Photo via Björk’s Facebook
Björk and Rosalía are joining forces for an upcoming track with a purpose. In a statement accompanying a preview of the musical effort, Björk revealed that their collaboration aims to support the fight against fish farming in Iceland, particularly in the town of Seyðisfjörður, where residents are protesting the potential adverse impact on local wildlife.
Björk and Rosalía have pledged to donate the song’s sales proceeds to assist with legal fees for this cause. While the song’s title is yet to be disclosed, it is scheduled for release later this month.
Iceland, known for its vast, untouched nature, is home to free-roaming sheep in the summers and fish that swim freely in its lakes, rivers, and fjords. However, concerns arose when Icelandic and Norwegian businesspeople began acquiring fish farms in most of the country’s fjords, raising questions about the lack of regulations that had allowed this for nearly a decade.
The impact on wildlife has already been devastating, with farmed fish enduring harsh conditions. Escapes from these farms have even started to alter the DNA of Icelandic salmon, potentially leading to its extinction. Despite these challenges, hope remains to protect the last wild salmon of the north.
Björk and her group are issuing a daring challenge to these business individuals, urging them to reconsider their fish farms. Additionally, they are advocating for the implementation of strict regulations in Iceland’s legal system to safeguard its precious natural environment.
“the majority of the nation already agrees with us,” wrote Björk in her statement, “so this protest is about putting the will of the people into our rule-systems.”
This forthcoming release marks a significant moment for Björk, as it will be her first since her 2022 release, Fossora. During the interim, she has also contributed to remixes such as Shygirl’s “Woe” and shared Shygirl and Sega Bodega’s remix of “Ovule” from her previous record.
Meanwhile, Rosalía has been active since her early 2022 album, Motomami, sharing new tracks for Motomami+ along with singles like “LLYLM,” “Tuya,” and her collaborative EP RR with Rauw Alejandro.
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Björk’s Full Statement
i am offering a song me and rosalia sang together the profits will to help the fight against fish farming in iceland it will come out in october people at the fjord seyðisfjörður have stood up and protested against fish farming starting there, we would like to donate sales of the song to help with their legal fees and hopefully it can be an exemplary case for others iceland has the biggest untouched nature in europe and still today it has its sheep roaming free in the mountains in the summers it´s fish has swum free in our lakes, rivers and fjords so when icelandic and norwegian business men started buying fish farms in the majority of our fjords , it was a big shock and rose up as the main topic this summer, we don´t understand how they had been able to do this for a decade with almost no regulations stopping them . this has already had devastating effect on wildlife and the farmed fish are suffering in horrid health conditions and since a lot of them have escaped, they have started changing the DNA in the Icelandic salmon to the worse and could eventually lead to its extinction there is still a chance to safe the last wild salmon of the north our group would like to dare these business men to retract their farms ! we would also like to help invent and set strict regulations into iceland´s legal system to guard nature. the majority of the nation already agrees with us so this protest is about putting the will of the people into our rule systems.
warmth
björk