Björk commissioned some truly unusual instruments for her Biophilia tour, which is headed to Paris next in 2013. The Icelandic songstress, who revealed her favorite TED Talks earlier this month, shares the stage with a sharpsicord, a gameleste and a musical Tesla coil. But perhaps the most dramatic instrument is a gravity harp, which stands 30-feet tall. Musical robot whiz Andy Cavatorta designed the harp, while TED Fellow James Patten and his studio created the electronic interface that makes it work.

The oversized instrument, which can be heard prominently on the song “Solstice,” features four robotic pendulums, each with an 11-string harp. The notes are programmed by computer, and the energy for the sound is created from the swinging motion. Watch Björk performing with the harp below.

TED Playlists are designed to give you deep dive into the topics that fascinate you— like “Re-imagining school,” “The future of medicine,” and “How to live with robots.” To celebrate our billionth video view earlier this month, we also asked some incredible personalities in the areas of technology, entertainment and design — from Bill Gates to Daryl Hannah — to curate lists of their favorite TED Talks for the section. Today we offer up a brand new playlist, created by Björk.

The Icelandic songstress has, over the years, starred in a musical that turned a factory into a space for song and created an “app album” to give deeper resonance to her compositions about nature and science. So we’re not too surprised that her favorite TED Talks have a delightfully quirky edge to them. Head to TED Playlists to hear her favorite talks, from a mushroom burial suit to a choir composed of 2,000 people » 

Oh, and the photo that accompanies her list? It’s a still from her video for ”Mutual Core.”