The Manchester International Festival has commissioned Björk for the world premiere of her Biophilia show in an intimate concert setting. Biophilia, her seventh studio album was partially recorded on an iPad and will be released as apps (directed by Michel Gondry) in conjunction with Apple. Somehow these apps will be utilized in the upcoming live shows, which will be her first in the UK for three years:

Björk will be at MIF for a three-week residency; six intimate shows in the striking space of Campfield Market Hall for audiences of 1800, her first Uk dates in over three years.

Where do music, nature and technology meet? Björk introduces Biophilia, her most ambitious and exciting work to date. A multimedia project encompassing music, apps, Internet, installations and live shows, Biophilia celebrates how sound works in nature, exploring the infinite expanse of the universe,from planetary systems to atomic structure.

Björk will be performing Biophilia tracks and music from her genre-defying back catalogue with a small group of unique musical collaborators, including an award-winning Icelandic female choir. The show will feature a range of specially conceived and crafted instruments, among them a bespoke pipe organ that accepts digital information and a pendulum that harnesses the earth’s gravitational pull to create musical patterns.

In a special collaboration with MIF, the Biophilia show will travel to major cities around the world following the Manchester premiere. MIF will be working with young people in Manchester to explore the ideas behind Björk’s Biophilia.

Below, listen to “Solar System” from Biophilia: