When Björk Met Attenborough is a 2013 documentary television film directed by Louise Hooper, executive produced by Lucas Ochoa and produced by Caroline Page. It was aired for the first time on 27 July 2013 on Channel 4, in conjunction with Pulse Films and One Little Indian Records. Partly filmed at the Natural History Museum in London, the documentary features an encounter between Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician Björk and English broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough. They discuss the nature of music and the intersection between music, nature and technology. It also follows the singer as she prepares for her Biophilia tour, along with rehearsal and studio recording.
The documentary was inspired by the singer's eighth studio album Biophilia (2011), which was released as a series of apps which blends nature elements with musicology. Collaborators in the project Scott Snibbe, Damian Taylor, and Andy Cavatorta appear in the documentary to talk about their role in the development of the album and the live show. It also includes neurologist Oliver Sacks, who talks about the effect of music on the brain.
Despite the low ratings, the show received positive to moderate reviews from critics, who applauded the content of the documentary but, in some cases, criticised the interaction between Attenborough and Björk, which was considered "awkward" and "unlikely". The documentary was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 5 May 2014.
Cast In order of appearance: Björk Graduale Nobili David Attenborough Henry Dagg Matt Robertson Oliver Sacks Andy Cavatorta Scott Snibbe Tilda Swinton – Narrator
Background and release
When the Biophilia project was first unveiled, it was announced that a documentary including footage of studio recording, interviews and rehearsal for the live performances, which would culminate in the first live performance at the Manchester International Festival, was in the works. While the original idea for the documentary never materialised, the project evolved as a mutual collaboration between David Attenborough and Björk herself. On 1 August 2012, it was reported that UK Channel 4 had signed a deal to air a documentary, tentatively titled Attenborough and Björk: The Nature of Music, that would have included a discussion between the two about the story of music, human's relationship with it and how technology could evolve the way we engage with it. The documentary was inspired by the Biophilia project and would have featured footage commented by Attenborough, along with a showcase of the instruments created for the Biophilia tour. British-American neurologist Oliver Sacks was also reported to appear in the documentary, explaining "the extraordinary and beneficial effects music has on our brains". The documentary, made by the company Pulse Films, is the first time the British television channel and the company had collaborated. It was directed by Louise Hooper and executive produced by Lucas Ochoa, who commented about the project:
"Born from Bjork's revolutionary music project we are thrilled to be able to document this incredible journey with her; she is undeniably one of the most iconic figures in popular culture and truly pushes boundaries like no other artist does."
The English naturalist had previously provided the spoken introduction for the live shows and the apps. The two had long admired each other's works. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Björk had confessed that, when she was a kid, she considered Attenborough her "rock star". Attenborough stated that the singer "is really quite enchanting" and called her "honey" during the filming, reportedly because he could not pronounce her name properly. Björk stated about the experience of the filming with Attenborough: "He would close off and take in whatever I was saying, and then just come out with the most beautifully formed sentences you ever heard". Director Hooper, whose father John had filmed Attenborough in different documentaries settled in Papua New Guinea, Mali and the Amazon rainforest, had stated:
"There is an unexpected chemistry and fun between these two unique characters. They are both icons of their own separate worlds of music and nature, and both excited and curious to explore how these two worlds come together. Seeing Bjork and Sir David laughing and engaging with each other on screen is simply magical, it was fascinating to have the chance to bring Sir David and Bjork together for the first time on television. They were both great fun to work with; Bjork fizzing with ideas for the film and Sir David bringing his passion and knowledge".
The documentary was scheduled to air during November 2012 and to see a later limited cinema release in an extended cut. As of November 2012, the documentary was still in the editing. In June 2013, it was reported that the documentary would have its worldwide premiere at the Cortona Mix Festival in Italy. The festival then cancelled the projection. The documentary first aired on Channel 4 on 27 July 2013 as part of a series of documentaries called Mad4Music, now titled When Björk Met Attenborough.
When a crowdfunding was created on Kickstarter to fund the release of Biophilia on Android, one of the reward available for the backers who would have pledged £120 or more was one early viewing DVD copy of the documentary. After Björk had found a cheaper way to transport the apps on Android, the funding was cancelled. On 21 March 2014, it was announced that the documentary would be released on 5 May 2014 on DVD and Blu-ray. Before the release of the DVD, the documentary was shown for three nights at the MK2 Grand Palais in Paris, and it was also shown during the We Love Green festival.
Synopsis
The documentary opens with an introduction by Tilda Swinton, who gives a backstory about Björk's career and her intention with the Biophilia project, stating that the singer conceived the project wanting to redefine music in the 21st century. Images from the "Moon and "Mutual Core" music videos accompany her speech. After that, some frames focus on the Graduale Nobili who are singing the backing vocals to "Thunderbolt" on a cliff in front of the ocean in Iceland. Thereafter the scene shifts to an early rehearsal of the Biophilia songs in Iceland during November 2010. The choir begin to learn their parts in "Thunderbolt" and "Moon" under the guide of the singer. After that, the documentary shows the encounter between Björk and Sir David Attenborough in the Natural History Museum in London. There, the naturalist and the singer discuss about the nature of music. They first talk about the importance of music and singing in the nature, with Attenborough explaining how music works for birds like the bird-of-paradise and the lyrebird, whose chirping is defined by the naturalist the "most complex sound ever", and he goes on by stating that the bird has developed an "impressive vocal range" which he compares to that of Björk. Attenborough states that the human larynx is capable of many more sounds that preceded language. Therefore, the singer asks him how he thinks music works for the modern people, and the naturalist explains how he thinks popular music is "extremely sexual", comparing popular music to medieval troubadors, and that is why is so relatable to young people and animals, i.e. the gibbons, which mate by singing together out of excitement. Attenborough affirms that "the mystery is how music has been used by humanity for something that is transcendental".
Footage from another rehearsal with the choir singing "Dark Matter" are shown before shifting to the encounter between Björk and Henry Dagg in a metal workshop. Dagg had created the Sharpsichord, a solar powered cross between a harp and a barrel organ, which Björk wanted to incorporate in one song. They are shown rehearsing "Sacrifice" and discussing the composition of the song. Attenborough states that our emotion comes from nature and that a composer has to be in contact with it. He then manages to compare the sound of Benjamin Britten's Sea interludes (which is playing in the background) to the sound of waves. The natural structure of music inspires Björk who wants to bring nature in her composition. To discuss "Crystalline", Björk and Attenborough go to the crystal room of the museum. They talk about the mathematical basis of Björk's songs, who explains the time signatures of the verses and the chorus of "Crystalline" and compares the composition of a crystal to that of a song. Scenes from the choir recording parts of "Crystalline" guided by Biophilia musical director Matt Robertson are shown. Attenborough thinks that the beauty of mathematics can be heard in composition like the "Fugue 5" by Johann Sebastian Bach. Swinton tells how universe is made of patterns which are present in music but that we can't visualise, and how Björk wants to change that. Because of that, the singer collaborates with Evan Grant, who works with cymatics. Grant explains how the Chladni plate works, and that he appreciates how Björk tries to bring a real meaning in her music by taking a "scientific and realistic approach" to it. Grant tries to use cymatics on water for "Crystalline", which results can be seen in the music video for the song (directed by Michel Gondry).
Swinton explains how Björk's aim is to bring nature on stage for the Biophilia performance. Footage from the final rehearsal at Campfield Market Hall in Manchester for Biophilia world premiere at the Manchester International Festival is shown, with the Sharpsichord arriving at the venue. Some of other instruments used during the show are presented, like MIDI-controlled Tesla coil, invented by Nikola Tesla, and a gravity-harnessed pendulum harp invented by Andy Cavatorta of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cavatorta recounts how Björk declared to him that she wanted nature to appear like "some sort of a rock star on stage", and tells that the first prototypes of the instruments were filmed and shown to Björk before she approved the final result. In one of the prototypes video the inventor puts a figurine of Björk (as pictured in the Volta album cover) between the swings. The instrument, created solely for the "Solstice" performance, was commissioned because, as Björk declares, the singer "got obsessed" with basslines (she hums a bassline of a composition by John Tavener as she says so).
One of the major inspiration of the project itself, neurologist Oliver Sacks, who Björk defines as the "David Attenborough of the brain", lists the benefits music has on human and explains how when a human listens to music every part of the brain gets involved. This is very useful to people who suffers from dementia, who need evocative music which can help them in building a bridge to their past. Scenes from a nursing home, in which various patients with dementia are shown to benefit from different music played to them, accompany Sacks' speech. He affirms that the music expresses something that language can't.