Micro-beats composés au laptop pour un album introspectif et orchestral dont les paroles personnelles sont presque chuchotées. Dans une ambiance intimiste et feutrée, les sonorités de la harpe, du céleste, du clavecin, et des boîtes à musique nous transportent dans un monde sensible, onirique et hivernal.
Dès la fin d’Homogenic, Björk a en tête de faire un album qui serait en quelque sorte son opposé, calme et intime. En parallèle à la réalisation de la bande originale de Dancer in the Dark, elle prend contact avec de nouveaux collaborateurs et se consacre à la production de Vespertine.
Infos
Vespertine : de "vèpres", prières du soir chantées par les moines.
Pour réaliser cet album, Björk et ses collaborateurs (Matmos et Marius de Vries) ont effectué une myriade de prises de son à partir de différents matériaux et objets (jeux de cartes, pas dans la neige, craquements de bois, électricité statique sur des cheveux...) parfois reproduit en live par Matmos pendant les concerts.
Björk à propos de l’album
Je pense qu’avec Vespertine, j’essayais de faire un album introverti, qui n’était pas physique. Qui soi non-physique, plus sur le processus de la pensée, et l’électricité des pensées qui traversent la tête. C’est très proche du fonctionnement d’Internet, c’est juste de l’électricité, du cérébral, des pensées. Les paroles étaient chuchotées, quand on est seul à la maison, à lire un livre. Donc non-physique.
Eclectik (france inter) - 31/08/2004
Homogenic, for me, was very emotionally confrontational and was very dramatic, both in the melodic sense of the strings and the distorted beats. Everything on 11... a lot of steroids in the air. Vespertine is sort of the opposite. Very introverted, very quiet and calm and peaceful, and at peace with one’s self.
After being obsessed with reality and darkness and always thinking everything else is bullshit, you know, suddenly thinking to invent a paradise isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I used to always think that was escapism. This record is very much about inventing your own paradise, but underneath your kitchen table, so it’s very secretive. It’s sort of about being on your own in your house with your laptop and whispering for a year and just writing a very peaceful song that tiptoes. It’s all about reaching those euphoric highs and those ecstasy moments, but with no outside stimulates. All it takes is inside you. I’m quite aware it’s an artificial paradise, so it almost went Disney at times — you know, when you see pink Bambi jumping about ? Those types of things. I don’t think there are very many pink Bambis on Homogenic.
Vespertine is sort of a winter album for me. I think Homogenic was very summer, very hot, burning desert. Maybe ’cause I did it in Spain ; it might be something as simple as that. But this one’s like ... those days when it’s snowing outside, and you’re inside with a cup of cocoa and everything’s very magical. You’re euphoric, but you don’t speak for days ’cause you don’t want to.MTV news, mars 2001
After I’d done me album, I wrote my manifesto where I describe the character who did vespertine and it’s a fictional character. I sent the same manifesto to all three video directors.
Also what was common with all three was that for all three it was their first music video, even though they had a lot of experience in another field. And I think probably I was very collaborative with all three.
Vespertine is an album made by a character who’s very introvert. And it’s about the universe inside every person. This time around, I wanted to make sure that the scenery of the songs is not like a mountain or a city or outside, it’s inside, so it’s very internal.
So I guess all three videos are very internal. They’re about sewing things in your skin, or things that were yours first, like the bodily fluids, going in and outside you. Sort of how you communicate with the world in a very intimate, personal way. Or where something outside affects you so hard that you fall in love and things grow out of you. So, yeah, I think there was a certain theme in the three videos.conférence de Presse, japon, 2001
Vespertine is like... those days when it’s snowing outside, and you’re inside with a cup of cocoa and everything’s very magical. You’re euphoric, but you don’t speak for days ’cause you don’t want to.
mtv.com
Vespertine was very influenced by my laptop, and about people being obsessed with Napster and saying it compromised sound and me thinking that was rubbish. Alot of the beats were influenced by me thinking someone could download it and it would sound great.
Fader, juin 2001
Much of Vespertine, which takes its name from vespers, evening prayers, is inspired by chamber music. It’s the kind of music, Björk says, that ladies would play in drawing rooms for guests
Nylon Magazine, 2001
wanted to create a new audio world for this album that’s kind of more like chamber music. Modern chamber music. Not amplified, kinda steroid, Marshall stack, if I stand here I hope someone in China can hear me. It’s the opposite of that. Homogenic was as steroid as I will ever get.
Q magazine, juin 2001
Illustrations Vespertine
Anecdotes
It’s not up to you devait sortir en quatrième single (l’autocollant présent sur Vespertine le présentait comme un prochain single), mais la grossesse de Björk a précipité la fin d’exploitation de l’album, et la sortie a été annulée.
La chanson It’s in our hands a été écrite pendant les sessions Vespertine, mais n’a pas été retenue, car considérée comme trop énergique et ne correspondant pas à la couleur de l’album.
Une chanson intitulée "A different Kind Of love" a été composée pour l’album. C’est soit un titre publié sous un autre nom ou un titre resté inédit. source : Article Dazed&Cconfused, 2000
Crédits
Musique
Composition, Ecriture : Björk, Guy Sigsworth , Harmony Korine , Martin Console , Thomas Knak , E.E Cummings
Boites à musique : Jack Perron
Arrangements orchestre et choeurs : Björk, Vince Mendoza
Programmations : Björk, Matmos, Matthew Herbert, Damian Taylor, Jake Davies, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Thomas Knak, Marius de Vries
Harpe , arrangements harpe : Zeena Parkins
Claviers : Guy Sigsworth
Ingénieur du son : Mark ’spike’ Stent
Graphisme
Photo : Inez+Vinoodh
Design, Illustrations : M/M (Paris)
Stylisme : Marjan Pejoski
