The Gate - Björk

The Icelandic songstress is back with a light fluffy persona and a brand new song called The Gate. Her new album Utopia is scheduled to be released in November. Am I excited? You bet I am. Björk is one of the most innovative and artistic singers around and has been fusing the lines of abstract art and music since before I was born.

She's one of the most successful recording artists from Iceland, and it's very clear to see why. Björk is one of a kind and somebody who will not let her artistry suffer for the sake of commercialism. Her music takes you on a spiritual journey and makes you think a lot about emotions and imagery. From the most beautiful nature to raw human emotion to the sci-fi extravaganzas.

That's the real beauty of her music, and words alone can't really describe its tranquillity. I can see her influence in lots of records from various artists crossing various genres - that's a really rare achievement.

So when I heard that she had a new record out, I was immediately interested. Some of my favourite songs from Björk include Hidden Place, Frosti, Human Behaviour, All Is Full Of Love and Black Lake.

The dress that she will wear for her upcoming music video has been reported to have taken Gucci over 500 hours to complete. So the music video is going to be a very interesting piece. This weekend in London, there are lots of people going to see her video before it is released to the world on Monday.

I've not long listened to the song and I have to say that I love it. The production of the song gives me goosebumps and the vocals are just the icing on the cake. All the angst and heartache from her previous album has melted away. Now that era of grief is gone, she's celebrating love and seeking freedom.

One of the best things about Björk's songs is that they always sound strange and eerie, and yet they are full of meaning and emotions, though some of the meaning is hidden and takes a while to fully understand it. The Gate is very typical of this and very much a Björk song.

The lyrics to this song are poetically beautiful. I love the metaphors in the first verse regarding the chest wound, a really neat reference to her precious album Vulnicura, which is inspired by the pain of breaking up with her boyfriend, Matthew Barney.

Another thing that is really effective in the song is the constant repeat of 'I care for you;' it really makes an impact and shows the willingness to love and be loved again. I think you might have to listen to Vulnicura to understand some of the references, but those who have listened to Vulnicura will find this song to be a sheer delight.

To me, the song says that Björk is in a much better state of mind and the light and fluffy music really emphasises that. In a recent interview discussing The Gate, she seemed so happy and excited and the positivity was contagious. I felt happy just by seeing her happy. I feel that the song is about rediscovering love in a spiritual way. It makes me really look forward to hearing the rest of Utopia.

I expect that Utopia will be a much happier record with choral melodies and more of the experimental goodness you can always expect with a Björk record. The Gate is one of the strongest and most spiritual songs of 2017 so far, and I think that Utopia will be one of the most important albums in 2017 for me.

Listen to the new track on Spotify