All Is Full of Love
"All Is Full of Love" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk from her third studio album, Homogenic. The lyrics were inspired by love in spring and Ragnarök of Norse mythology. Björk's original version is a trip hop ballad with soul influences, harp, strings, and electronic beats; the version on Homogenic is a minimalist ambient remix by Howie B, emphasising Björk's vocals. A remix by the German IDM duo Funkstörung was released as a single in 1998.
In 1999, "All Is Full of Love" was released as a single accompanied by a music video directed by Chris Cunningham. The video uses Björk's original mix and depicts Björk as a robot being assembled in a factory, who passionately kisses another robot. The video is often cited as one of the best of all time and a milestone in computer animation; it has been displayed in art exhibitions and was on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The single reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart and became a dance hit in the United States. The original version of "All Is Full of Love" is the opening track on Greatest Hits, whose tracks were voted for by fans. It has been covered by various artists.
Background and composition
"All Is Full of Love", the closing track of Homogenic, was the album's last song to be written and recorded. Produced by Björk, the original version of the song was replaced "at the last minute" with a remixed version by Howie B. It was inspired by the spring while producing the album in Málaga, Spain. After living in the mountains among other people for six months, Björk felt lonely, but a morning walk in April inspired her to write the track. She had a rough winter and then she realised it was spring after she could hear the birds singing. She wrote and recorded the song in half a day.In keeping with Homogenics theme as a tribute to Björk's native Iceland, the track was inspired by Icelandic mythology, such as the Ragnarök. The previous track, "Pluto", stands for death and destruction, whereas "All Is Full of Love" stands for a new beginning. Björk also called it a song about "believing in love" and expressed that "love isn't just about two persons. It's everywhere around you. Even if you're not getting love from Person A, it doesn't mean there's not love there." However, she also described it as "taking the piss", considering it the most "sugary song" ever. As the song opposes the rest of Homogenic's "macho" aesthetic, Björk has said it could have been included on Vespertine.
The lyrics begin with a promise of protection and caretaking: "You'll be given love / You'll be taken care of / You'll have to trust it". The song moves towards a more reproachful tone as Björk sings, "You just ain't receiving / Your phone is off the hook / Your doors are shut", tempered by the recognition that you have to "twist your head around you" because "love is all around you". This is musically effected by Björk's vocals as she sings the lyric "All is full of love" in counterpoint with herself.
The album version of the track does not have drum accompaniment. It does not have Homogenic
The video version of the song is a midtempo trip hop ballad with soul influences. In opposition to the sonically minimalist mix included on the album, this version has been described as "lushly produced" and includes "fluttering" harps and "shivering" strings. Reportedly the best known and the preferred version by Björk's fans and herself, it is further known under the names of "Mark Stent Mix" and "Video Mix".
Release
In August 1998, a 12-inch single of "All Is Full of Love", containing a remix by German IDM duo Funkstörung, was released through FatCat Records as a limited release. This remix had been previously distributed as a B-side for "Hunter", and another remix of the song had been released as a B-side of "Jóga" in 1998. In January 1999, it was announced that the track would be released later that year as a single and that its music video would be shot soon. It was atypical to release a single for promoting an album released two years before, but Björk purposely decided to do this so that the music video was more of a short film than a marketing move. The original release date for the single was 2 May 1999, but was later extended out two weeks to 17 May. To coincide with this announcement, Funkstörung's remix was made available again and an official logo for the release was unveiled.The music video was released that April, although the premiere of the single was pushed back to 7 June 1999. "All Is Full of Love" was released as two 12-inch singles, two CD singles, a DVD single, and a box set, which included the CD singles and the music video in VHS format. Some publications regard the single as the first DVD single release. In the United Kingdom, it was also made available as two different promotional singles in 1999, and as two VHS singles. B-sides include remixes by μ-Ziq, Funkstörung, Plaid, Guy Sigsworth, Mark Stent and Howie B. The single's artwork consists of shots from the music video and features the official logo, which can be seen in the video as well. The song was also included as the opening track of Björk's 2002 compilation album Greatest Hits, whose songs were selected by fans through a survey, in which the single was the second most voted song, coming after "Hyperballad".
Critical reception
Both versions of "All Is Full of Love" received acclaim from music critics. In a review for Homogenic, Phares from AllMusic described the track as a "reassuring finale". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it a "sublime rebirth", and Tiny Mix Tapes commented that "the album ends on an optimistic note" with the "exquisite" song. In a retrospective review, Music Tech described the song as "hauntingly-beautiful". Entertainment Weeklys David Browne was less enthusiastic, considering it "the weakest track" of the album.In a review for the DVD single, Alex Castle of IGN gave the music a score of 9 out of 10, writing "the thing sounds fantastic" and that the song is "pretty good". However, he admitted that he "would probably not have been particularly impressed" if he hadn't seen the music video. James Oldham of NME described it as "magnificent, sultry, pneumatic trip-soul ballad, which gently blooms into a magical garden of fluttering harps and shivering strings." He also added that the track "is no mere soundtrack" for the video. AllMusic's Heather Phares gave the DVD single four out of five stars, considering it "a necessary addition to the collections of dedicated Bjork fans". Douglas Wolk of CMJ New Music Monthly also gave the single a positive review, commending its B-sides and writing it "was hardly the most striking piece at the time—but the tune turns out to have been something of a sleeper."
Recognition
Blender included the track on two lists: "Standout Tracks from the 500 CDs You Must Own" and "The 1001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now!", both published in 2003. The staff members of Slant Magazine placed "All Is Full of Love" at number 59 on their list of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s", writing: "Though it has been as oft-remixed as any other Björk single from the landmark Homogenic set, no version quite achieves the ethereal effect that the album mix of the song does. Coming off the tail-end of "Pluto," a sonic threnody for a suicidal fan, Björk's open-source, beat-free echo chamber is both absolution and resurrection". The track was also included on Quintessence Editions' 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die as part of their "10,001 Songs You Must Hear" list.Music video
Background and development
The music video for "All Is Full of Love" was directed by Chris Cunningham. Björk was impressed by Cunningham's original music videos for IDM musicians Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin, and by his clear lines, science fiction inclinations, and discordant imagery. This resulted in Björk contacting him to meet at his London office; she brought a Chinese Kama Sutra as a guide to what she wanted. Cunningham had also associated the track with sex upon hearing it, but could not figure out how to make the video explicit yet broadcastable. Björk said: "I think the only thing I said was that I thought it was very white and I'm trying to describe some sort of a heaven. But I wanted also to have the other level there, there would be lust, it wouldn't be just clean." She complemented saying she mentioned that the video should be "white" and "frozen", and then it "melts because of love" and "making love".File:All Is Full of Love concept drawing.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A drawing of a cyborg smiling and of two robots kissing|Concept art by Chris Cunningham. Initially, the two protagonist robots would unfold like a flower as they mated, but the team could not manage to materialise this thought.
When Cunningham first heard the track, he wrote down the words "milk", "sexual", "surgery", and "white porcelain"; they outline what would become the music video. Concerning this, Cunningham added that it was like Kama Sutra meeting industrial robotics and that because of the surreal nature of the images, they could be "sexually suggestive" as they liked. Initially, it was planned that during the visual's ending, the robots would unfold like a flower as they mated, revealing an abstract life form made from the two artificial forms. However, the team could not manage to materialise this thought.
The robots were designed by Cunningham and were built in full-size by Paul Catling—who had also sculpted the masks for Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" —in clay in two hours. He also worked with Julian Caldow in set design, which was created by Chris Oddy. The treatment described the set as an "elegant" and "white environment" with "a Japanese feel to it". However, the music video's director was dissatisfied with the result and relied heavily on post-production. On the shoot there were two main robot arms, but during its post production, a third and fourth robot arm were created in computer-generated imagery.
The video was shot at Bray Studios and Greenford Studios, and post-production was handled by Glassworks, using the software programs Softimage and Flame. Cunningham said that every shot in the clip had four layers. He reportedly first shot the set and the props doing nothing for about 21 seconds, and then removed the robot and replaced it with Björk, who had her face painted white and wore a blue suit. Using a mix of the master shot and a live feed of Björk in frame, the production team tried to match up her face and the robot body as much as possible. Only Björk's eyes and mouth were used, with the rest of the robot representing 3D animation traced from her real head. Cunningham has described the filming process as an unpleasant experience:
Björk left Cunningham alone to work on the video, refusing to see the product until it was finished, explaining that "when you come across someone as special as Chris you just go humble", which Cunningham said made the work much easier.