6. “All Is Full Of Love” – Bjork
(From the album Homogenic)
1997
Bjork’s third album Homogenic was released in 1997 and was created as an homage to her homeland of Iceland, with many of the songs on the album dealing with themes and/or inspiration from there. Bjork had begun recording Homogenic near her home in London but all work on the record was halted after Bjork survived a murder attempt by a stalker. After that harrowing experience Bjork packed up and went to Spain to recover and continue working on the album. It was during this period of time that Bjork wrote “All Is Full Of Love”. The inspiration for the song came near the end of the writing and recording process for Homogenic. Bjork had been through a long winter dealing with the trauma of her attack and the loneliness of being away from home and friends. However, while out for a walk one morning Bjork recalls hearing birdsong and realizing that spring was dawning and that it was a time of renewal and recovery. This inspired her to write “All Is Full Of Love” which ended up being the closing track and fifth single from Homogenic and was meant to be a song of healing and recovery at the end of the album. Homogenic had several successful singles and “All Is Full Of Love” wasn’t released as a single until two years after the album came out. It is highly unusual to release a song to promote a two year old album but Bjork and director Chris Cunningham had come up with an idea for a music video for “All Is Full Of Love” that was very cinematic and experimental and Bjork liked the idea of the late release so that the video would feel more like a short film than a promotional project for the album. The single mix (which I have included here) also is a different mix than the original album version. Producer Howie B added a firmer beat and other sonic changes to this new mix of “All Is Full Of Love” and it is that version that was used with the video. The video was hailed as one of the best of the form and “All Is Full Of Love” was a critical success and fan favorite for Bjork, hitting #24 in the UK and #8 on the US dance charts (both good chart placements for a song that was released originally two years earlier and had already been a B-side to an earlier single).
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