Oceania (song)

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"Oceania"
Promotional single by Björk
from the album Medúlla
Released13 August 2004
Recorded2004; Olympic Studios
(London, England)
Genre
Length3:24
One Little Indian
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Björk
  • Mark Bell
Music video
"Oceania" on
YouTube

"Oceania" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer

One Little Indian Records. The song was written at the ocean's point of view, from which the singer believes all life emerged, and details the human's evolution, whilst accompanied by a choir. "Oceania" was generally well received by music critics
, who believed it was the best track from Medúlla, although some thought it was not the best choice for a promotional release.

The accompanying

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
. Cover versions of "Oceania" were done six times, while it was sampled once.

Background and composition

The International Olympic Committee commissioned a song by Björk specially for the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. The singer revealed that the committee asked her to do a kind of "Ebony and Ivory" or "We Are the World" type of song, which are "smashing tunes" according to her, but she thought, "'Maybe there's another angle to this'. When I tried to write an Olympic lyric, though, it was full of sports socks and ribbons. I ended up pissing myself laughing". Then, she called Sjón, an Icelandic poet who had previously collaborated with her on songs such as "Bachelorette" from her fourth studio album Homogenic (1997). When she said to him that they would need something "suitably epic" for the Olympics, the poet even took a short course about Greek mythology at Reykjavík University. "Oceania" was the last song recorded for Medúlla.[1] Björk said about the song: "I am incredibly honoured to have been asked to write a song and sing it at the Olympics. The song is written from the point of view of the ocean that surrounds all the land and watches over the humans to see how they are doing after millions of years of evolution. It sees no borders, different races or religion which has always been at the core of these [games]".[2]

During an interview with British radio station

Shlomo, who was recommended to her as "the new bright hope of the hip hop scene". He went to record the next day and Björk asked him to do a techno tango beat, which he did. Recalling her work on the song until her last day of mixing, she commented, "That was the most fun part, in the end. Sometimes it's good for you to work with a gun against your head and just go for it, because you can sometimes sit too long with ideas. Sometimes adrenaline is a good thing."[3]

The song was written at the ocean's point of view, detailing the human's evolution.[4] According to Jason Killingsworth from Paste magazine, it calls listeners' attention to "Mother Oceania" from which the singer believes all life emerged, whilst she sings: "You have done well for yourselves / Since you left my wet embrace / And crawled ashore […]". The song anchors the midsection of Medúlla, "jubilantly punctuated with bubbling synth and propelled by the rolling, spitfire cadence of Rahzel's beatbox", according to the reviewer.[5] The last line from the song, "Your sweat is salty/ And I am why/ Your sweat is salty/ And I am why", is about how "we were all little jellyfish or whatever before we made it on to land", according to the singer.[1] Elthan Brown from New York magazine considered these lyrics as "frank sensuality".[6] "Oceania" also features The London Choir.[7] Entertainment Weekly's writer Chris Willman commented that "the computer-enhanced choir behind Björk [suggests] a cosmic harem of pleased dolphins. Here she imagines herself as the sea itself, proud of all the belegged creatures she's spit out onto land over the last hundred million years. It's the nearest evolutionists have come to having their own gospel tune".[8]

Remixes

A remix version of "Oceania" featuring additional lyrics and vocals by American singer Kelis was recorded. She explained they were set to perform on Fashion Rocks concert in London the previous year, and their dressing rooms were right next to each other. Björk had an album by Canadian singer Peaches that was skipping, then Kelis gave her the copy of the album she had. They started talking and eventually hung out and exchanged numbers after the show, and later Björk contacted Kelis to work together, which she agreed. Then, Kelis recorded her vocals at Electric Lady Studios in New York City,[9] and wrote her own words in the song, from the point of view of the continents.[10] Originally not intended to be commercially released, the remix leaked after being played on BBC Radio 1's The Breezeblock, but was then included on the "Who Is It" single as a B-side. According to The Guardian, "it's a brilliant fusing together of two distinct voices, Kelis handling the breathy first verse, as layers of her chopped-up vocals form the rhythm track, while Björk at first comes across as restrained, allowing Kelis' ad-libs to soar before unleashing a song-stopping, wordless roar that heralds the song's dramatic final coda".[11]

A piano version also appeared on the DVD single, which was assisted in its creation by Nico Muhly. During an interview he stated, "When Björk asked me to play piano on Oceania, she sent me the music, and it was as complicated and layered as any piece of classical music I've played. I spent a few days figuring out how to make her vision of 'dueling lounge-lizard pianists' physically possible, and in the session, we ran through those quickly. Then, she experimented with different ways to space the progression of chords that runs through the piece - I suggested big, Brahmsy blocks - as well as the ending, for which we tried diaphanous, Debussy-like arpeggios".[12] Björk decided to stick with the album's vocal concept and use electronically tweaked choral voices. Before some last-minute polishing by Mark Bell, this version of "Oceania" was the last track to be worked for Medúlla.[13]

Critical reception

"Oceania" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Jennifer Vineyard from MTV News called the song "one of those polarizing songs, with its Ethel Merman-like synchronized vocal sweeps that do suggest the aquatic, in a 1950s sort of way".[14] Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman labeled the track as a "strikingly beautiful" song.[8] Alex Ross, reporter writing for The New Yorker stated that with "Oceania", Björk "confirmed her status as the ultimate musical cosmopolitan", acquainted with Karlheinz Stockhausen and the Wu-Tang Clan.[13] Matthew Gasteier from Prefix magazine called the track "the best song on the album", whilst complimenting "its swooping chorus [which] recalls the migration of birds or the time-elapsed drifting of icebergs, a swirl of beauty and power crashing down onto and then rising above the mix. It culminates in the near screech that leads into the sexy-spooky coda".[15] According to Andy Battaglia from The A.V. Club, in a positive review, "the electronic flourish strays from her organic vocal focus, but Björk summons the same kind of tingle with choral language" in the song, "which finds The London Choir reacting to what sounds like a thrilling slow-motion circus act".[7]

"Oceania" was "spoilt by some overenthusiastic vocal whoopings", according to David Hooper from

47th Grammy Awards but lost out to Norah Jones' "Sunrise".[20]

Music video

Björk as "Mother Oceania" in the music video, wearing tiny crystal beads on her face

The accompanying

BEAM.TV distributed the video instantly via its network of international post-production partners.[23]

Like in the song, in the music video Björk is depicted as "Mother Oceania". The video opens with the surface of a body of water appearing yellowish and bright. Camera pans down to darker, deeper waters. Björk appears out of the dark background, singing and covered with sparkling jewels. As the second verse begins, images of jellyfish, representing the continents (her children) are thrown from Björk's hands.[24] During the third verse they swim around and away from their mother, carried by the currents, which move in time with the song. In the bridge section, new sea flowers, with brilliant colors, emerge from the background, in contrast to the muted and darker colors of previous scenes. As the fifth verse continues, the camera pans back up to the much lighter surface, not seen since the beginning of the video. All sorts of marine life are swimming about the surface. Shortly after the sixth verse begins, Bjork is shown in deep, dark water. Several seconds later, the lighter surface of the water is shown without her. When she begins to sing "Your sweat is salty", a somewhat rapid alternation of images ensues: the light surface is shown for one second, followed by Björk singing in the deep water; these scenes alternate until she stops singing during the coda. Björk's vocal repetition ceases at the same time the visual alternation stops. The surface scene recedes, and Björk in the deep water comes to the fore, slowing. At the end of the video, she stands and smiles.[24]

Live performances

At the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, where Björk premiered the song, she wore a very large dress which unfolded during her performance of "Oceania" to eventually occupy the entire stadium, and showed a map of the world in sign of union.

Today commented that her dress was "reminiscent in its uniqueness to the infamous swan dress she wore to the Oscars in 2001".[27] According to Jeremy D. Larson from Time, if it weren't for the fireworks at the end of the song, he was legitimately unsure if people in the audience would have cheered.[4] Dominique Leone of Pitchfork was surprised by the committee's choice of bringing Björk to perform at the ceremony, and stated: "They could have had anyone-- say, a reassuring Celine Dion or a physically ideal Beyoncé-- but they chose a prickly, decidedly uncomfortable Icelandic woman. On aesthetic grounds, I can't argue with their choice, but I continue to wonder about Björk's significance".[19] "Oceania" was also performed during the Volta Tour (2007–08).[28]

Samples and covers

The song was sampled by

2012 London Olympic games.[30] Aspirant singer Srbuhi Hovhannisyan also covered the song on The Voice of Armenia in 2014.[31] "Oceania" covers also appear on the albums by Beliss, Harmen Fraanje Quintet, Murphy's Law and Serena Fortebraccio.[32]

Track listing

UK Promo CD[33]
  1. "Oceania" – 3:24
  2. "Oceania" (Radio Mix) [Remix featuring Kelis] – 2:55

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Medúlla liner notes.[34]

  • Björk – performer, songwriter, programmer
  • Sjón – songwriter
  • Mark Bell
    – producer, programmer
  • The London Choir – performer
  • Nico Muhly – piano
  • Shlomo
    – beats
  • Robert Wyatt – vocal samples
  • Valgeir Sigurðsson – programmer
  • Mark "Spike" Stent
    – mixing

References

  1. ^ a b McNair, James (12 August 2004). "Passions in a cold climate". The Independent. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. ^ Bychawski, Adam (16 August 2004). "Bjork kicks off Olympics". NME. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  3. ^ Radio X 104.9 FM. London. August 25, 2004. Radio X (United Kingdom). 104.9 FM.
  4. ^ a b c d Larson, Jeremy D. (26 July 2012). "11 Olympic Theme Songs, Dissected". Time. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. ^ Killingsworth, Jason (1 October 2004). "Björk: Björk - Medúlla". Paste. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  6. ^ Brown, Elthan (20 September 2004). "Top of the Vox". New York. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b Battaglia, Andy (8 September 2004). "Björk: Medulla". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b Willman, Chris (10 September 2004). "Medulla". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  9. ^ Montgomery, James (26 August 2004). "Kelis Shakes It With Bjork On Track Circulating Online". MTV News. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Q&A". Bjork.com. 15 August 2005. Archived from the original on 29 March 2006. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  11. ^ Cragg, Michael (26 March 2014). "10 of the best: Björk". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Nico Muhly". Bjork.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  13. ^
    ISSN 0028-792X
    .
  14. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (12 August 2004). "Bjork Album Preview: Beautiful, Baffling and Bothersome Medúlla". MTV News. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  15. ^ Gasteiser, Matthew (31 August 2004). "Bjork - Medulla". Prefix. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  16. ^ Hooper, David. "Bjork Medúlla Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  17. ^ Peschek, David (27 August 2004). "CD: Björk, Medulla". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  18. ^ Phares, Heather. "Medúlla - Björk". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  19. ^
    Pitchfork
    . Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  20. ^ "Grammy Awards 2005: Key winners". BBC News. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Björk & Medúlla & Oceania & Olympics". Bjork Official Website. 13 August 2004. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005.
  22. ^ "Lynn Fox collective". Bjork Official Website. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011.
  23. The Mill. 12 August 2004. Archived from the original
    on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  24. ^ . Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Bjork, Tiesto Help Ring in Olympics". Billboard. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  26. ISSN 0006-2510
    . Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  27. Today
    . Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  28. ^ "gigOgraphy: Volta Tour summary". bjork.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  29. ^ Batey, Angus (4 August 2015). "Cult heroes: E-40, the stalwart working an open-cast mine of futurist rap". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  30. ^ Day, Zygmunt (11 August 2012). "Björk song gets Hackney treatment". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  31. ^ "Srbuhi Hovhannisyan, Oceania by Bjork – The Voice Of Armenia – Live Show 5 – Season 1". Voice.tv. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  32. ^ "Cover♦Sample♦Björk♦Sugarcubes". Discogs. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  33. One Little Indian. 2004. 443TP7CDP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  34. One Little Indian. 2004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )

External links