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.
