björk : ancestress

‘ancestress’ by björk

taken from new album ‘fossora’ out now

DIRECTOR: Andrew Thomas Huang
CO - CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Björk & James Merry

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Object & Animal
EP: Dom Thomas
PRODUCER: Alex Chamberlain

PRODUCTION COMPANY ICELAND: Go to Sheep
PRODUCER ICELAND: Sara Nassim
PRODUCER ICELAND: Hrönn Kristinsdóttir

DOP: Andrew Yuyi Truong
PRODUCTION DESIGNERS: Heimir Sverrisson & Dóra Hrund Gísladóttir
WARDROBE BY: Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli
MASKS & CEREMONIAL SPOON: James Merry
STYLIST: Edda Guðmundsdóttir
BJÖRK MAKE UP: Johannes Jaruaak (Hungry)
CHOREOGRAPHER: Erna Ómarsdóttir

EDITOR: Mengyao Mia Zhang
VFX: Wolf & Crow
VFX Producer: Kevin Shapiro
COLOUR: Dante Pasquinelli @ Ethos Studio

Cast and Crew:
Performers
SPIRIT DANCER: Shota Inoue
DANCER: Saga Sig
DANCER: Charmene Pang
DANCER: Emilía Gísladóttir
DANCER: S. Andrean Sigurgeirsson
VIOLINIST: Una Sveinbjarnardóttir
VIOLINIST: Geirþrúður Ása Guðjónsdóttir
VIOLINIST: Helga Þóra Björgvinsdóttir
VIOLINIST: Laura Liu
VIOLINIST: Ingrid Karlsdóttir
VIOLIST: Þórunn Ósk Marinósdóttir
VIOLIST: Lucja Koczot
CELLIST: Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson
CELLIST: Júlía Mogensen
CONTRABASS PLAYER: Xun Yang
PERCUSSIONIST: Soraya Nayyar

Production and FX
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Gagga Jónsdóttir
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Anna Björk Hilmarsdóttir
KEY PA: Ólöf Birna Bjarnadóttir
PA: Búi Fannar Ívarsson
LOCATION PA: Birkir Kristinsson
SET ASSISTANT: Daníel Bóasson
ARTIST ASSISTANT: Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir
ARTIST ASSISTANT: Rosemary Llagostera
1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson
2nd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Arngunnur Hinriksdottir
3rd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Anný Björk Árnadóttir
LOCATION MANAGER: Birkir Grétarsson
B CAM OPERATOR: Baltasar Breki Samper
1st AC: Goði Már Guðbjörnsson
2nd AC: Almar Blær Bjarnason
2nd AC: Bjartur Ragnarsson
1st AC B CAM: Eva Rut Hjaltadóttir
2nd AC B CAM: Svava Lovísa Aðalsteinsdóttir
STEADICAM OPERATOR: Þór Elísson
CAMERA TRAINEE: Sigurjón Þór Guðmundsson
VTR: Rútur Skæringur Sigurjónsson
DIT: Arnór Einarsson
GAFFER: Arnaldur Kári Valdemarsson
ELECTRICIAN: Steingrímur Ingi Stefánsson
SWINGER: Helgi Jóhannsson
KEY GRIP: Viktor Davíð Jóhannsson
BEST BOY: Tómas Freyr Jóhannsson
PLAYBACK: Bergur Þórisson

ART DIRECTOR: Sunna Svavarsdóttir
PROPS MASTER: Sigrún Perla Gísladóttir
PROPS MASTER: Melkorka Embla Hjartardóttir
STANDBY PROPS: Kolbeinn H. Bambus Einarsson
SFX SUPERVISOR: Haukur Karlsson
SFX ASSISTANT 1: Frosti Jón Runólfsson
SFX ASSISTANT 2: Gunnar Gunnarsson

CERAMIC JUG: Jón Einar Björnsson
3D PRINTING: Halldór Snorrason

Costuming
BJÖRK HAIR: Hildur Ösp Gunnarsdóttir

WARDROBE ASSISTANT 1: Diana Ros Hanh Breckmann
WARDROBE ASSISTANT 2: Anthony Hoang Day Nguyen
WARDROBE ASSISTANT 3: Ásdís Lúðvíksdóttir

FROM VALENTINO:
TAILOR: SABRINA PAOLETTA
TAILOR: LINA IRENE
TAILOR: CATERINA BAGORDA
TAILOR: ANGELA MACCHIAVELLI
DESIGN TEAM: SABATO DE SARNO
DESIGN TEAM: GABRIELE CUSIMANO
DESIGN TEAM: AMINA TARDELLA
VIP RELATIONS: Paola Cabano
VIP RELATIONS: CHIARA FERRARESE
VIP RELATIONS: Katie Goodwin

CROWD MAKE UP & HAIR: Sunna Björk Erlingsdóttir
CROWD HMU ASSISTANT: Sigrún Jörgensen
CROWD HMU ASSISTANT: Kolbrún Anna Vignisdóttir
CROWD HMU ASSISTANT: Linda Kjartansdóttir

TALENT DRIVER: Helgi Guðmundsson
HMU TRUCK DRIVER: Snorri Þórsson
CHEF: Atli Ottesen
CHEF: Númi Thomasson
CHEF’s ASSISTANT: Úlfur Stígsson
MEDIC: Hulda

COLOUR PRODUCER: Nat Tereschenko

VFX COMPOSITORS: Travis Button, Andrew Nishida

BTS FILMING: Edda Kristín Óttarsdóttir
BTS EDIT & POST: Ali Gill

SPECIAL THANKS: Gabríela Friðriksdóttir

[hexel]

Hearing her son singing with her on the verses is so touching. Such a beautiful song and letter to her mother ❤

[luisvirgen]

“Nature wrote this psalm”. Such a powerful and humbling thing to say. This whole song is a beautiful demonstration of love and respect and such a heartwarming goodbye.

[magic_ohh]

"you see with your own eyes, but hear with your mother's" such a profound and beautiful lyric. So much insight and depth in one short sentence. Bjork is just the best.

[nicolascandeias]

“When you die you bring with you what you’ve given” made me cry like a baby

[michaelshumway]

love the callback to "heirloom" from vespertine
"My mother and son pour into me
Warm glowing oil
Into my wide open throat"
depicted in the final scene of this music video

[Toddles]

I’m so sorry about your mothers death Bjork. Sing for her. She hears you. Always. Much warmth.

[dejoreljackson]

It’s a beautiful tribute. As someone who recently lost a parent and also writes I get it’s sometimes hard to linearly word the feelings. I love how this really encapsulates that feeling. The non standard time signature really expresses just how all over the place you feel after losing someone who knew you before you knew yourself ❤

[iakdrawllim]

such a beautiful track ❤ RIP Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir (Björk’s mother), you gave us one of the best things on earth and had a valued life. What an incredible woman you were, not just for giving us Björk, but for your own achievements in life

[colinbrash]

I’m blown away that Bjork is still creating songs as powerful as she used to 30 years ago or more.

[pablogarciavega]

I love the "nature wrote this psalm" lyric. The feeling of grieve towards the lost of a loved one, like a mother, is almost an instinct, written in our nature, catalyzed by our evolution as humans. Then, she sings, in this really fatal but beatiful tone: "it expands this realm", cause even if it's an instinct feeling, almost out of control to our will, it means we're connected by nature to the lost one, an inextricable bound that even death can't break.That's why the song's name is ancestress: it's all about this primal string that connects us to everyone we love, timeless and unbreakable.

[interstellarbeatteller]

"When I was a girl She sang for for me in falsetto lullabies with sincerity. I thank Her for her integrity"
♥♥

[eboy-]

I absolutely adore Björk, and this song is no exception. "Ancestress" is a beautiful and moving tribute to her late mother, and her voice is just stunning. This is definitely one of my favourite songs by her.

[jeremiasdiaz]

this is hands down one of her most beautiful songs.
she never fails to surprise me and catch me off guard

[CMANIS]

Oh gosh, this is so beautiful and personal. My Mom is dying of stage 4 cancer. It's so hard I don't want to let her go but it is not up to me. I don't want to be selfish. Thank you Bjork!

[joshuahoward]

Bjork keeps true to the concept of this album being a happy and/or celebratory one. She managed to celebrate her mother’s life and not her passing here in this song. It is such a rare occurrence in artist expression to be able to do this through pop culture/music. It’s celebratory and yet allows you to mourn your lost loved one in a healing way. I think a few fans were expecting this to be a sad depressing album, so it is quite refreshing imo.

Unravel has always been the one that gets me most. This is probably in my top 5 faves of hers lyrically and in mood.

[manuel_]

This resonates deep in my heart, i had to say goodbye to my brother and my father recently, as they left this world. There's a place Inhabited by my family, in the Colombian Andes mountains, i would walk with my father throughout the lands where he would taught me about plants like frailejon and how those mountains were a water factory, or more like a sponge absorbing water of the clouds that would came down to the land in their mist form, there were rocks covered with patches of moss, sometimes i would be exploring places with my brother, then some years later, on my own i would run and walk in the herb and the forest, inside the dew that was caressing those giant and thin palm trees, currents of cold wind where i would sing and scream and be loud, i would feel how a tiny part i am in the ecosystem, my soul would elevate and resonate with the surroundings. This piece kind of takes me there. I have yet to return over there, i need to do it.

[tesselatenowait]

What an achingly gorgeous lament and eulogy for a mother. Being a nurse, I’ve held the hands of people who passed, and comforted families who have complicated feelings of grief and relief. Bjork has evoked such a feeling in me…this was so sad yet beautiful. I’m thankful for Bjork, and for these emotions. I always feel that if I were to lose my compassion, I would leave nursing altogether. It’s an integral part of my role to connect with the grief-stricken in a way that allows them to feel seen and held. I still cry in the coat room, and keep it together on the floor, and I’m grateful.

[Truble]

Every day I am glad to be alive at a time to listen to Björk's music

[austinsideburns]

What an artist she is. That dyslexia line took me by supprise and hit me hard.

[Deedee-eesg]

Only Bjork could sing about her skull being a cathedral. She is so unique and original. No one else in music sings or sounds like her. Great new track.