Bjork - Undo

Unfold
Unfold in a generous way

Album: Vespertine
Recorded: London, England
Genre: Art Pop, Chamber Pop
Album Release: August 27th 2001 [4th album]
Length: 5:39
Producer: Bjork
Vocals: Bjork [age 35]
Label: Elektra Records, One Little Indian Records

Live at the Royal Opera House


Audio

Charts

#1 Album in: Denmark, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Canada (albums): 1x Gold
France (albums): 1x Gold
UK (albums): 1x Gold
USA (albums) = #19
Spotify = 5,000,000 +
YouTube Music = 1,200,000 +
The Guardian Top 100 Albums of the 21st Century: #27
Mojo Magazine Best Albums 2001: #7
Rolling Stone Top 50 Coolest of All Time: #16
Spin Magazine Best Albums of 2001: #16

Credits

Choir, harp, strings

Details

• The song's about letting go of the negative feelings that come with the weight of expectation. When we want something to work we can try to force the matter by adopting what we believe to be an appropriate persona. It's easy to slap on a fake grin and pretend to be happy but what we really need to do is relax and allow our true personalities to be present.
  
  If we can do this in the right way then the things we are struggling with can become effortless and life is a breeze. We can only truly communicate when we are our honest selves but the demands of the world cause us to wear masks when in relationships, it's openness that makes things click. Children are open by default as this is our natural setting but the layers of the personality are necessarily developed to protect us from harm.
  
  'Undo' is a gentle song in which Bjork encourages her partner to "undo" the layers and allow themselves to just be because that's enough.
  
  
• 'Vespertine' was designed to have the intimate feeling that comes from people playing music for each other at home. Such a settings allowed for experimentation and the work is more avant-garde than her earlier pop-focused efforts. It mixes instruments typically found in chamber music, such as the cello and harp, with keyboards and drum machines in an attempt to bring the genre into the modern day.