Björk’s Biophilia: A Mesmerizing Transmedia Experience

In 1992, Björk launched a stellar solo career with her international hit, Human Behavior.  Seemingly in a fantastical world uniquely her own, no one is quite like Björk, even in 2011.  So, Björk fans are certainly not surprised by her recent launch of Biophilia, a mesmerizing transmedia storytelling experience.

Björk, an avant-garde musician who has always pushed the envelope in terms of the definition of music, has successfully launched the world’s first app album, which has already been heralded as “the future of the entire record industry.”

“The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems.”

Appropriately named, Björk’s Biophilia is an organic part of her extensive music career.  The particularly modern presentation of this, Björk’s eighth album, is a natural extension of her typical exploration of topics such as romance, society, science, and nature.

The Biophilia “mother app” is available for free at iTunes, though the apps within the app will be available for purchase starting on October 10, 2011.  Features include:  three-dimensional galactic interface with the song Cosmogony, access to new songs and apps immediately as they are released, music scores with karaoke playback, abstract song animation, lyrics, and essays.

“Björk has collaborated with artists, designers, scientists, instrument makers, writers and software developers to create this extraordinary multimedia exploration of the universe and its physical forces, processes and structures – of which music is a part. Each in-app experience is inspired by and explores the relationships between musical structures and natural phenomena.”

If navigating Björk’s engaging, app-filled universe is not enough to quench your thirst for music, there is always Biophilia: The Ultimate Edition. Contained within a silkscreened oak hinged lid case is a transmedia treasure trove of CDs, chrome-plated tuning forks, artwork, and more.

If you are not an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch user, it seems that there is little to be concerned about.  In a recent interview with Drowned in Sound, Björk remarked in her famously independent fashion, “I’m not supposed to say this, probably.  But, I’m trusting that the pirates out there won’t tie their hands behind their back.”  That’s right, the audacious songstress hopes that pirates will be able to crack the digital album’s code so it can be enjoyed outside the confines of the enormous Apple empire.

It is genius iconoclasts like Björk who take what we enjoy to the next level, providing us with a glimpse into other worlds through a whole new perspective.  While it can sometimes be difficult to separate smart marketing techniques from truly innovative ideas, it seems that through Biophilia, Björk and her team have managed to pull it all off, quite seamlessly.