Oral (song)

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"Oral"
Single by Björk featuring Rosalía
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
Written1998
Released21 November 2023
Recorded1998, March 2023
GenrePop
Length3:43
LabelOne Little Independent
Songwriter(s)Björk
Producer(s)Björk
Björk singles chronology
"Fossora"
(2022) 		"Oral"
(2023)
Rosalía singles chronology
"Tuya"
(2023) 		"Oral"
(2023)
Music video
"Oral" on YouTube

"Oral" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk featuring Spanish singer Rosalía. A charity single to protest against extensive open net pen fish farming in Iceland, it was released on 21 November 2023 through One Little Independent.[1]

To prevent the opening of an industrial salmon farm in Iceland, and to campaign for new Icelandic legislation, Björk and Rosalía donated their rights to the income generated by "Oral" to the non-profit organization AEGIS,[2] founded after it was revealed that there were repeated escapes of thousands of fish into the wild.[3][4]

The song debuted at number 42 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, becoming Björk's first entry on the chart.

On 10 April 2024, a remix of the song by Olof Dreijer was released on streaming services. It is Björk and Dreijer's second collaboration, after Country Creatures (2019).[5]

Background[edit]

Björk previously made charity songs to support environmental activism. In 2008, she released the song "Náttúra", featuring Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke, from which all proceeds went to the Náttúra campaign, an environmental group she co-founded to fight the construction of foreign-backed aluminium factories in Iceland. She founded the Náttúra Foundation that same year to support Iceland's natural habitats and protest against aluminium factories being built there, and campaigned against the construction of an energy project in the country's highlands in 2015, calling for a national park to be created in its stead. She has celebrated the natural world in her music, and has supported activist Greta Thunberg, praising her anthology The Climate Book.

In the wake of nation-wide protests against Norwegian-owned commercial farming operations that threaten to disrupt native ecosystems in Seyðisfjörður,[6] Björk revisited "Oral", a song she composed in 1998, and offered it to Rosalía, who she had met through el Guincho in 2017. The proceeds from the song will go towards anti-fish farming organized activists in the Eastfjord.[7]

Composition[edit]

"My interpretation of the lyrics are that you're wondering about revealing your feelings to a man, maybe crossing over from a dream state. (...) It's totally that moment when you've met someone, and you don’t know if it's friendship or something more. So you become, I guess, aroused. And you become very aware of your lips. That's maybe why I called the song 'Oral'. You don’t know what the consequences are if you act. Sometimes fantasy can be amazing, and that's enough; you don't have to also do things."

Björk on the lyrics of "Oral", Rolling Stone

"Oral" was written between the release of her 1997 album Homogenic and the recording cycle of Vespertine (2001).[8][9] However, "it was too poppy and didn't really fit either of those albums" so she "put it on salt". The singer had a special feeling for the song, revisiting it "every three years asking her manager to go look for it, but he could never find it because she kept giving him the wrong name". After remembering the title of the lost record in March 2023 while in a hotel room in Australia, thinking she could use it to benefit the environment, "where [her] heart is", she states, she asked Rosalía to help her update it for a contemporary audience as she wanted it "to be in some conversation with the present",[10] with additional production by the Irish-Chilean producer Sega Bodega.

"Oral" was described as a Jamaican dancehall-inspired pop song about "wondering about revealing your feelings to a man, maybe crossing over from a dream state".[11][12][13] The Guardian stated that it was also not Björk at her most experimental but "as poppy and sugarous as she'll ever get".[14] Except for one verse in Spanish, the song is in English.[15]

Music video[edit]

The music video was directed by the photographer and visual artist Carlota Guerrero, who utilized artificial intelligence in its production. It sees two AI-generated deepfake versions of the artists train together, with it exploring themes of female wrath and unionization to confront a greater enemy.[16] The video was shot at the Granja de la Ricarda in El Prat de Llobregat, Spain.[17]

At the beginning of the video, the following quote is displayed:

Björk and Rosalía are donating all their rights to income generated by this song to the AEGIS non-profit organisation to combat open pen fish farming in Iceland. Their record companies have agreed to do the same. All funds raised will support legal fees for protesters, taking action to stop the development of intensive farms that harm wildlife, deform fish, and pose risks to salmon's DNA and survival. Immediate action is crucial.

Track listing[edit]

  • Streaming/digital download
  1. "Oral" – 3:42
  • Streaming/digital download – Olof Dreijer Remix
  1. "Oral" (Olof Dreijer Remix) – 5:21

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the music video.[18]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Oral"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[19] 53
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[20] 55
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[21] 42[22]

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "Oral"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 21 November 2023
One Little Independent [23]
Italy Radio airplay [24]
Various 10 April 2024
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 [5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Garcia, Thania (5 October 2023). "Björk and Rosalía to Release New Song Protesting Industrial Fish Farming". Variety. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ Rolling Stone (21 November 2023). "Björk y Rosalía colaboran en 'Oral'" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  3. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (5 October 2023). "Björk and Rosalía team up to campaign against industrial fish farming". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Björk and Rosalía Drop New Song "oral": Stream". 21 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b Monroe, Jazz. "The Knife's Olof Dreijer Remixes Björk and Rosalía's "Oral": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. ^ McVeigh, Karen (30 September 2023). "Thousands of salmon escaped an Icelandic fish farm. The impact could be deadly". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ Denis, Jacques. "Björk, avant la sortie d'"Oral" avec Rosalia : "L'élevage intensif du saumon ravage les fjords islandais"". Libération (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Björk Thinks There's Something Fishy About Aquaculture in Iceland". Pitchfork. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ El Mundo (21 November 2023). "Letra en español y vídeo de Oral, la canción de Björk y Rosalía" (in Spanish). España. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  10. ^ Agnarsdóttir, Dóra Júlía (16 October 2023). "Útiveran í æsku tendraði baráttueldinn". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  11. ^ Matthew Ismael Ruiz (21 November 2023). ""Oral" - Björk / Rosalía". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 December 2023. Björk wrote and recorded "Oral," a sweeping pop song about the fantastical possibilities of meeting someone new
  12. ^ Grow, Kory (5 November 2023). "How Protesting Iceland's 'Frankenstein Fish' Inspired Björk and Rosalía to Unite for a Surprisingly Poppy Duet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  13. ^ Grow, Kory (21 November 2023). "Bjork and Rosalia's Duet 'Oral' Is a Surrealistic Dancehall-Inspired Pop Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  14. ^ McVeigh, Karen (16 October 2023). "'Can we save the wild salmon of Iceland?': Björk releases 'lost' song to fight fish farming". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  15. ^ El País (21 November 2023). "'Oral', la canción de Björk y Rosalía, suena tan audaz como se esperaba" (in Spanish). España. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  16. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (21 November 2023). "Listen to Björk and Rosalía's triumphant new duet 'Oral'". NME. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  17. ^ rtve (21 November 2023). "Música 'Oral', la canción benéfica de Björk y Rosalía lanzada 25 años después de su composición y con la ayuda de la IA" (in Spanish). España. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  18. ^ björk ft. rosalía : oral. björk. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Bjork Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Rosalía | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  23. ^ Deville, Chris (21 November 2023). "Björk & Rosalía Share New Song "Oral": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  24. ^ Beschi, Laura (21 November 2023). "Björk & Rosalía - Oral (Radio Date: 21-11-2023)". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
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