Biophilia
Björk, Scott Snibbe Studio, and collaborators
Do you love all of ‘life’?
Pop on the headphones and be immersed in the vibrant visual and musical world of renowned artist Björk with their innovative app/album Biophilia. In the app, choosing a song is like choosing a mini-game. As you make your way through the cosmos, you can try to protect a cell from a viral invasion, modify songs to create your own compositions, or explore the microscopic minutiae of blood tissue. Exquisitely animated biological processes unite with the Icelandic singer-songwriter’s ethereal music to create a uniquely interactive album experience. Journey into a world that explores rhythms, space and intricate bodily processes – a musical love letter to nature and all the organisms in it.
How can we visualise music??
Björk Guðmundsdóttir is a famous Icelandic singer, composer, actor, and artist. She has had an incredible career in the industry, having written and produced seven studio albums. The first of which she wrote and recorded at 12 years of age. She has performed with multiple bands such as ‘Spit and Snot’, ‘Jam-80’, ‘Exodus’ and ‘Sugarcubes’. As well as having a successful career in film, acting chops including ‘Dancer in the Dark’ and ‘Drawing Restraint 9’, and currently holds an Academy award for ‘Selmasongs’, which she wrote and performed.
Scott Snibbe is a pioneer of interactive art, art that is co-created with its audience. He’s best known for immersive art installations that use projectors and computer vision to respond to human bodies moving in an artwork’s space. His interactive art installations have been exhibited in art galleries worldwide and can be found in the contemporary art collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and other museums, science centers, and private collections.
Biophilia collaborator credits:
music and concept by Björk
designed by m/m (paris)
produced and engineered by scott snibbe studio
james merry
project coordinator and researcher
derek birkett and michele anthony
artist management
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essays by nikki dibben
guided tour and introductions by sjón
narration by david attenborough
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m/m (paris)
michael amzalag and mathias augustyniak
creative directors
boon lertvilai
design
mathieu meyer
typefaces and scores development
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scott snibbe studio
scott snibbe
executive producer, creative director, technical director, software engineer
sharon hibbert
project manager
graham mcdermott
software engineer
deeje cooley
software engineer
colin roache
build master and quality assurance
nathan heigert
designer and animator
sharon pieczenik
production assistant
henrique schlatter manfroi / sulistas
software engineer
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kodama studios
mark danks
software architecture and framework engineer
sarah stocker
production manager
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touch press
theo gray
max whitby
luc barthelet
drew berry
creative consultants
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relativewave
max weisel
creative consultant
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animated scores
stephen malinowski / music animation machine
creative director, animator, software engineer
mark danks
technical director
henrique schlatter manfroi / sulistas
software engineer
sharon hibbert
production manager
sharon pieczenik
production assistant
matt robertson
jónas sen
midi transcriptions
damian taylor
additional midi editing
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traditional scores
m/m (paris)
design and creative lead
björk
jónas sen
musical arrangements
jónas sen
hrafnkell orri egilsson
matt robertson
arni heimir
vocal transcriptions
mathieu meyer
design development
luis othon
design assistance
deeje cooley
software engineer
henrique schlatter manfroi / sulistas
software engineer
barry blum
technical assistant
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itunes
robert kondrk
jay liepis
itunes
ryan dixon
app store
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apple inc.
craig linsson
developer support
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the biophilia app suite was produced using the following software libraries: cocos2d, cocos3d, and the fmod ex sound system from firelight technologies.
album
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moon
music written by björk and damian taylor
lyrics by björk
choir arrangement by björk
choir transcription árni heimir ingólfsson
harp by zeena parkins, shelley burgon, sara cutler, carol emanuel
harp contractor zeena parkins
drum programming by pablo diaz-reixa, björk and damian taylor
programming by björk and damian taylor
engineered by damian taylor, sveinn kjartansson and brian hernandez
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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thunderbolt
music written by björk
lyrics written by björk and oddný eir ævarsdóttir
choir arrangement by björk
choir transcription by árni heimir ingólfsson
teslacoil bassline and beat by björk
teslacoil bassline and beat programmed by damian taylor and björk
engineered by damian taylor and sveinn kjartansson
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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crystalline
music and lyrics by björk
gamelesta arrangement by björk
beat programming by 16bit
bassline by björk and 16bit
engineered by damian taylor, 16bit and sveinn kjartansson
produced by björk and 16bit
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cosmogony
music by björk
lyrics by sjón
brass arrangement by björk
brass transcription by matt robertsson
choir arrangement by björk
beat by björk
beat programmed by björk and damian taylor
engineered by damian taylor, sveinn kjartansson
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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dark matter
music written by björk and mark bell
programmed by mark bell, damian taylor and björk
vocal arrangement by björk
engineered by damian taylor
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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hollow
music and lyrics by björk
choir arrangement by björk
choir transcription by árni heimir ingólfsson
beat programming matthew herbert and björk
engineered by damian taylor and sveinn kjartansson
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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virus
music written by björk
lyrics written by sjón
gameleste arrangement by björk
hang arrangment by manu delagu and björk
beat and bass programming by pablo diaz-reixa
choir arrangement by björk
choir transcription by árni heimir ingólfsson
engineered by damian taylor, sveinn kjartansson, brian hernandez and mario dejesus
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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sacrifice
music and lyrics by björk
voice arrangement by björk
sharpsichord arrangement by björk
adapted to sharpsichord by henry dagg
engineered by damian taylor, mario dejesus and cameron craig
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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mutual core
music and lyrics by björk
organ arrangement by björk
beat by 16bit, matthew herbert and björk
programmed by 16bit, matthew herbert and björk
choir arrangement by björk
engineered by damian taylor, sveinn kjartansson
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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solstice
music by björk
lyrics by sjón
english translation by david mcduff
pendulum played by zeena parkins
engineered by damian taylor
mixed by damian taylor and björk
produced by björk
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derek birkett
production and business developer
james harman
legal advisor
interactive studio musical system concept by björk and damian taylor, designed and programmed by damian taylor
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choir
arnheiður eiriksdóttir
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
gígja gylfadóttir
gígja haraldsdóttir
guðrún m sigurbergsdóttir
jóna g kolbrúnardóttir
kristín anna guðmundsdóttir
kristín einarsdóttir mäntylä
kristín sveinsdóttir
sigrún ósk jóhannesdóttir
sigurborg skúladóttir kaldal
unnur sigurðardóttir
vigdis sigurðardóttir
conducted by
jón stefánsson
harps
zeena parkins
shelley burgon
sara cutler
carol emanuel
brass
valdís þorkelsdóttir
ragnhildur gunnarsdóttir
trumpets
bergrún snæbjörnsdóttir
erla axelsdóttir
særun ósk pálmadóttir
lilja valdimarsdóttir
french horns
harpa jóhannsdóttir
sigrún jónsdóttir
li ming yeung
jessica buzbee
trombones
brynja guðmundsdóttir
tuba
pendulum harp made by andy cavatorta
midi controlled pipe organ made by björgvin tómasson
midi controlled gamelan celeste hybrid made by björgvin tómasson and matt nolan
all custom instruments based on ideas by björk
this project was worked on in reykjavik, seltjarnarnes, and þingvellir in iceland, new york, guatemala, puerto rico and belize
mastered at the lodge by emily lazar and joe laporta
with thanks to heba kadry
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published by universal music
except
mark bell published by emi music
oddný eir ævarsdóttir under copyright control
damian taylor under copyright control
(p)(c) 2011 the copyright of this audio visual recording and programme is controlled by wellhart and one little indian, and is exclusively licensed to polydor records a division of universal music for the world excluding the uk and iceland. the territories of usa, canada are exclusively licensed to nonesuch records a division of warners music group for north america and canada.