Emmet O’Connor
Within the past month, there has been a rise in volcanic activity across the globe. Volcanoes in Iceland, Italy, and Japan have all experienced heightened activity. The rise in geological activity coincides with Icelandic musician Björk’s international tour. Although the connection has not been confirmed by the musician, this is likely part of a guerilla marketing campaign.
Björk’s most recent album was a split EP with the indie rock band Dirty Projectors, most well known for their hit song “Swing Lo Magellan”. The cover image for the EP is of Mount Wittenberg in Ulster County, New York State . The mountain is not volcanic, but the theme of geology is consistent. On the topic of Dirty Projectors there is an interesting connection between Magellan and volcanoes. In March of 2023 the spacecraft Magellan found evidence of volcanic activity on Venus. This comes back to Björk since one of her hit songs is called “Venus as a Boy,” and the connections do not stop there.
The town most under threat is on the Reykjanes peninsula, which is directly south of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland and the birthplace of Björk. She often presents herself as a supernatural and otherworldly being and perhaps this persona is not just an act. Could Björk be behind the recent activity? Maybe…
In March of 2023, Björk played four shows in Japan and a mere eight months later a volcano off the coast of Iwo Jima caused a new island to emerge out of the Pacific ocean. She also played a show in Milan, Italy, on Sep. 19. On Nov. 24 Mount Etna in Italy erupted. There seems to be a connection between the countries where Björk chooses to play shows and volcanic activity, like eruptions in the case of Mount Etna.
Björk recently appeared in the 2022 film “The Northman” by Robert Eggers. The film has Björk predicting the future for the main character and a volcano as a set piece for the climax. Could Björk and Eggers be alluding to her 2023 tour and the corresponding volcanic eruptions? We have not been able to confirm with Björk’s team, but it seems too strong a connection to be considered simply a coincidence.
Björk may or may not be controlling subterranean lava flows but it would be in her interest to do so. What helps bring a country together after an environmental catastrophe? Live music. Björk could be harnessing the destruction that volcanoes bring about so as to make more of an impact with her music and sell more tickets to her shows. Another possibility is that her shows are serving as a warning for the volcanoes. Björk could be sensing the impending eruptions and playing shows to try and move people out of the danger zone. This would explain the fact that most of her shows were a decent distance away from the blast areas of the volcanoes. We may never receive confirmation from Björk or her team on the volcano issue, but there does seem to be some kind of connection between the pop icon and the rise in volcanic activity. We can only hope that Björk does not use these volcanoes to destroy but instead only uses them to promote tour dates and new music.