Björk and director Michel Gondry have collaborated on plenty of music videos together, including the Icelandic singer’s 1993 clip for “Human Behaviour” and 2007’s “Declare Independence.” But the duo’s visual for “Crystalline,” from Björk’s ambitious iPad album Biophilia (out Sept. 27), may be their most visually striking one yet. Watch it here.
Gondry offers his trademark style of direction to the video: it was shot frame-by-frame and the stop-animation-esque approach shows striking imagery of soaring meteors, psychedelic animation, and Björk, sporting an over-the-top red wig, dancing to the track’s glitchy, electronic groove.
Gondry says the two had much back-and-forth over the video’s creation. “We shot it by re-cranking the camera and re-exposing the film many times,” he tells Billboard. “I decided for this that the shower of meteorite would hit the ground and produce a sound…The idea that a beam of light can have the impact to make these things move is something that intrigued me. Later on, they create some ripples-like rain. At the third verse, they create bubbles in which the metallic objects appear. All of those are the result of multiple conversations with Björk that were going in many directions.”
Watch It: Björk, “Crystalline”
In related news, Syrian electro star Omar Souleyman has completed three killer remixes of Björk tracks, offering up dizzying Arab-pop takes on “Crystalline,” “Tesla,” and “Mawal.” Check them out below.
Hear It: Björk, “Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix)”
Hear It: Björk, “Tesla (Omar Souleyman Remix)”
Hear It: Björk, “Mawal (Omar Souleyman Remix)”
