"Hyperballad" by Björk

It's early in the morning; no one is awake. From the top of the mountain, the soft light of dawn comes into view. You take a deep breath, and prepare for a journey with the great genius of musical travel.

On this episode, Kirk dives into Björk's 1995 electro-pop masterpiece "Hyperballad," paying special attention to how carefully she weaves together music and lyrics to create a sense of space, and thus a feeling of travel.

Written and produced by: Björk

Co-produced by: Nellee Hooper

Album: Post (1995)

Listen/Buy via Album.Link

SPECIAL GUEST: ICELAND

For the visualization exercise Kirk mentions in the episode, some photos of the Icelandic countryside can be found here and here. Or really anywhere online.

OUTRO SOLOIST: BJ Cord

This episode's outro soloist is BJ Cord, a fantastic trumpet player based in Portland. BJ works at Monette trumpets making some of the most beautiful horns in the world, and is a regular presence on their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monettetrumpets

--------------------

September 2020 Whole-Note Patrons

Rick Klaras - Laurie Acreman - Ken Hirsh - Jez Jenness Gardner - Simon Cammell - Guinevere Boostrom - Jill Smith-Moore - Rachel Rakov - Narelle Horn - Mickey Clark - Nathaniel Bauernfeind - Simon Cramp - Bill Rosinger - Anne Britt - David Zahm - Erin - Aidan Coughlan - Jeanneret - Manning Family Four - Matt Butler - Doug Paton - Robert Paul - R Watson - Viki Dun - Christer Lindqvist - Sami Samhuri - Craig J. Covell - AccessViolation - Ryan Torvik - Merlin Mann - Glenn - Caleb Rotach - Andre Bremer - Chad Barnard - Mark Schechter - Dave Florey - Dan Apczynski

September 2020 Half-Note Patrons

Jeffrey C. Yarnell - David Friedman - Phillip Dalton - Christopher Cudnoski - Mark Edwards - Randall Browning - Sarah Sulan - Diane Hughes - Matt Beams - Niko - Kenneth Tiong - Jo Sutherland - David Catlett - Michael York - Derek Bender - Melanie Andrich - Franco Famularo - Don Hutchison - Lowell Meyer - Etele Illes - Jeff Almond - Stephen Tsoneff - Lorenz Schwarz - Becca Sample - Wen - Jack Sjogren - Aparajit Raghavan - Benedict Pennington - Geoff Golden - Robyn Fraser - Alexander Geddes - Pascal Rueger - Randy Souza - Joe C - Latifah Makuyi - Clare Holberton - Jake Tinsley - Georgia Livesay - David Zucker - Diane Turner - Tom Coleman - Suellen Moore - Judy Chapple - Stuart Terry - Mark Perry - Malory - Dhu Wik - Eric Helm - Jake Roberts - Briony Leo - Bill Fuller - Jonathan Daniels - Sheilah - Steven Maron - MH - Michael Flaherty - Jarrod Schindler - Zoe Little - Gerry Nelson - Albukitty - Caro Field - Wayne Marsh - Judith Stansfield - Jenifer Carr - Michael Bochner - Duncan - Brant Brantphillip - Leigh Sales - Markus Koester - Alexander - Jeremy Dawson - Gavin Doig - Sam Fenn - Tanner Morton - AJ Schuster - Jennifer Bush - David Stroud - Amanda Furlotti - Andrew Baker - Brooke Wilford - Cyrus N. White - Chris Brown - Mark Haberlen - Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua - Kate Albury - Matt Gaskell - Elliot Jay O’Neill - Jules Bailey - Eero Wahlstedt - Darryl Stewart - Bill Thornton - Brian Amoebas - Brett Douville - Jeffrey Olson - Matt Betzel - Mueller - Nate from Kalamazoo - Melanie Stivers - Richard Toller - Alexander Polson - John and Sharon Stenglein - Tom Lauer - Forrest Chang - Earl Lozada - Jon O’Keefe - Justin McElroy - Arjun Sharma - Shane DeLeon - James Johnson - Andrew Lee - Kevin Morrell - Tom Clewer - Kevin Pennyfeather - Nicholas Schechter - Justin Liew - Emily Williams

--------------------

💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺
July 11, 2026 | Portland, OR
Buy Tickets Here

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

💬 DISCORD SERVER

📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER

🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS

🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music