Fossora is Björk’s 11th studio album, following on from 2017’s Utopia. The word fossora derives from Latin meaning “hole digger”, representing Björk’s intent to dig up and re-discover her roots, giving them new meanings. Some of the album’s themes are indeed Björk’s family, her home country Iceland, love, and the idea of belonging to a place. Björk worked on the album during her stay in Iceland over the course of 5 years, and the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine / lockdown helped her to cement her vision.
In an interview with The Guardian it was revealed that the album would feature her son Sindri, her daughter Ísadóra (aka Doa), the singer-songwriter serpentwithfeet, and contributions from the Indonesian dance duo Gabber Modus Operandi. Sonically the album was described as “organic and spacious, earthbound” with a recurring sextet of bass clarinet and “violent outbursts” of gabber. The album also includes two songs written for Björk’s late mother, the environmental activist Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, who passed away in 2018.
The artwork for the album was shot by Vidar Logi and revealed on August 31, 2022 along with the tracklist and release date.
each album always starts with a feeling
that i try to shape into sound
this time around
the feeling was landing
( after my last album utopia which was all island in the clouds element air and no bass )
on the earth and digging my feet into the ground
it was also woven into how i experienced the “now”
this time around 7 billion of us did it together
nesting in our homes quarantining
being long enough in one place that we shot down roots
my new album “fossora” is about that
it is a word i made up
it is the feminine of fossore ( digger, delver, ditcher )
so in short it means “she who digs” ( into the ground )
so sonically it is about bass , heavy bottom-end ,
we have 6 bass clarinets and punchy sub […]
– Björk via Instagram
Yes, Apple Music features an animated artwork for this release.