"Declare Independence" is a song written and recorded by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic singer
Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, ''
Volta''. The single was released on 1 January 2008. Björk's dedication of the song to various independence causes at live performances of the song in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
have caused controversy.
Background
"Declare Independence" was originally an
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
track by British musician and frequent musical collaborator
Mark Bell, performed at his live shows as early as November 2006. Björk later added her vocals and
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
arrangement on top. The lyrics are dedicated to the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
, islands which currently are constituent nations within the
Kingdom of Denmark, as Björk's home country of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
had been.
[Útvarp Føroya (Faroese Radio): ]
Íslendska Björk ognar Føroyum og Grønlandi nýggjan sang (The Icelandic Björk dedicates new song to the Faroes and Greenland)
'', 10 April 2007 (Faroese)[Portal.fo: ]
Bjørk upp í flaggstríðið? (Björk onto the Flag struggle?)
'', 10 April 2007 (Faroese)
"Declare Independence" was originally meant to be released as the second
single from ''
Volta'' in August 2007, but the previously-planned video shoot for "Declare Independence" with
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
was postponed due to Björk's busier than expected promotional schedule.
The deadline for the music video contest for "
Innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
", then slated as the third single, was then brought forward a month to 10 June 2007 so as to provide a finished video able to coincide with a July 2007 release originally planned for "Declare Independence". The limited edition "multiformat"
box set consists of a sticker-sealed fold-out box with five colored nesting boxes containing two
12" vinyl singles, a
CD and a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in colored paper sleeves. A
digital release accompanied the physical release on the same date.
Music video
Background and development
The
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
-themed
performance video was directed by French director Michel Gondry. It is his seventh video with Björk, and the first since
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
's "
Bachelorette
''Bachelorette'' (/ˌbætʃələˈrɛt/) is a term used in American English for a single, unmarried woman. The term is derived from the word '' bachelor'', and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some individuals ...
". In a press conference on 22 March 2007, Gondry stated that he would be shooting a video with Björk for an upcoming single, and though he did not specifically state which song it would be for, described his treatment as being for a "
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
" song. Later confirmation of the video being for "Declare Independence" was made in an article on
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is an online entertainment news website focusing on TV, movies and celebrities. It publishes news, reviews, recaps, interviews, feature articles, explainers, blogs and commentary. The website has been owned by Digital Minef ...
on 8 May 2007. The video shoot was originally going to take place in August 2007 in London (as was the projected single release)
[ but it was eventually rescheduled to 11 October 2007 in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. The finished video was premiered on AOL on 6 December 2007. A making-of
In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...
was made available on 29 November 2007. The video was premiered exclusively on Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
in the UK on 13 December 2007. The video is also available on the DVD compilation '' Michel Gondry 2: More Videos (Before and After DVD 1)''.
Synopsis
The video opens with Mark Bell standing on a wall suspended above Björk, playing a loom-shaped bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
. The strings from this guitar thread themselves through Björk's megaphone, the helmets of several foot soldiers and then up through a pulley system before returning to the guitar. As the song progresses, the strings are spraypainted with several colours as they pass through the loop. When the beat begins, the foot soldiers jump along to the beat, triggering a platform switch that raises a large white banner that loops around the installation. The banner is then painted by five other people in jumpsuits when it reaches the top. A trickle of green paint streaks down the camera's lens at the end of the video as the machine begins to grind to a halt. All the people in the video including Björk wear jumpsuits with the flags of Greenland and the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betwee ...
on their shoulders.
Controversies
Björk has used live performances of "Declare Independence" to declare political support for various causes, often to some controversy. At two concerts in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, she showed her support for Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. When her upcoming performance at the 2008 Serbian Exit Festival was cancelled, Björk suggested that "Maybe a Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
attended my concert n Tokyo
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
and called home, and therefore the concert in Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
was cancelled." The organizer behind the Exit Festival denied that Björk's cancellation from the festival was because of her song dedication to Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
; that it was actually their inability to guarantee the safety of her fans. Björk's management maintained that the cancellation was because of the dedication, claiming that they had received an email from Exit Festival saying that they would only allow the concert to go ahead if Björk's management "denied that Björk has ever edicated the song to Kosovo. On 7 March 2008, Exit Festival organiser Bojan Bošković changed his position and told ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' that Björk has an "open invitation" to play at the festival. Björk's dedicating of "Declare Independence" to the Faroe Islands caused some minor controversy in the country.
At a concert in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
on 2 March 2008, Björk shouted " Tibet, Tibet!" three times followed by "Raise your flag!" four times during the finale performance of "Declare Independence". Immediately there was an "uneasy atmosphere" and fans left the venue quickly, and internet forums
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
such as Tianya Tianya may refer to:
*Tianya District, Sanya, Hainan, China
**Tianya Town (天涯镇), in Tianya District
**Tianya Haijiao (天涯海角), tourist attraction
*Tianya Club
Tianya Club (Mandarin: Tiānyáshèqū 天涯社区 "End of the World" Club ...
fielded many negative comments on her statement. Chinese Ministry of Culture issued a statement denouncing Björk's outburst, and warned that she would be banned from future appearances in China if she repeated such behavior. In an interview, Björk said that she did not " lana trip to China with the purpose of... propaganda" and that Chinese officials "sensationalized" her performance. On 17 July 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Culture announced that artistic groups who "threaten national unity" or "whip up ethnic hatred
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees.
There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...
" among other things during live events would be banned from performing. Fans of Oasis and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, who had previously performed in Tibetan Freedom Concerts, blamed the new regulations for their subsequent denials of permission to perform in Chinese venues.
In October 2017, after the referendum for independence that took place in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
, Björk dedicated the song to Catalonia on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. In August 2019, following Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's expression of interest to buy Greenland from Denmark, Björk once again took to Twitter to support the island nation's independence.
Live performances
On 8 June 2007 (recorded on 5 June 2007), Björk performed, along with her tour musicians, on the UK television show '' Later... with Jools Holland'' for the fifth time in her solo career. She performed "Earth Intruders
"Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the first single from her 2007 full-length studio album, '' Volta''.
The single was released digitally in the US on 9 April and 21 April 2007 a ...
", "The Anchor Song
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
", and "Declare Independence". Björk's set at Glastonbury Festival was broadcast on BBC Four (and later on BBC Two) on 22 June 2007, with "Declare Independence" being the last song of the concert.
Björk performed the song on every show of the worldwide Volta Tour, usually as the very last song of the concert. The live performances make heavy use of the ReacTable, an electro-acoustic music instrument with a tabletop Tangible User Interface
A tangible user interface (TUI) is a user interface in which a person interacts with digital information through the physical environment. The initial name was Graspable User Interface, which is no longer used. The purpose of TUI development ...
. Musician Damian Taylor plays the ReacTable live on stage, and is often joined on the instrument by the support bands when "Declare Independence" is played. During the Australian leg of her tour, as part of the 2008 Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
, the song was dedicated to the Aboriginal people of Australia
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
.
In the Biophilia Tour
The Biophilia Tour was the seventh concert tour by Icelandic musician Björk. The tour was centered on her multimedia project and studio album '' Biophilia'' (2011). The tour premiered at the Manchester International Festival and visited Europe, A ...
, the song was played using the instrumental base of the song (eliminating brass and beats, being the latter played live onstage by Manu Delago
Manu Delago (born 31 July 1984) is an Austrian Hang player, percussionist and composer based in London.
Biography
Delago was born in Innsbruck, Tyrol, and took music lessons as a child in accordion and piano. As a teenager he mainly played dru ...
) and featuring the Tesla coil
A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low- current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. Tesla experimented with a number of differen ...
as a new instrument. On 12 August 2012 in Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, Björk dedicated the song to Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...
.
Björk also performed the song at the end of her set in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
on 16 July 2013, and dedicated it to Trayvon Martin
Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompa ...
.
Track listings and formats
12" vinyl 1
:Side A. "Declare Independence" ( Ghostigital 12" mix)
:Side B. "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fin ...
mix)
12" vinyl 2
:Side C. "Declare Independence" ( Matthew Herbert 12" mix)
:Side D. "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent instrumental)
CD
# "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent mix)
# "Declare Independence" (Ghostigital In Deep End dance 12" remix)
# "Declare Independence" (Matthew Herbert 12" mix)
# "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent instrumental)
DVD
# "Declare Independence" — Music video
Digital EP
# "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent mix)
# "Declare Independence" (Ghostigital in Deep End dance remix 12")
# "Declare Independence" (Matthew Herbert 12")
# "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent instrumental)
*the iTunes release of the EP also included the music video.
Charts
Versions
* Album version – 4:12
* ''Voltaïc
''Voltaïc'' refers to five separate releases of related material from musician Björk's seventh studio album '' Volta''. The full version of the release includes a CD of eleven songs performed live at the Olympic Studios, a DVD of Björk's liv ...
'' version – 4:18
* Mark Stent Mix[ – 4:12
* Mark Stent Instrumental][ – 4:12
* Matthew Herbert 12" Mix][ – 5:21
* Ghostigital in Deep End Dance 12" Remix][ – 2:49
* Black Pus Mix – 8:48 (Available on ''Voltaïc'')
]
References
External links
Declare Independence releases at Discogs
{{authority control
2006 songs
2008 singles
Björk songs
Songs written by Björk
One Little Indian Records singles
Industrial songs
Protest songs
Song recordings produced by Björk
Songs written by Mark Bell (British musician)
Music videos directed by Michel Gondry