Björk and Rosalía present "Oral"

The connection between the two artists is rooted in their firm intention to interpret current music with influences from the past. The mutual admiration between them has been expressed on several occasions, with Rosalía praising Björk when receiving a Grammy or mentioning her in her interview with Penélope Cruz in Vogue, and Björk acknowledging Rosalía’s impact on the expansion of Spanish as a language in pop music.

“Oral” is a resurrection of an idea that Björk conceived 25 years ago during her work on albums like “Homogenic” and “Vespertine”. The piece, considered at the time “too pop” to be integrated into those albums, found its perfect moment when collaborating with Rosalía. “It has a bit of a dancehall beat, which can be considered the godmother of reggaeton. So when I listened to it again I thought it might suit Rosalía, as she had put a lot of reggaeton on her last album, Motomami“, said the Icelandic singer and songwriter.

The song also has a charitable purpose, as all proceeds will go to combat fish farms that deal with industrial salmon farming, specifically in the Seyðisfjörður fjords of Iceland. Although the song is about love, Björk has put the spotlight on an urgent environmental cause. “People in Seyðisfjörður Fjord have gone on the warpath and protested against fish farming. The money the song raises will go to their fight. But it’s not about fish, it’s about love,” he explained.

The music video, generated by artificial intelligence and directed by Carlota Guerrero, shows the two in an aesthetic martial arts fight. You can watch it below, and listen to the song here.