Björk and Rosalía have teamed up on a new single to raise awareness of the fight against industrial salmon farming in Björk’s native Iceland. The two European hitmakers will donate sales of the song to help the protesters cover their legal costs.
The as-yet-untitled track will be released later this month, but a short clip has been uploaded to Björk’s YouTube channel, featuring a fish in distress. The acapella snippet features the two singers repeating, “Is this the right thing to do? I just don’t know.”
In a statement accompanying the song’s announcement, Björk writes that they want to help the town of Seyðisfjörður, where residents are fighting the effects of industrial fish farming on local wildlife. She says that farmed fish in the region suffer from “terrible health conditions” and are threatened with extinction.
“The majority of the nation already agrees with us, so this protest is about putting the will of the people into our regulatory systems,” Björk continued. “We would like to donate the sales of the song to help with their legal fees and hopefully it can be an exemplary case for others.”
This is the first time the pair have collaborated on a song, although Björk has previously expressed her love for Rosalía’s music, including her in a list of her favourite female voices that included Rihanna, Beyoncé, Kelela, Shygirl and SZA. Rosalía also gave a shout-out to the avant-garde artist during the 2018 Latin Grammys, when she accepted the award for best fusion/urban interpretation.
“I am proud to lead my project and to always make the music that represents me, despite the risk, and to be able to share it with the world and to be here,” she said. “I want to thank women like Lauryn Hill … Björk, Kate Bush … shout out to all the women in the industry who taught me that I could do this, because thanks to them I am here”.
