Songfacts®:

• "Atopos" is a Greek word meaning "unusual" or "out of place," and on this song Björk encourages listeners to seek common ground in relationships. The Icelandic singer says relationships won't thrive if the participants focus on their differences; instead, they should put their differences aside and seek connection.
• Are these not just excuses to not connect?
  Our differences are irrelevant
  To insist on absolute justice at all times
  It blocks connection
  
  During this meditation on love and growth, Björk asks herself questions about a relationship. "Sometimes, when I really love someone, I will have an interrogation lyric and it's disguised as my doubts, she told The Guardian, "because I want to be nice – but it's actually their doubts."
• Björk took inspiration for the lyrics from French theorist Roland Barthes' book A Lover's Discourse. "It is about the binary spirit of human nature," Björk explained. "Left versus right, man versus woman and so on... the theme of the song is to overcome differences and unite."
• Musically, "Atopos" encompasses Björk's devotion to unconventional instrumental backdrops by incorporating six honking bass clarinets. Born from living in her home country of Iceland during the pandemic, Björk produced its clarinet arrangements herself. "We all just went through an unique moment together, where we quarantined and stayed long enough in one place that we shot down roots," Björk explained. "I tried to capture this feeling sonically."
• "Atopos" is the lead single from Fossora. The album's title is the ungrammatical feminine version of the Latin word for "digger." Björk described it in her Guardian interview as her "mushroom album. It's like digging a hole in the ground. This time around, I'm living with moles and really grounding myself."
• Kasimyn of the Indonesian club-punk duo Gabber Modus Operandi features on and co-wrote the song. Gabber Modus Operandi marries high intensity Western dance music with traditional Indonesian rhythms. Björk has acknowledged the abrasive Indonesian duo as having had a major influence on her Fossora record.
• The video is the first of a series for Fossora created by photographer Viðar Logi. We see a masked Björk dancing in a mushroom forest accompanied by Kasimyn and a bass clarinet sextet.