with a standing area around it and seats in the background. Björk considered the idea of the circular structure very important since the instruments are set all through the stage and people can flow around it to see all of them. Björk also wanted in to have an intimate, close feeling. Most of Björk's all-time songs were reworked to fit the aesthetics of the show and were played with the new instruments commissioned exclusively for that purpose. Thus, "Jóga" was played with a pipe organ instead of its characteristical set of strings; "One Day", "Venus as a Boy" and "Possibly Maybe" were played with a hang drum; "You've Been Flirting Again" used a choral arrangement and "Declare Independence", "Pluto", "Possibly Maybe" and "Army of Me" included the performance of a Tesla coil. During the shows in Iceland and Paris, keyboarder Jónas Sen joined to play new versions of "Pleasure is All Mine" on organ and "Vertebrae by Vertebrae" and "Sacrifice" on the harpsichord. Harpist Zeena Parkins joined during the American legs of the tour and also played a reworked version of "Sacrifice" with a harp. == Broadcasts and recordings ==
Broadcasts and recordings
When the Biophilia project was first unveiled, it was announced that a documentary including footage of studio recording, interviews and rehearsal for the live performances, which would culminate in the first live performance at the Manchester International Festival, was in the works. It was also stated that the Manual Edition of Biophilia would include essays by Nikki Dibben, design, drawing and live photography by M/M Paris, additional photography by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, along with a bonus disc of exclusive material. Before the release of the album it was confirmed that the second disc would include a live recording of the Biophilia show in Manchester. The live recording of "Solstice" that was included in this disc is the official version featured in the Biophilia album. After the debut of the residency, the official website of the Manchester International Festival posted footage from the show, including snippets from "Thunderbolt" and "Moon". Another snippet from the latter performance was shown on BBC Scotland. On November 3, 2011, the performance of "Thunderbolt" was released as a music video on Spotify. While the original idea for the documentary never materialised, the project evolved as a mutual collaboration between David Attenborough and Björk herself. The English naturalist had previously provided the spoken introduction for the live shows and the apps. On March 21, 2014, it was announced that the documentary would be released on May 5, 2014, on DVD and Blu-ray. After Björk dedicated "Declare Independence" to the Pussy Riot, Pitchfork posted a recording from the performance at Flow Festival in Helsinki. When the fifth Biophilia residency was announced in Paris, it was specified that the February 27, 2013, concert at the Cirque en Chantier would be filmed. However, this was not realised. After the start of the residency in San Francisco, an Instagram account which was opened to follow the tour was followed by a three-part video diary of the behind the scenes and rehearsal of the San Francisco shows. The three videos were released on May 21, May 23 and May 25, respectively. The Instagram account has posted several short videos of rehearsal and photos from the tour. The September 3, 2013 show at Alexandra Palace in London was recorded. On March 26, 2014, the recording was confirmed to have its worldwide debut at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2014. The film, aptly called Björk: Biophilia Live was directed by Peter Strickland and Nick Fenton. On November 24, 2014, the film was released as a video and live album in physical formats, and included a short documentary called "Biophilia at Miraikan", shot at the museum in Tokyo. == Opening acts ==
Opening acts
Leila Arab (Zénith de Paris concerts) • These New Puritans (Hollywood Bowl concert) • Death Grips (Echo Beach concert) • Mykki Blanco (Echo Beach concert) == Set list ==
Set list
In-the-round shows This set list is from the September 3, 2013 concert in London, England. It is not intended to represent all concerts for the tour. Introduction from David Attenborough • "Oskasteinn" • "Thunderbolt" • "Moon" • "Crystalline" • "Hollow" • "Dark Matter" • "Hidden Place" • "Mouth's Cradle" • "Isobel" • "Virus" • "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" • "Possibly Maybe" • "Where Is the Line" • "Mutual Core" • "Cosmogony" • "Solstice" ;Encore • "Sacrifice" • "One Day" • "Náttúra" • "Declare Independence" Festival shows This set list is from the July 27, 2013 concert in Yuzawa, Japan. It is not intended to represent all concerts for the tour. • "Cosmogony" • "Hunter" • "Thunderbolt" • "Moon" • "Crystalline" • "Hollow" • "Hidden Place" • "Heirloom" • "One Day" • "Jóga" • "Pagan Poetry" • "Army of Me" • "Mutual Core" • "Hyperballad" • "Pluto" • "Náttúra" ;Encore • "Oskasteinn" • "Declare Independence" Other songs performed Björk rehearsed different songs from her discography for the tour and changed set list order for every show. These songs are not included in the set lists reported above. • "It's Not Up to You" • "All Is Full of Love" • "Unravel" • "Pleasure Is All Mine" • "Unison" • "Venus as a Boy" • "Generous Palmstroke" • "Undo" • "Bachelorette" • "Immature" Notes == Tour dates ==
Tour dates
" live at the Cirque en Chantier on February 24, 2013. Festivals performances Cancellations and rescheduled shows ==Awards and nominations==
Awards and nominations
Icelandic Music Awards Lunas del Auditorio ==Personnel==
Personnel
All credits adapted from Biophilia: Live tour book • Björk – concept, production, creative lead, musical director, arrangements • David Attenborough – narration • James Merry – project coordinator and research Band • Matt Robertson – musical director, midi instruments and choir arrangement (2011 and 2013 shows) • Manu Delagohang and percussion • Damian Taylor – musical direction • Henry Dagg – sharpsichord (Manchester and London shows) • Jónas Sen – keyboards, harpsichord (Reykjavík and Paris shows) • Max Weisel – musical director, midi instruments (2012 shows) • Zeena Parkins – harp (New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles shows) Choir: Graduale Nobili: • Arnheiður Eiríksdóttir • Auður Albertsdóttir • Ásdís Björg Gestsdóttir • Ásdís Eva Ólafsdóttir • Ásta Ægisdóttir • Bergljót Rafnar Karlsdóttir • Drífa Örvarsdóttir • Elín Edda Sigurðardóttir • Erla María Markúsdóttir • Erla Rún Guðmundsdóttir • Ester Auðunsdóttir • Eygló Höskuldsdóttir Viborg • Fífa Jónsdóttir • Fjóla Anna Jónsdóttir • Gígja Gylfadóttir • Gígja Haraldsdóttir • Guðrún M Sigurbergsdóttir • Harpa Björnsdóttir • Jóna G Kolbrúnardóttir • Kristín Anna Guðmundsdóttir • Kristín Einarsdóttir Mäntylä • Kristín Sveinsdóttir • Sigrún Ósk Jóhannesdóttir • Sigurborg Skúladóttir Kaldal • Unnur Sigurðardóttir • Vigdís Sigurðardóttir • Jón Stefánsson – choir conductor • Andri Steinn Snæbjornsson – choir assisted by Stage, audio and technical • Dave Bracey – front of house sound engineer • Finnur Ragnarsson – monitor sound engineer • Paul Eastman – midi technician • Jez Webb – backline technician • Ryan Wistort – pendulum technician • Rob Priddle – audio technician • Don Parks – audio technician • Ben Vickets – audio technician • Richard Cook – audio technician • Paul Normandale – concert lighting design • Emma Westerberg – lighting operator • Snibbe Interactive – video content • Christine Ockenden – projectionist • Andy Rhymes – video programmer • Lucy Ockenden – video programmer • John Ginley – lighting project manager • Mick Stowe – lighting technician • Chris Cooper – lighting technician • Peter van der Velde – production manager, venue and show design • Shaun Martin – tour manager Instruments production • Björgvin Tómasson – gameleste, pipe organ • Matt Nolan – gameleste • Andy Cavatorta – gravity harp • Henry Dagg – sharpsichord • PANArt – hang • Aron Koscho – Singing Tesla coilSergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger – reactable ==References==
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