Hyperballad is written by Björk
Arranged by Luke Howard and Ben Abraham
Re-arranged by Tim Shiel

I love this song.

'Hyperballad' came out as a single 20 years ago today (Feb 12, 1996).

To celebrate the fact, I approached some talented friends to help me work on a cover — composer Luke Howard and producer Tim Shiel.

The collaboration resulted in two beautiful versions that I am very proud to be a part of.

Luke's string arrangement makes the song feel like it could be a hundred years old; a testament to Björk's timeless songwriting. Tim's version, with electronic sparseness that pays homage to the original, reminds me that the song could have come out yesterday and it would still be fresh and arresting, and like nothing I've heard.

The lyrics have also become a personal narration for the stage of life I find myself in. I suppose that's what compelled me to want to record it. The exhaling that comes with singing the line "to be safe up here with you" is one of the song's many gifts.

Songs like this feel alive to me.

It's daunting to interpret such a canonised work and the original certainly didn't need to be added to or taken away from.

So with the utmost respect, here are the efforts of three friends who live on the other side of the world from this remarkable artist, celebrating her work with work of our own.

You can listen to Luke's version here: https://soundcloud.com/benabraham/hyperballad-with-luke-howard

Hyperballad with Tim Shiel

Ben Abraham