Medúlla (2004)

Medúlla is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electronic-influenced previous album Vespertine (2001), Björk intended to make an album almost entirely constructed with human vocals, in contrast to the previous album's intense process of composition and multiple layers of instrumentation. The album's title derives from the Latin word for "marrow".

Medúlla received critical acclaim from music critics, with many calling it "unique", although others deemed it "confusing". Although the album was not as commercially successful as her previous albums, it did reach number one in the charts of France, Iceland and Wallonia, whilst also peaking within the top ten in the United Kingdom. Medúlla is estimated to have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and received two nominations at the 47th Grammy Awards.

Two singles were released from Medúlla: "Who Is It" and "Triumph of a Heart", with both charting inside the top 40 in the United Kingdom and the top 10 in Spain. Björk further promoted the album by performing the song "Oceania" at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and other television and radio shows. Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla, as Björk thought it would be too difficult to play the songs live.

Background and production

Björk began working on her fifth studio album in 2002, being known as The Lake Album at the time. In an interview with The New Yorker, she explained that she wanted to avoid instruments and electronics present on her previous album, Vespertine (2001), and said that the project was "very introverted" and "was avoiding eye contact". Whilst she was finishing Vespertine, Björk wanted to make an album composed of vocals, and wanted to since her teenage years. According to her, majority of the album is related to the time when she was 17 to 18 years old, focusing on life, love, family, and friends. She commented that she used to live "carefree" as a teenager, and how others affected the way she thought, saying that it is shown in Medúlla. Björk began working on the album while eight months pregnant by adding her own live drumming to the arrangements of previously recorded demos. She then started muting the instruments, and liked the result of it. She was inspired by paganism, and the idea of returning to a universe that is entirely human, without tools or religion or nationalities. "I wanted the record to be like muscle, blood, flesh. We could be in a cave somewhere and one person would start singing, and another person would sing a beat and then the next person sing a melody, and you could just kind of be really happy in your cave. It's quite rootsy", she added.

Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer who worked with Björk on her 2001 Vespertine world tour, was also featured. Björk was so impressed with her voice's ability that she invited Tagaq to work with her on the album. She asked British singer Robert Wyatt to be a featured vocalist on the album, as she was looking for something more "passionate" and "human". Additionally, the musician "wanted a bit of rock" on Medúlla, so she invited singer Mike Patton of rock band Faith No More. Björk also invited the London and Icelandic choirs, in order to have a classical feel on the album. However, the "musical fascist" in her decided using any MCs or vocal percussionists would be too "cheesy"; she later changed her mind when she saw beatboxer Rahzel from The Roots freestyle a whole Kraftwerk track without pausing for breath. Björk found his voice "above and beyond any cliché" and thought he was perfect for the album's beat-based songs. Another beatboxer, Dokaka, was invited after Björk got a link to his webpage and liked his covers so much that she decided to work with him; he appears on a few songs.

American singer Beyoncé was planned to be featured on the album as well, but she did not appear due to scheduling issues. When asked what she liked about Beyoncé, Björk stated that "[Medúlla] is an album about voices, and she's got the most amazing voice."