Day 0924 - Vespertine

Björk “Vespertine” (2001)

By this stage, Björk is pretty much just her own genre.   She was working on the film “Dancer in the Dark” with director Lars von Trier.  She both starred in the film and wrote the soundtrack.   The experience of working with von Trier was not an enjoyable one for Björk, and she poured this negative energy and the excitement of her new romantic relationship into her writing for 'Vespertine'.   

Björk moved from the musical eclecticism of her first couple of releases and the big beats of her third album to a more fragile, ambient textures.  She collaborated with electronic artists, recorded her own beats using things around the house, and started getting into laptop production software.

The subtle but interesting beats underpin wide open musical spaces that can be populated with anything from a music box, to strings, to radio static to a full choir.  The album feels a lot more intimate than some of Björk's previous work.  She stated for some of the music that it was like she was building a cocoon around herself.

She seems to opt more for intimate quiet vocals too, though her raw belting vocal is brought out for the "You make me want to hurt myself" refrain of single "Pagan Poetry".

Björk's next album "Medulla" would take the DIY/found sounds approach a step further, being built entirely from vocal performances.

Day 0750 - Debut

 Björk "Debut" (1993) 

 

Björk is another musical 'lifer'.   She studied piano, released her first (self-titled) album at the age of 11, played in fusion bands, punk bands and achieved a degree of fame fronting the band Sugarcubes.  Even around those bands though she was recording with various other musicians in a variety of styles.

Björk moved to London to really get her solo career going.  She teamed up with producer Nellee Hooper (Massive Attack, Soul II Soul) and, grooving on the club culture, produced this album of largely dance/triphop-based tracks.  You couldn't really pigeonhole it to that one area though, with jazzy horn sections, sweet pop and weird 'Björky' idiosyncrasies.   

All across the album,  Björk's voice is on full display.  Ranging from whispered child-like melody to full-throated ecstatic yell-singing.   Bjork is a true original, to the extent that I've found myself referring to some artists as "like a French Björk" (Camille) or "like a less 'out there' Björk" (Emiliana Torrini).   She is pretty much her own genre.

The album was well received, and as a cherry on top, it was the beginning of Björk's visual creative partnership with Michel Gondry, whose quirky music videos were the perfect match for Björk's music.

Day 0632 - Life's Too Good

The Sugarcubes "Life's Too Good" (1988)

Members of the Icelandic post-punk scene banded together to form the Sugarcubes.   The band had apparently never intended their music to be taken seriously (meaning it to lampoon the pop music sound), but soon found themselves at the centre of a label 'bidding war'.  They ended up being the first Icelandic act to attain major international success... so I guess the joke's on them.

The music is, as to be expected, kind of jagged postpunk sounds (propulsive bass, aggressive but slightly funky guitar) but with a more playful, melodic sensibility.  It's a decent album, but the clear standout is Björk's voice, and accordingly, the album helped launch her solo career.