Like many Icelandic artists before her, Björk spent much of her teenage years singing as part of the renowned Hamrahlid Choir. Things have now come full circle, as the experimental artist has contributed to the choir’s upcoming album, Come and Be Joyful.
The two acts have specifically collaborated on a new version of “Sonnets”, originally taken from Björk’s 2004 album Medúlla. This completely reworked a cappella rendition was actually first premiered live by the choir during Björk’s mesmerizing “Cornucopia Tour” in 2019, but hasn’t been released to the public until today.
“[Hamrahlid Choir founder] þorgerður is a legend in iceland and has guarded optimism and the light in the tumultuous times that teenagedom is,” Björk praised the choir’s leader on social media. “she has also encouraged and commissioned dozens of choir music from all of icelands most prominant composers for half a century or so.”
Stream this divine new 2020 iteration of “Sonnets” below. Come and Be Joyful, which also features a Björk-assisted reimagining of Biophilia cut “Cosmogony”, is out December 4th via longtime label One Little Independent Records.
For more of Björk, her entire discography was recently added to Bandcamp. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until at least 2021 to see her perform anything live again.