Atopos

Björk à propos d’Atopos
It’s not a coincidence that when I wrote this song, Trump was still the [United States] President. I think it was just a few months before the election when Biden got in. The gap between Democrats and Republicans in US was widening. And I feel like it’s happening in a lot of other countries at the moment. So ’Atopos’ is kind of about this gap widening and how to overcome it.

Double J

Björk à propos d’Atopos
Sometimes, when I really love someone, I will have an interrogation lyric and it’s disguised as my doubts, because I want to be nice – but it’s actually their doubts. / Il arrive, lorsque j’aime véritablement une personne, que je m’interroge à travers des paroles de chanson que je fais passer pour mes pensées, parce que j’ai envie d’être aimable - mais ce sont en réalité les doutes de cette autre personne.

The Guardian

Björk à propos d’Atopos
On Fossora, the search for nuance sounds urgent, even harrowing. The album’s thunderous opener, “Atopos,” features Björk singing, in an agonized tone, that “to insist on absolute justice at all times / it blocks connection.” Its message is both personal and political, a call for fractured homes to work things out. I told her that in the United States, extreme partisanship has made compromise seem fantastical. “You start talking about each other’s kids,” she suggested. “What do you want for them ? I think it’s more about the future and where we’re going. Take the heat off the moment, because it’s unsolvable.” ... The song, she said, was also inspired by the fallout from #MeToo. She aligned herself with the movement in 2017, publicly alleging that she’d been abused on a film set earlier...

The Atlantic

Björk à propos d’Atopos
Like lovers, or friends. When we hang out, are we going to focus on the things that that we have in common ? That we both like the same kind of music ? Or are we going to focus on what we don’t have in common ? That one of us likes sports and the other one visual art. Or [that we are from] different generations, or whatever it is that separates people. Different food tastes or whatever. I feel like, in a lot of lot of friendships or love relationships, it’s a choice. When you hang out with that person, are you mostly focusing on what you guys have in common ? Or are you focusing on the things that separate you ?

Double J

Björk à propos d’Atopos
The song is sort of like a meditation on this and the reason why I wanted the beat, or the mood of the song to be a little feisty, is because it’s sort of a confrontation. Snap out of it. If you want a union, you have to focus on the things that we have in common’. When people get stuck on focusing on the things that separate us and then they’re complaining that there isn’t a union.

Double J