Björk staged a one-day electronic festival called Echolalia in Iceland on August 12, timed to the solar eclipse's path of totality, and closed it herself with an hour-long DJ set for a crowd of 7,000. She wore an elaborate balloon-style gown designed by Robert Wun for his Fall 2026 couture collection and played tracks by Rosalía, Kelela and Marina Herlop at the Víðistaðatún sculpture park in Hafnarfjörður, outside Reykjavík.
Her set overlapped with the moment of totality, which lasted one minute and four seconds, as the moon fully covered the sun. The bill also included a DJ set from Arca and performances by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, 33EMYBW and local Icelandic acts including Ronja Jóhannsdóttir and Sideproject. The day marked the first total solar eclipse visible in Iceland since 1954, and it doubled as the 40th anniversary of Smekkleysa, the Icelandic label founded in 1986 by members of the country's experimental music scene.
Echolalia shares its name with an ongoing Björk exhibition at the National Gallery of Iceland, running through September 19, which features large-scale audiovisual installations tied to three songs: 'Sorrowful Soil' and 'Ancestress' from her 2022 album Fossora, and a preview of an unreleased track expected on her next record, due in 2027.
The festival caps a busy year for Björk, who joined Rosalía onstage at the 2026 BRIT Awards for a performance of 'Berghain,' released a concert film from her Cornucopia tour, and is contributing music to the forthcoming sci-fi game SEED. The one-day event is now logged in the festival tracker.
Björk has spoken before about why she gravitates toward settings like this rather than city venues. "I'm more of a rural person by nature," she told NME in 2022, describing a preference for heading home after a night out rather than staying immersed in urban nightlife, one Echolalia let her indulge on her own terms, in a sculpture park outside Reykjavík rather than a club.
The facts
- Björk staged the festival in Iceland on August 12
- The Quietus says the event was called Echolalia
- Her DJ set ran an hour for a crowd of 7,000
- It coincided with a total solar eclipse, Iceland's first since 1954
- Her next album is due in 2027
- She wore a balloon-style dress designed by Robert Wun
How this checks out
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