Backed by a string orchestra and her band, Björk performs at the Coachella Valley Music Festival wearing one of her characteristic outfits. Photo by Coachella Santiago Felipe.
” ‘It’s a Björk thing, you don’t have to understand it,’ writes Shad Powers in Wednesday’s (4/19) Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). “That was a sentiment shared by a woman in the crowd … during the quirky Icelandic singer’s gorgeous orchestral set Sunday night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival…. The ‘Björk thing’ included the iconic singer … being backed by a 30-person Hollywood string ensemble conducted by Bjarni Frimann, singing an operatic-style progression of songs with limited on-stage theatrics, but accented by a colorful drone show in the air … That’s to say that most of your senses were covered as Björk’s unmistakable voice pierced the air. Like watching an opera in a different language, the orchestral arrangement and the urgency of Björk’s voice—and even the choreography of the drones—let you know what emotion you were supposed to be feeling…. The set included a variety of Björk’s most popular songs over her three-decade-long career … The right-hand big screen was trained on Björk the whole time … Its left-hand equivalent was trained on the orchestra, which did an amazing job, filling the desert air with a different sound than the bass beats and guitar-shredding.”
