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"Victimhood" is a song from Björk's eleventh studio album, Fossora. It was released as the fifth single on 5 September 2023.
Background[]
The song was written while Björk was studying Jungian victimhood archetypes and is her final concession to the divorce saga, which began in 2015's Vulnicura. She admitted, however, that the divorce drama is over.[1] The song is described by her as "a very emotional, melancholic, blue song".[2]
She discussed the song in an interview with The Atlantic:[3]
On “Victimhood,” sampled fog horns conjure the murk of someone drowning in self-pity—a quality Björk used to pride herself on lacking. But she recently realized that she does tend to put other people’s needs in front of her own and then feel bad about it. “It’s a matriarch sort of problem,” she said. “You have to just own it and say, ‘Yes, I make this sacrifice.’”
The song was premiered live at a Cornucopia show in Lisbon, Portugal on 1 September 2023, where the music video premiered and served as a backdrop.[4]
Music video[]
Released on 5 September 2023, the music video was directed and designed by Gabríela Friðriksdóttir. Björk's statement:[5]
i am so honoured to share visuals from the magnificent sculptor , painter and multimedia artist gabríela for my song “victimhood” .
her work is based on self-made mythology and when you start discussing it , it reveals it´s own numerology , rubric and shapes .
she is one of my best friends and me and my children have lived with her paintings , sculptures , drawings , films and animations all of our lives .
last winter when i walked into gabríela´s studio and smelled oil colours and saw experiments she was doing with dark blue which usually is not her palette , i told her it reminded me of my grandmother´s oil paintings . she knew her and shared my admiration for her .
like everyone atm , we had been discussing AI and after hours of talking
we decided to create animation and AI work from gabríela´s paintings for my song victimhood .
for me it was a lush moment , connecting our mutual past and catapulting us into the future .
the song´s lyric is about the archetype of self-pity , the victim .
it has foghorns representing that and then some sort of bass clarinet fugue assisting us with ladders out of that pit .
hope you enjoy
warmthness
björk
Lyrics[]
Victimhood |
Credits[]
- Björk - vocals, songwriting, production, beats
- Baldvin Ingvar Tryggvason - Clarinet
- Grimur Helgason - Clarinet
- Hilma Kristín Sveinsdóttir - Clarinet
- Helga Björg Arnardóttir - Clarinet
- Kristín Þóra Pétursdóttir - Clarinet
- Rúnar Óskarsson - Clarinet
References[]
- ↑ Björk: Mother, Daughter, Force of Nature (20 September 2022)
- ↑ "The One Who Digs (feat. Björk)" (30 September 2022)
- ↑ "Björk dreams of matriarchy". Atlantic. 21 September 2022.
- ↑ "Tonight we are premiering the victimhood music video". Facebook. 1 September 2023,
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=859597982347878