Released: 2001

Vespertine, released in August 2001, is an album by the Icelandic singer/songwriter/musician Björk. It sees Björk creating an introverted, quiet world of swirling microbeats and personal lyrics. On the cover she can be seen wearing the swan dress (designed by Marjan Pejoski) that caused a stir at the 2001 Academy Awards. Björk uses an array of sampled objects to create beats and soundscapes in a number of songs on Vespertine, including shuffling cards on "Cocoon" and "Hidden Place"; snow being walked upon on "Frosti", and ice being cracked and smashed on "Aurora". Vespertine is Björk's longest album, at 55:33 (apart from compilations). "Hidden Place", "Pagan Poetry" and "Cocoon" were released as singles from the album. A rumoured fourth single, "It's Not Up to You", never made it to release, presumably because of the birth of Björk's daughter Isadora. The lyrics to "An Echo, A Stain" are taken from Sarah Kane's play Crave. The lyrics of "Harm of Will" were written by Harmony Korine and are about Will Oldham. The last track on the album, "Unison," uses a sample of St Paul's Cathedral Choir singing a segment of Patrick Gowers's Viri Galilaei recorded in 1994. Read more on Last.fm.