For the past 10 years now, I’ve also felt how important it is for young girls that I speak up, that I don’t pretend that it’s easy. I don’t think it is a coincidence that people my age often get verbal about social responsibilities. You’ve actually got to become that person and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. I think it is an interesting feeling when you get older and you realize there is no "they,” there’s no government or elders, there’s no one you can point at and blame. What made you realize your own responsibility in that movement? So we have to imagine a future where we clean the oceans, or go fully solar or wind-powered… If millions can swap from iPhone 6 to 7 in the space of weeks - then we can do it. When they discovered the sewer system in Paris, it was the same. I think any time society goes through transformation there are talks about end of the world, like when London was black with coal, no one could imagine a future without it. But then in the last 20 years or so, I have made sure I spend a big portion of my time protecting the nature in Iceland.
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I think for a long time I probably countered that, I felt it was too obvious. My father too! He was a union leader here in Iceland for decades and is now part of a radical group that is writing a new constitution for Iceland. Your mother was an activist as well, right? With my generation, it was important in the nineties for women to go out and do things and stop complaining - but that was only because my mom’s generation had done a lot of work before and I was enjoying the fruits of that. To be honest, I find it kind of exhausting… But I also feel that if I crave improvement in, for example, equality between the sexes then I need to make an effort there as well. People tend to forget that vulnerability exists when it comes to celebrities for some reason - is it still scary for you to speak up on issues that you’re passionate about? “I’ve felt how important it is for young girls that I speak up, that I don’t pretend that it’s easy.” So, in that way, I think being brave also leaves you vulnerable. I discovered early on that I’m the kind of person that experiments and makes mistakes but then it’s all worth it because once in a blue moon it hits home. I’ve definitely been guilty of that many times… But it’s worth it. And then to be too foolhardy can obviously be your downfall. Is that the same as what it means to be brave in general?
BJORK MUSITION SOFTWARE
Obviously it’s important to not overreach or you risk bypassing fertile moments, but I do try to learn at least one thing on every album, to reach out in terms of software or growing in my arrangements, or I probably tend to write harder and harder melodies for me to sing. It’s probably an ongoing thing for all of us - and a tricky balance.
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I think you know when you’re playing it safe, when you’re stagnating, and when you’re growing. Björk, what does it mean to be brave with music?