''Family Tree'' is a

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

of musical material by Icelandic singer

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 voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

. The set consists of a book of lyrics entitled ''Words'', five 3-inch

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

s of rare and previously unreleased material, and a regular-sized compact disc of

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

selected by Björk herself. ''Family Tree'' was released in November 2002, concurrent with the release of Björk's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' album, in which the tracks were selected by her fans.

Information

The five 3-inch compact discs include: ''Roots'' CD 1, which features songs recorded before Björk's "second solo debut" (i.e. previous to her 1993 album '' Debut''). This compact disc features songs by her previous bands: Kukl,

the Elgar Sisters The Elgar Sisters was an Icelandic duo formed by singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir and composer Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson in 1984. The Elgar Sisters coexisted with Kukl, another group they were part of. The origin of the duo’s name dates back ...

, and

the Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes () were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpe ...

. ''Roots'' CD 2 features

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s and alternate versions of album tracks; ''Beats'', which focuses on both new and old songs with a heavier

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

influence; and finally ''Strings'' CDs 1 and 2, which feature live and studio recordings of Björk with the

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet", and subsequently named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky. Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members, ...

through 1999 and 2000. The artwork on the CD was designed by

M/M Paris M/M (Paris) is an art and design partnership consisting of Mathias Augustyniak (born 1967) and Michael Amzalag (born 1968), established in Paris in 1992. M/M are best known for their art direction and collaborations with musicians (Björk, Madonn ...

in collaboration with Icelandic

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

ist Gabríela Friðriksdóttir. The cover consists of a tree with letter on the upper part. A music video for the song "Nature is Ancient", directed by Lynn Fox, was released in November 2002 to promote the

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products, such as video game co ...

, even though the song was originally released in 1997. Originally, it was a B-side to the "

Bachelorette ''Bachelorette'' (/ˌbætʃələˈrɛt/) is a term used in American English for a Single person, single, unmarried woman. The term is derived from the word ''bachelor'', and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some ...

" single, but it was later included on ''Family Tree''. The video was also released on the compilation '' Greatest Hits - Volumen 1993–2003''. Björk's notes for the project, as featured on the individual CD artworks, reveal that "Immature" and "My Spine" were initially considered to feature on the compilation, as well as track(s) recorded with British composer

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious music, religious works. Among his best known works are ''The Lamb (Tavener), The Lamb'' (1982), ''The ...

Track listing

Notes *"Mother Heroic" contains lyrics taken from the poem "Belgium" by

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), commonly known as e e cummings or E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. During World War I, he worked as an ambulance driver and was ...

Charts

References

External links

Family Tree mini siteBjörk official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Tree (Bjork Album) Björk albums B-side compilation albums 2002 compilation albums One Little Independent Records compilation albums Albums produced by Björk