The question has been asked many times-is the app the new album?
Bjork is taking the lead in answering that question with her forthcoming LP, “Biophilia.” As first announced back in March, the new album is being created on an iPad and will be released as a series of iPad apps. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Guardian learned some additional details:
“‘Biophilia’ for iPad will include around 10 separate apps, all housed within one ‘mother’ app. Each of the smaller apps will relate to a different track from the album, allowing people to explore and interact with the song’s themes or even make a completely new version. It will also be an evolving entity that will grow as and when the album’s release schedule dictates, with new elements added.”
The apps seem primarily to be a variety of interactive games that use music as a core gameplay element in some fashion. Interactive artist Scott Snibbe was tapped to produce the app. It’s interesting that the apps in question are not being created after the album is complete, the way most music apps are. Rather, Bjork is creating the apps in tandem with the music, letting the creative process of one inform the other.
The question is, can app development dictate a listenable song, or vise versa? We’ll find out when the album is released later this year …