Why Björk Prefers Residencies to Touring: 'The Nuts and Bolts Are More Flexible'

01/13/2025 02:50 PM

The Icelandic musician has largely shifted her approach to performing live since 2011

Björk takes a unique approach to most elements of her career — including live performance.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the 59-year-old Icelandic musician opened up about her latest string of concerts, billed as Cornucopia, and why she's mainly opted for residencies over extensive tours for over 15 years.

"The nuts and bolts are more flexible," said Björk, referencing how restrictive touring schedules can be.

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Following the release of her 2011 album Biophilia, the "Venus as a Boy" artist largely shifted from touring to residencies, performing in one city for multiple nights at a time, and she's mostly continued doing so ever since.

"Maybe being a woman, or a matriarch, or whatever, I try to make it more that people can actually have a life. I have gently fought, since my teenage years, this macho way of how people organize both films and tours," she told the outlet. "'Oh, let's now work 18 hours a day, every single day, until everybody throws up.'"

"I always wanted to coexist. You can have a personal life. You can have your kids. You can have your partners there," added Björk. "I'm not saying I've succeeded, but at least I've tried to create a world that is more open to things like that."

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In promotion of her latest two albums, 2017's Utopia and 2022's Fossora, Björk performed the Cornucopia show from 2019 through 2023. The ambitious production — "a monster to travel with," she said — featured over 27 screens, a choir, an orchestra and a set resembling nature.

"I basically went to Derek [Birkett], my manager, and said, 'Listen, I'm going to do digital theatre and it's going to be the most over-the-top, flamboyant thing I will ever do, and I'll probably only do it once,'" she recalled.

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While Björk did take Cornucopia on the road, much of the trek was comprised of multi-night engagements in New York City, Mexico City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo and more cities around the world.

According to The Guardian, the "Army of Me" singer was able to pay for the extravagant production by simultaneously performing a string of more stripped-back orchestral shows in conjunction with Cornucopia.

Looking forward, Björk told the outlet, "I can go back to something that's more flexible, more like a troubadour, simpler. It is very glamorous to say, 'Oh, I need 50 people to be able to perform the song,' but it's also very glamorous to say, 'Oh, I actually don't.'"