Bjork Reveals Details of New ‘Utopia’ LP

Björk's getting closer to bringing her new album to fans — and she's revealed the release date and cover artwork to prove it.

Utopia, Björk's ninth solo studio effort, has been scheduled for a Nov. 24 release — nearly three years after the arrival of her most recent album, 2015's Vulnicura. She announced the date via Instagram while sharing the cover art for the new LP, designed by artist Jesse Kanda with creative direction from Björk and her longtime collaborator, hand embroiderer James Merry.

As previously reported, Björk recently whetted fans' appetites for Utopia through the release of the set's first single, "The Gate," which she described as an ode to "transcendent love" that seemed to set the stage for a song cycle with a lighter tone than her previous effort. "The last album, we sort of call it 'hell,'" she explained. "It was like divorce! So we are doing paradise now. Utopia. We have done hell, we have earned some points."

The Utopia sessions, which elapsed over a period of years, were co-produced by the Venezuelan DJ known as Arca, who was singled out for particular praise by Björk in her Instagram update. Offering her "magical" collaborator "over the moon and jupiter gratitudes," she wrote, "what a profound and nourishing trip this has been ... thousandfold appreciation and headbowing."

For his part, Arca seems to feel pretty much the same way; as he wrote in his own Instagram update, "the soft merge that yielded this album has been one of the most oxygenating experiences i’ve had in my lifetime." Describing a working relationship that included "licking raindrops out of the salty air in the tropics & listening for birds, swimming in green rivers, the fires crackling through snow," he added, "this album truly carries a piece of utopia for me — one that is already smilingly real."

i am so overwhelmingly humble while announcing my album utopia is coming out end of nov . i can´t wait for you to hear it . this is the cover made by the warm extraordinary talented @truekanda and was assisted by me , @james.t.merry and @isshehungry . thank you for telepathically getting me !! over the moon and jupiter gratitudes to magical @arca1000000 for making the music of this album with me : what a profound and nourishing trip this has been !!! thousandfold appreciation and headbowing . hope you like it , warmth , björk

A post shared by Björk (@bjork) on Oct 31, 2017 at 5:59am PDT

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