Watch Björk light up Coachella sky with 864 drones

17 April, 2023

Bjork

Björk incorporated over 800 drones into her performance at Coachella 2023 yesterday (Sunday April 16). Check out footage of the moment below, along with the full setlist.

The career-spanning set, which saw Björk perform with an orchestra conducted by Bjarni Frímann, prioritised “simplicity” – according the Icelandic singer – but also enlisted over 800 drones as a visual aid for the crowd.

Initially, the set was scheduled to be livestreamed onto Coachella’s YouTube channel. However, in a controversial decision, both Björk and Frank Ocean’s performances were pulled from the schedule hours before they took to the stage.

The set – which included fan favourites such as ‘Isobel’, ‘I’ve Seen It All’, ‘Hyperballad’ and ‘Joga’ – saw the drones create green, blue and red displays that matched each performance. She also performed ‘Pluto’ as her encore finale. Find fan-captured footage from the set below.

“I wanted to share with you excitedly that i was joined with 864 drones tonight !!!” Björk later wrote on Instagram. “The show tonight was orkestral which is me, all about simplicity [with an] orchestra playing a selection of my songs,” she continued. “So in honour of Coachella magnificent festival … I asked a drone company, Studio Drift, to join us.”

Elsewhere in the post, she described how she has “always been very interested” in translating her music visually, and worked alongside artist James Merry to make the drones capture “architectural and biological movements”.

This year marked Björk’s third time appearing at the festival – following performances in 2002 and again in 2007. She is one of only nine acts who have headlined Coachella multiple times, and was the first woman to do so.

Björk’s Coachella 2023 setlist was:

‘Stonemilker’
‘Aurora’
‘Come to Me’
‘Lionsong’
‘I’ve Seen It All’
‘Freefall’
‘Hunter’
‘You’ve Been Flirting Again’
‘Isobel’
‘Jóga’
‘Quicksand’
‘Notget’
‘Hyperballad’
Encore:
‘Overture’
‘Pluto’

Following her appearance at Coachella, Björk is also gearing up for an upcoming European tour. Announced back in January, the European leg of the ‘Cornucopia’ tour will kick off in September and celebrates her two latest albums ‘Utopia’ (2017) and ‘Fossora’ (2022).

The Icelandic singer first premiered the show in New York, featuring a 50-person choir and the flute group Viibra.

Meanwhile, last month saw Björk team up with Shygirl for a new version of ‘Woe’. The track is taken from the deluxe edition of the artist’s debut album ‘Nymph’ – titled ‘Nymph_o’ – and contains the album’s original songs, alongside new remixes and guest features.

Discussing her newly-added lyrics to the track, Björk described the songs as “talking about both different amorous interests and fame,” and exploring how “suddenly everyone wants something from you and you should be thrilled, but you’re not.”

Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Coachella 2023.

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