Declare Independence
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| “Declare Independence” | |||||
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| Single by Björk from the album Volta |
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| Released | January 1, 2008 | ||||
| Format | Discbox | ||||
| Genre | Industrial Rock, Alternative, Electronica | ||||
| Length | 4:13 | ||||
| Label | One Little Indian | ||||
| Writer(s) | Björk, Mark Bell | ||||
| Producer | Björk, Mark Bell | ||||
| Björk singles chronology | |||||
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"Declare Independence" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released on January 1, 2008. Björk's dedicating of a live performance of the song in Shanghai, China to the Tibetan freedom movement caused international controversy.[1][2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Song
The song was originally an instrumental track by British musician and frequent musical collaborator Mark Bell, performed at his live shows as early as November, 2006.[4] Björk later added her vocals on top.[5] The lyrics are dedicated to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.[6][7][8]
Declare Independence was originally meant to be released as the second single from Volta in August, 2007, but due to the worldwide success of the album Björk had to perform more international promotion work than her label One Little Indian had originally planned, meaning that the previously-planned video shoot for "Declare Independence" with Michel Gondry in London couldn't take place.[9] The deadline for the music video contest for "Innocence" (then slated as the third single) was then brought forward a month to June 10, 2007 so as to provide a finished video able to coincide with a July, 2007 release originally planned for Declare Independence.
[edit] Tracklist
The single marked the first physical release of the Volta era. A box-set was released in "super deluxe packaging" which includes two 12” Vinyls, a CD and a DVD featuring Michel Gondry’s video for "Declare Independence".[10] A digital release will accompany the physical release on the same date.[11] To date, promotional white label versions of the two 12" singles have been made available to buy separately, but it is unknown whether the CD and DVD from the box-set will be available separately in the future. The "Mark Stent Mix" is the album version of the track but without the mixed crossover sounds from the previous track on the album ('Hope' from the album Volta).
[edit] 12-inch vinyl 1
- Side A. "Declare Independence" (Ghostigital 12" Mix)
- Side B. "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent Mix)
[edit] 12-inch vinyl 2
- Side C. "Declare Independence" (Matthew Herbert 12" Mix)
- Side D. "Declare Independence" (Mark Stent Instrumental)
[edit] 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)
[edit] DVD
- "Declare Independence" — Music video, directed by Michel Gondry
[edit] Digital iTunes 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)
- "Declare Independence" (Music Video)
[edit] Music video
The military-themed video was directed by French director Michel Gondry. It is his seventh video with Björk, and the first since 1997's "Bachelorette". In a press conference on March 22, 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" song.[12][13] Later confirmation of the video being for "Declare Independence" was made in an article on Monsters and Critics on May 8, 2007.[14] The video shoot was originally going to take place in August, 2007 in London (as was the projected single release)[9] but the video shoot was eventually rescheduled to October 11, 2007 in New York City.[15] The finished video was premiered on AOL on 6 December 2007.[16] A making-of was made available on November 29, 2007.[17] The video was premiered exclusively on Channel 4 in the UK on December 13, 2007.[18]
The video opens with Mark Bell standing on a wall suspended above Björk, playing a loom-shaped bass guitar. 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. Björk, also in a jumpsuit, bears the flag of Greenland on her left shoulder and the flag of the Faroe Islands on her right shoulder in the video.[19]
[edit] "Tibet, Tibet" Controversy
Björk has used live performances of "Declare Independence" to declare political support for various causes, often to some controversy. At two concerts in Tokyo, Japan she showed her support for Kosovo's declaration of independence. This was negatively reported in the press in Serbia, resulting in the cancellation of her then upcoming performance at the 2008 Serbian EXIT Festival.[20][21] Björk later released a statement through Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið, saying that "Maybe a Serb attended my concert [in Tokyo] and called home, and therefore the concert in Novi Sad was cancelled."[22][23] On March 3, 2008 the organiser behind the EXIT Festival released a press statement saying that Björk's cancellation from the festival was not because of her song dedication to Kosovo per se, but their inability to guarantee security for festivalgoers.[24] On March 4, 2008 Björk's management released a statement to NME stating that EXIT Festival were misleading in saying that Björk's support of Kosovo was not behind their concert cancellation, stating that they had emailed Björk's management saying that "We hope Björk does not relate to Kosovo on other concerts here in Europe, nor in her interviews, because if she does we need to cancel the concert".[25] The statement also showed that EXIT Festival would only allow the concert to go ahead if Björk's management "denied that Björk has ever done this".[26] On March 7, 2008 EXIT festival organiser Bojan Boscovic told NME that Björk has an "open invitation" to play at the festival, stating that his position now is different from what it was two weeks ago when the incident occurred. He also admitted that an email was sent by him to Björk's management, but that it was not to be read as an official EXIT statement.[27]
At a concert in Shanghai, China on March 2, 2008 Björk shouted "Tibet, Tibet!" three times followed by "Raise your flag!" four times during the finale performance of "Declare Independence".[28][29] Björk's comments were not initially reported in the state-controlled media, but online sites such as Tianya fielded many negative comments on her statement.[30] The story was subsequently picked up by international news wires.[31] There was reportedly no booing after her statement but there was an 'uneasy atmosphere' and fans left the venue quickly.[32] A spokesperson for Emma Entertainment (the leading ticketing company in China[citation needed]) pleaded ignorance of Björk's actions and refused further comment.[33] Sanctions are likely to be imposed on the organisers by the state censorship body, and it remains unlikely that Björk will be able to visit China again in the near future.[34] A spokesperson for the Free Tibet Movement said the group was delighted by Björk's remarks, contrasting them with Gordon Brown and David Miliband's "shameful" decision not to raise the issue publicly on their recent visits to Beijing.[35] Björk performed at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1996 and 1997.
On March 4, 2008 Björk released an official statement on her website regarding the two incidents.[36] The website is now blocked in mainland China.[37]
As Björk's statement had made headlines in the international press, China's Ministry of Culture was forced to issue a denunciation through state-run news agency Xinhua.[38] Their statement said that Björk had "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings", and that they would impose stricter rules in the future on foreign rock and pop stars who wish to play in the country.[39] It was also confirmed that Björk would be banned from future appearances in China if she repeated such taboo behaviour.[40]
Apart from the statement on her website, Björk spoke about the incident for the first time in an interview published on March 18, 2008.[41][42]
| “ | When I said "Tibet, Tibet", I whispered it three times. There was no fuss in the room. It happened afterwards on websites. It shows more than anything that China has become the next superpower in the world. And the issue is: how are they going to deal with Western moral issues like freedom of speech? China said, ‘It's obvious Björk planned a trip to China with the purpose of political propaganda gathering… and I was like, no! It's not true! It's a question of [them] sensationalising it.
Perhaps after what's happened, people will find that difficult to believe. But I'm still working from an emotional core, and my songs come from private and personal experiences. Even songs like Declare Independence for me are about humanity. |
” |
Björk's dedicating of "Declare Independence" to the Faroe Islands caused some minor controversy in the country.[43][44] During the Australian leg of her tour, as part of the 2008 Big Day Out, the song was dedicated to the Aboriginal People of Australia.
[edit] Promotion
On June 8, 2007 (recorded on June 5, 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.[45] She performed "Earth Intruders", "The Anchor Song", and "Declare Independence". Björk's set at Glastonbury Festival was broadcast on BBC Four (and later on BBC Two) on June 22, 2007, with "Declare Independence" being the last song of the concert.
[edit] Tour
Björk has 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. 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.
