"Stonemilker" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer and musician
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
for her eighth studio album, ''
Vulnicura
''Vulnicura'' is the eighth studio album by Icelandic musician and singer Björk. It was produced by Björk, Arca and The Haxan Cloak, and released on 20 January 2015 by One Little Indian Records. Björk said the album expresses her feelings befo ...
'', in 2015. It was written and produced by Björk with beats by Venezuelan musician
Arca. "Stonemilker" is ''Vulnicura''s opening track and the first of a six-part narrative that details the devastating end of Björk's relationship with American contemporary artist
Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...
. Björk wrote the lyrics on the same Icelandic beach where the innovative 360-degree music video was later shot.
"Stonemilker" was released as a
promotional single
A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
in some territories in 2015 and received very limited airplay in a shortened radio edit. Unlike her previous studio albums, ''Vulnicura'' saw no commercially released singles. Despite this fact, several versions of the song have been released across various media.
Background and composition
''Vulnicura'' was leaked online on 17 January 2015, two months ahead of its then unspecified March 2015 release date. Two days later the album was rush released digitally on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
where it was accompanied by a digital booklet featuring not just lyrics and credits, but a narrative timeline accompanying the first 6 songs on the album, detailing to the month how long before or after the breakup each song was written. "Stonemilker", the first song on the album, was written "9 months before".
On 17 December 2015, Björk appeared on the podcast
Song Exploder
''Song Exploder'' is a music podcast created by Hrishikesh Hirway, who hosted it from its 2014 inception until late 2018 and again from December 2019 onwards. In January 2019, Thao Nguyen became a guest host for the year, with Christian Koons ser ...
(Episode 60) where she revealed the meaning and backstory behind "Stonemilker": "It's about someone who's trying to get emotions out of another person…. I was walking on a beach, and I was kind of walking back and forth and the lyrics kind of came along kind of without me really editing them..."
She revealed that at one point the song had more complex, less obvious lyrics, but "it was really maybe a bit too clever for its own good but something in me said, 'No, don't touch it. It has to be, like, almost clumsy or naive.' That's sort of the strength and weakness of the song at the same time."
Björk composed the song entirely for strings, her first use of string instruments since 2001's ''
Vespertine
''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...
''. She revealed how working on 2004's all-vocal album, ''
Medúlla
''Medúlla'' is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Indian Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electron ...
'', refined her composing skills and helped her distribute the parts: "...I did the choir arrangements totally myself. Maybe it was easier for me, because I know the instrument much better – I've been singing since I was a kid. During Medúlla I sat with the choir working out the music, the harmonies, the Italian – you know, forte, piano, sforzando, that stuff."
"So I would sit down at a keyboard and just work out the chords. And then when I'm ready with the chord structure because I knew it would be for strings, I would take it to violins, violas, (and) cellos because I kind of wanted a lot of it to be in the strings. We actually saved it 'til last and I did several days of recording the strings. I had 30 players, and then I would do 2 sets of arrangements so basically there are, in theory, 60 because it needed that sort of panoramic feeling to have that sort of smooth, cream-like perfection."
She described how the music needed to feel cyclical, "that it could go on forever" as a way to create "equilibrium, like the person who's singing this song is showing some sort of harmony to someone as an example."
''Vulnicura''s co-producer and principle beat-maker Arca came in after the music and lyrics were already written. However, Björk realized that "Stonemilker" didn't need an extravagant beat. "It just had to be really supportive of the song, and almost acoustic like it's a symphony orchestra playing and the beat would come from the kettledrum or something... a very soft support which Alejandra provided." Though as revealed in the Song Exploder podcast via isolated snippets of the beats, there are soft, nearly inaudible electronic noises accompanying them, but they are nearly inaudible in the final mix.
"I think "Stonemilker" is one big question," Björk summarized. "You're asking someone a question… but you don't want to push too hard, trying… in the most harmonious way possible… to prove a point… Staying emotionally open (is) a choice… Do you want to try and then maybe fail half of the time and then succeed half of the time or whatever your odds are? Or is it your choice to not even try?"
Remixes and alternate versions
While no singles were released to promote ''Vulnicura'', Björk released several companion projects to the original studio album. However, the first alternate version of "Stonemilker" debuted during the
Museum of Modern Art's 2015
Björk exhibition. The retrospective housed the "Black Lake" installation and Songlines exhibit in its main building while the MoMA PS1 showcased the "Stonemilker" VR music video for
Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016.
In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
. The innovative video featured a strings-only version of the song accompanied by gentle waves from the beach where the video was shot. When the VR video was released for Apple and Android devices later that year, it was revealed that the VR video version of "Stonemilker" was an exclusive mix different from the strings-only version that would later be released on ''Vulnicura Strings''.
The second alternate version of "Stonemilker" debuted with the third and final wave of the Vulnicura Remix Series on October 2015. "Stonemilker" (The patten Rework) is the only official, traditional remix of "Stonemilker" and was released digitally and on limited edition translucent vinyl, limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.
6 November 2015 saw the release of ''
Vulnicura Strings
''Vulnicura Strings (The Acoustic Versions – Strings, Voice and Viola Organista Only)'', or simply ''Vulnicura Strings'', is an acoustic album released by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk as a companion to her 2015 album, ''Vulnicura''. ''Vu ...
'', an acoustic companion project to ''Vulnicura'' featuring strings-only interpretations of 8 of ''Vulnicura''s 9 tracks. Björk revealed during the project's official announcement, "While I was working on ''Vulnicura'', it became one of the most magical thing(s) both musically and spiritually to unite the electronics and the acoustic instruments in an almost romantic way: to prove they can coexist!!... But while working on it I felt somehow for the first time, this was an album that could take another version: a reveal, to simply have the acoustics stand on their own for the folks who wanna indulge even further into the wooden timeless side of this music. With no techno."
The ''Vulnicura Strings'' version of "Stonemilker" is a different acoustic mix than the one featured on the VR app. The ''Strings'' version features a more lush and fuller sounding orchestra and does not feature the crashing ocean sound effect.
The final officially released version of "Stonemilker" is found on ''
Vulnicura Live
''Vulnicura Live'' is a live album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk featuring 14 songs performed during her 2015 Vulnicura Tour. The original release was available exclusively through Rough Trade record shops in very limited quantities and ...
'', a collection of performances from Björk's 2015 Vulnicura Tour.
Though not commercially released, a radio edit of "Stonemilker" exists and runs less than half the length of the original album version, combining the first half of the first verse with the second half of the second verse and the second chorus. The musical coda is severely truncated and fades out shortly after the chorus ends. It has been confirmed that the radio edit is official but it remains largely unheard.
Critical reception
"Stonemilker" was universally acclaimed by music critics and is regarded as one of the finest tracks off ''Vulnicura''.
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
noted its "high-drama string arrangements" and said, "the chorus is a kind of gorgeous sigh, with beautiful melodies frequently sitting alongside moments of real audacity."
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
called it "one of her most stunning creations, deftly straddling the line between the avant-garde and the immensely accessible, the direct and the obtuse" and said, "The lavish strings, provided by the ensemble U Strings, are a welcome reminder of her sublime orchestral arranging talents."
"Stonemilker" has also been called "tragic," and the "saddest song Björk has ever written," by Moze Halperin for
Flavorwire
''Flavorwire'' is a New York City-based online culture magazine. The site includes original feature articles, interviews, reviews, as well as content recycled from other sources. ''Flavorwire'' describes themselves as "a network of culturally con ...
. "It bears the weight of the potentiality of the black lake that will become her heart with a hopefulness that the rest of the album exposes as crushingly misguided: Björk here bravely makes dramatic irony of her own pain."
"Stonemilker" ranked 149th on
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
's "200 Best Songs of the 2010s" list.
Music video and "Stonemilker" app
The music video for "Stonemilker" was shot on the same Icelandic beach where Björk originally wrote the song's lyrics and was directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, who previously directed Björk's 2012 music video "
Mutual Core
"Mutual Core" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk for her seventh studio album '' Biophilia'' (2011). It was written and produced by Björk herself, while programming and beats were made in collaboration with Matthew Herbert and the Engl ...
" in addition to directing the "Black Lake" video installation that premiered at the
Museum of Modern Art's Björk retrospective in March 2015.
"Stonemilker" was conceived of and shot in an afternoon using 360-degree cameras to create one of the first
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
music videos by a major contemporary recording artist. Björk and Huang settled on 360-degree video for its "potential for intimacy" but the video's panoramic view forced the film crew to hide behind rocks for the several takes it took to capture the performance.
The video was produced by Here Be Dragons while the special effects were created by Digital Domain, and it premiered at the MoMA PS1, MoMA's sister location, on 22 March as part of the museum's Bjork exhibit and was also briefly made available to customers of
Rough Trade record shops in London (Rough Trade East) and Brooklyn, NY who purchased the physical album. The MoMA & Rough Trade experiences were created by Rewind and The New Chromantics for iPhone6 using the FreeFly VR headset. A GearVR version was created but never used.
The video features an exclusive strings-only mix of the song. Björk explained, "I had recorded the strings with a clip-on mike on each instrument. We have made a different mix where we have fanned this in an intimate circle around the listener. So as you watch the virtual reality headset it will be as if you are on that beach and with the 30 players sitting in a circle tightly around you." It was later released as a 360-degree
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video on 6 June 2015 featuring the original album mix.
The "Stonemilker" Virtual Reality App was made available to purchase on iOS devices on 21 December 2015
and later made available to Android users. The app was created by Third Space Agency, Rewind, and 2 Big Ears and retains both the 360-degree visual and auditory experience.
The video is currently touring the world as part of the
Björk Digital
''Björk Digital'' is an "immersive" virtual reality exhibit by Icelandic musician Björk featuring 360-degree VR music videos from her eighth studio album, ''Vulnicura''. The exhibit debuted at Carriageworks in Sydney, Australia as part of th ...
exhibit.
Personnel
Credits adapted from ''Vulnicura''s liner notes.
*
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
– writer, composer, producer
*
Arca – programming
*
The Haxan Cloak
Bobby Krlic (born 20 December 1985), known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician.
The Haxan Cloak has released two full-length albums (2011's ''The Haxan Cloak'' and 2013's '' Excavation' ...
– programming
Charts
References
{{Björk songs
2015 songs
Björk songs
Song recordings produced by Björk
Songs written by Björk