It is the most wonderful time of the year, and that means obviously means nativity scenes are on deck. Ok not always obvious, but when a clip of an 11-year old Björk narrating a nativity scene on Icelandic TV surfaces, it becomes something you pay attention to. The clip is entirely in Icelandic, so unless you understand Icelandic, this will be some very tough sledding and difficult for you to understand, but it is still amusing to watch. The 1976 black and white clip sees Björk Guðmundsdóttir, known professionaly as Björk, narrate the nativity scene with a similarly aged group of children from the Reykjavík Children's Music School providing the soundtrack. It was originally broadcasted on Icelandic TV station RUV.
The video was recently rebroadcasted to celebrate Christmas and one of Iceland's most successful artists and that is how the video made its way online (via Stereogum). At 11-years old Björk was just about to get her career underway when she released her debut, self-titled album at the age of 12 in 1977, 16 years before her next album and "official" Debut.
Björk fans are very excited about 2015. In October she announced that she would be releasing an album in 2015 after not showing up for the premiere of "Biophilia Live" at the London Film Festival.
The still untitled album will be the follow up to her 2011 effort, Biophilia, that included museum installations, apps, live performances and the movie. She is also planning to release a retrospective book in the coming year to coinside with a MOMA exhibit.
Watch the video on RUV's website and get into the holiday spirit. You don't necessarily have to understand what she is saying or even get what is going on to enjoy it. Just watch it to see Björk just before she started her illustrious career.
