Genelec Teams Up With Björk On Immersive 'Echolalia'

Genelec has confirmed it is collaborating with the visionary artist on Echolalia, a showcase of Björk's multidisciplinary practice spanning sound, visual art, performance, ecology, ritual and collaboration.

Centred on three works — Ancestress, Sorrowful Soil and the newly introduced Nerve Bloom — the exhibition invites visitors into a sensory exploration of Björk's creative world. Ancestress, set in a remote Icelandic valley, meditates on life's cycles through a ritual procession of musicians and dancers. Sorrowful Soil is a nine-part choral requiem, with canon-like melodies circulating between three vocal groups in a polychoral arrangement. At the exhibition's opening, Björk also unveiled Nerve Bloom, offering audiences a first listen to a track from her forthcoming album.

Echolalia departs from the traditional retrospective format, instead creating an immersive environment where sound, space and emotion shape the audience experience. Thirty speakers each carry a single voice from the Hamrahlíð choir, conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, while a carefully designed multichannel audio system underpins Björk's intent so visitors encounter the work exactly as conceived.

Reflecting on her long-standing use of the brand's monitors, Björk commented: "I have used Genelec for over 20 years...they put cream on everything." Björk continues, "The exhibition has a speaker installation; we re-recorded each singer separately for 'Sorrowful Soil'."

Grammy-nominated recording engineer and Echolalia's musical director Bergur Þórisson added: "We went into creating this exhibition with a sound-first mindset. We wanted it to sound incredible.... we have worked with Genelec speakers for a long time. We know they deliver the sound that we like and the sound that we want."

To realise the spatial sound across the three installations, the exhibition employs Genelec's SAM series 8341, 8351 and 8361 monitors, with 7370 and 7380 SAM studio subwoofers and Smart IP 4430 technologies, ensuring precise and flexible reproduction across varied rooms. As a travelling exhibition, Echolalia will be supported by Genelec loudspeaker systems at all tour venues to maintain a consistent listening environment.

Running in parallel in Gallery 4, the National Gallery of Iceland is also presenting Metamorphlings by James Merry, Björk's long-time collaborator.

www.genelec.com/