Björk and Rosalía have teamed up on a new single that aims to raise awareness in the fight against industrial salmon farming in Björk’s native Iceland. The pair of European hitmakers will donate sales of the song to help protesters cover their legal fees.
The track currently remains untitled but will be released later this month, though a short clip has been uploaded to Björk’s YouTube channel with the cover art being a fish in distress. The acapella snippet features the two singers repeating, “Is that the right thing to do? I just don’t know.”
In a statement attached to the song’s announcement, Björk writes that they are looking to aid the town of Seyðisfjörður, where residents are combatting the industrial fish farming’s impact on local wildlife. She said that farmed fish in the region suffer “horrid health conditions” and are in danger of extinction.
“The majority of the nation already agrees with us, so this protest is about putting the will of the people into our rule-systems,” Björk continued. “We would like to donate sales of the song to help with their legal fees and hopefully it can be an exemplary case for others.”
This is the first time the pair have ever collaborated on a song though Björk has expressed her love for Rosalía’s music before, listing her in a list of her favorite female voices that also included Rihanna, Beyoncé, Kelela, Shygirl and SZA. Rosalía similarly gave the avant-garde artist a shoutout during the 2018 Latin Grammys when she accepted the award for best fusion/ urban interpretation category.
“I am proud to lead my project and make always the music that represents me, despite the risk, and to be able to share it with the world and be here,” she said. “I want to thank women like Lauryn Hill …Björk, Kate Bush … shout out to all the women in the industry that have taught me that I could do this because thanks to them I am here.”
Listen to their new song below.