Bjork World Tour To Feature 54-Piece Orchestra

LA (Reuters) - Bjork has enlisted the backing of the 54-piece Netherlands-based Il Novecento Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Simon Lee, for her upcoming world tour of opera houses and theaters. Along with experimental electronic duo Matmos and harpist Zeena Parkins, the Icelandic vocalist will be accompanied by a choir of girls from Greenland and a Canadian throat singer. The trek begins Aug. 18 with the first of four shows in Paris.

Matmos' M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel, who, along with Parkins, are featured performers on Bjork's forthcoming Elektra album, "Vespertine," will play an opening set of their own each night. Along the way, Bjork also plans to perform several intimate shows without vocal amplification, in the vein of her May performances at New York's Riverside Church. Additional dates in Europe, Japan, and Iceland are expected in the coming weeks.

The tour is designed to replicate the textures of "Vespertine," due Aug. 27 internationally and a day later in North America, as closely as possible. The album revels in a low-key splendor that is uncommon for the often excitable Bjork, from the gorgeous chamber ballad "It's Not Up to You," to the vulnerable "Cocoon."
"From the beginning, I knew I wanted this album to be the exact opposite of [the 1997 album] 'Homogenic", Bjork recently told. "That album was so extreme and confrontational. I needed this album to explore what we sound like on the inside. You know, that ecstasy, that euphoric state that happens while whispering."