Björk | Jóga
Björk’s “Jóga” - how a Christmas walk through Iceland, volcanic beats, and the Icelandic String Octet created her fiercest love song and the lead single from Homogenic in 1997.
Story Behind “Jóga”
The Mountain Moment That Became a National Anthem
“Jóga” emerged during one of the most vulnerable periods of Björk’s life. After surviving a stalker attack that forced her to flee London, she returned to Iceland for Christmas 1996. Desperate for solitude after months of grueling media attention, she spent over a week alone in the mountains, enduring only two hours of daylight. During those long, isolated walks across frozen terrain, something magical happened. Björk described a very specific moment: standing on top of a mountain, looking over a quarter of the island. The ice was melting, “crackling like popcorn but echoing a very strange noise.” Clouds hung so thick and low they mirrored her favorite childhood towns in their moisture.
That moment—simultaneously brutal and beautiful—became the sonic blueprint for “Jóga.” Björk explained her vision to engineer Markus Dravs as “an overall picture,” and he came back with a rhythm that she felt was “too abstract.” Mark Bell then arrived and “took 99 percent of what [he] did and came up with some noises,” giving Dravs new ideas. Within that collision of visions—minimalist and maximal, abstract and visceral—the track’s identity crystallized.
A Love Song to a Best Friend and a Homeland
“Jóga” is dedicated to and named after Björk’s best friend, Jóga Gnarr Jóhannsdóttir, the wife of future Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr. But the song transcends a simple tribute. Björk has said: “I wrote the song about my best friend. Everybody should have one of those friends who you can call 24 hours and be abstract and they get it. We are basically emotionally married.” “Bachelorette” and “Jóga” were written with Icelandic poet Sjón because Björk wanted to use epic lyrics.
Björk explained her inability to write the lyrics herself: “I tried to write that tune but I just wanted mainly to write lyrics. It was just pathetic. I was like ‘her... her...’ it was like ‘love... love...’ I couldn’t even put it into words. So I think it’s the fiercest love song I have written.” What emerged was something far deeper than romantic confession—it’s an ode to emotional communion, to being truly understood, and to Iceland itself.
“Jóga” Recording and Production Details
Volcanic Beats Meet String Arrangements at El Cortijo
Like most of Homogenic, “Jóga” was recorded and produced at El Cortijo in Málaga, Spain. The studio became Björk’s refuge after her drummer Trevor Morais offered his studio there, and Björk relocated to Spain seeking privacy away from media attention. Björk wanted to create an album with “a simple sound” and “only one flavour,” which she achieved by incorporating Iceland’s landscapes into the music itself.
Björk cited her major influences as “Stockhausen, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and Mark Bell,” and Bell’s fingerprints are all over the track’s architecture. Bell was credited for the majority of the album’s production, including the bassline in “Jóga.” The collaboration between Björk’s vision, Bell’s electronic manipulations, and Dravs’ engineering created a unique production tension—the song refuses to choose between its disparate elements.
The Architecture of Contrast
Björk wrote the string arrangements, which were provided late in the production process by the Icelandic String Octet. This timing proved crucial. Rather than building from the strings, the song treats them as a dramatic finale—they enter cautiously in verses, then explode in the chorus as full orchestral swells. The contrast between Björk’s intimate verses and the sweeping, cinematic choruses creates the track’s emotional push and pull.
The strong beats are referred to as “volcanic,” reflecting Iceland’s primal and chaotic nature. Due to its harsh beats and halfway drop, some modern critics have described the track as “proto dubstep.” It’s this unusual marriage—baroque strings colliding with futuristic production, folk melody wrestling with electronic noise—that makes “Jóga” sound both timeless and impossibly ahead of its time. The song doesn’t integrate these elements smoothly. Instead, it celebrates their productive tension, letting each layer maintain its own identity while serving the larger emotional narrative.
Notes About “Jóga” by Björk
Release Date: September 15, 1997 (single), September 22, 1997 (album)
Duration: 4:30
Genre: Electronica / Art Pop / Post-Classical
Album: Homogenic (3rd studio album, track 2)
Producer(s): Björk, Mark Bell, Markus Dravs
Label: One Little Indian Records
Chart Performance: #1 in Iceland; #15 UK Singles Chart (ineligible due to format); top 20 in Finland; top 40 in Sweden
Notable Recognition: #35 on Slant Magazine’s “The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s”
Björk “Jóga” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: Homogenic
Release Date: September 22, 1997
Label: One Little Indian Records
Producers: Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, Markus Dravs
Recording Location: El Cortijo Studios, Málaga, Spain
Recording Period: Late January–June 1997
Album Concept: Sonic tribute to Iceland combining electronic beats with classical string arrangements
Critical Reception: Widespread acclaim; topped Iceland charts; #4 UK Albums Chart; #28 US Billboard 200; nominated for Best Alternative Album Grammy
Band Members/Personnel
Björk - Vocals, Producer, Songwriter, String Arrangements
Mark Bell - Producer, Bassline, Electronic Production
Markus Dravs - Engineer, Rhythm Programming
Guy Sigsworth - Producer
Howie B - Producer, Remixes, Mixing
Sjón - Lyricist, Co-writer
Icelandic String Octet - String Arrangements and Performance
Eumir Deodato - String Arrangement (additional), Conducting
Steve Price - Engineering
Alexander McQueen - Album Cover Design
Production Notes
Recorded away from London following stalker incident that forced Björk to relocate
Björk wrote new songs during Christmas 1996 visit to Iceland, including “Jóga”
Björk parted ways with producer Nellee Hooper (who produced Debut and Post) because they had “stopped surprising each other”
Unorthodox recording methods included capturing sounds on the studio porch
Used non-professionals on production staff, including babysitter Rebecca Storey who became integral to sessions
String arrangements added late in production process to maintain spontaneity
Album marked first of multiple production collaborations between Björk and Mark Bell
“Jóga” released as lead single; became commercial success in Iceland but ruled ineligible for official UK chart due to VHS box set format
Interesting Facts About “Jóga”
The Video That Turned Iceland Into Landscape Art
The music video was directed by Michel Gondry and filmed in Iceland. Rather than centering on Björk as performer, the video focuses almost entirely on Iceland’s geological drama. Computer animation creates tectonic shifts, with fault lines separating and moving the landscape itself. Björk appears only briefly at beginning and end, a human scale against towering natural forces. The video received a nomination for Best Art Direction at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.
This visual approach perfectly mirrors the song’s emotional logic—Björk’s voice isn’t the hero of the narrative. Instead, it’s one instrument among many, equal to the strings and beats and digital noise. The landscape (literal and emotional) is the true protagonist. “Jóga” was featured in the 1999 British film “The Loss of Sexual Innocence” and the 2004 documentary “Screaming Masterpiece,” which explored Iceland’s diverse music scene.
A National Anthem That Nobody Expected
Björk said: “With this song, I really had a sort of National Anthem in mind. Not the National Anthem but certain classic Icelandic songs – very romantic, very proud.” This ambition could have failed spectacularly. Instead, she created something that sounds both deeply Icelandic and completely universal—a love song that works as both intimate confession and sweeping landscape painting.
“Jóga” was ranked #93 on Pitchfork’s list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s. The song proved that electronic music and classical instrumentation weren’t opposing forces but could create genuine emotional depth when aligned with authentic vision. Every artist who would later blend electronic and orchestral elements—from Radiohead to Grimes—owes something to this track’s proof of concept.
Common Questions
Q: What is “Jóga” by Björk about? A: The song is a love letter to Björk’s best friend and to Iceland itself. It explores being in a “state of emergency”—a condition Björk finds beautiful rather than frightening—where emotional connection dissolves barriers and someone truly understands you. The lyrics use Iceland’s landscape as metaphor for emotional terrain.
Q: Who wrote the lyrics to “Jóga”? A: Icelandic poet Sjón wrote the lyrics because Björk wanted to use epic lyrics. Björk found herself unable to put her feelings into words, so she turned to her friend and collaborator to capture the emotional intensity she envisioned.
Q: Why is “Jóga” considered innovative? A: The track fuses electronica with baroque and classical music in ways that sound neither gimmicky nor forced. Due to its harsh beats and a halfway drop, some modern critics have described the track as “proto dubstep.” It essentially predicted production techniques that wouldn’t become mainstream for years.
Q: How did the Icelandic String Octet contribute to the track? A: Björk wrote the string arrangements, which were provided late in the production process by the Icelandic String Octet. By arriving late in production, the strings add emotional climax rather than foundational texture, creating dramatic contrast with the electronic elements.
Q: What was the impact of Björk’s relocation to Spain? A: Björk relocated to Málaga to record away from the sudden media attention following an assassination attempt by a stalker. This isolation paradoxically freed her creatively, allowing her to write from emotional truth rather than react to external pressure.