Björk to play DJ set during solar eclipse at Echolalia festival in Iceland

On 12 August, a special one day festival called Echolalia took place at the Víðistaðatún sculpture park in Hafnarfjörður, just outside the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. The event was deliberately scheduled along the path of the total solar eclipse, the first visible in Iceland since 1954. Around 7,000 visitors showed up for the unique combination of darkness and dancing.

Björk was behind the decks from 5:50 PM local time, right after the moment of totality, which occurred at approximately 5:48 PM and lasted exactly one minute and four seconds. During that precise moment of total darkness, Arca was performing on stage. Björk then played on for a full hour until the eclipse came to an end. She wore an extravagant balloon gown by designer Robert Wun from his Fall 2026 Couture Collection, and danced behind the decks with a glass of white wine in hand. Her set included Marina Herlop's 'Jaque', 'El Alma Que Te Trajo' by Safety Trance and Arca, 'If We Meet Again' by Kelela, and 'Down To The Essence (Mun Sing Remix)' by Machine Girl. She also played Conrad Taylor's remix of 'Berghain', her collaboration with Rosalía and Yves Tumor.

Alongside Björk and Arca, the festival featured performances by 33EMYBW, Loscaballos, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and Icelandic artists including Ronja Jóhannsdóttir, Sideproject, Gummi Arnalds, and Knackered. Echolalia also celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Smekkleysa, better known as Bad Taste, the influential Icelandic experimental record label founded in 1986 by members of the local avant garde music scene.

The name Echolalia refers to Björk's exhibition of the same name at the National Gallery of Iceland, which runs until 19 September. The exhibition features three large scale audiovisual installations: two based on tracks from her 2022 album Fossora, namely 'Sorrowful Soil' and 'Ancestress', both composed in memory of her late mother, and a third based on the previously unreleased track 'Nerve Bloom', which is expected to appear on her next album planned for 2027.

For Dutch music fans, the festival is yet another reminder of Björk's ongoing and endlessly surprising presence in avant garde pop culture. Earlier this year she performed alongside Rosalía at the 2026 BRIT Awards, and she is also contributing music to the upcoming science fiction multiplayer game SEED.