Bjork
A true ‘innovator’ in every possible sense of the word, and beyond, Björk Gudmundsdottir is the female responsible for merging together more musical genres and unique vivaciousness than her native Iceland has glaciers.
She was born within her island’s capital of Reykjavik and grew up in a childhood rich with music; by 1979, after studying her own vocal-capabilities, the flute and the piano, she had formed her first group. At the age of fifteen, she formed the band Tappi Tikarass, a post-punk start-up which was heavily influenced by UK music of the era; a couple of years later, two of the act’s tracks were featured in a TV-film documentary entitled ‘Rock In Reykjavik’, garnering her a following and spotlight as one of the country’s most distinctive, promising talents.
A couple of new line-ups followed and, in 1986, Bjork and her guitarist-husband Thor Eldon of present incarnation Kukl had a son, Sindri, on June 8th, 1986. The band in its guise, also possessive of Einar Orn and Sigtryggur Baldursson, then soon dissolved, making way for her latest project with some of the existing members – the Sugarcubes (or Sykurmolarnir). A high profile label-deal with Elektra followed their conjuring of the debut-single ‘Birthday’ and a following five years of hits and a cult fan base globally boded well for the precedent of Björk’s fast-approaching solo-career.
Sadly, however, came the split of Björk and Thor, resulting in a move for the mother and son to London in 1993. During that period, she met up with British dance-producers, including Nellee Hooper, who she worked with on her first ever album alone, ‘Debut’. With the tone set for its release via hit-single ‘Human Behaviour’, critical acclaim followed, and further top-40 45’s in the shapes of ‘Venus As A Boy’, ‘Big Time Sensuality’, ‘Violently Happy’ and the David Arnold duet of ‘Play Dead’. Resultantly, the following year saw her star rise in all worldly regions, even climaxing in live-shows to thousands in global arenas amidst touring.
Two years later, the slightly more downbeat ‘Post’ was unleashed, bringing with it the inevitable, overly commercial career-albatross – ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’, a rampant, big-band jazz explosion, which immediately became deemed an instant-classic. More noticeably than ever, was her excursion into in-depth experimentation with strings, the following LP ‘Homogenic’ of ’97 showcasing an even more layered, electronic approach than ever – only made the more beautiful via a plethora of classically-orientated, grandiose orchestrations.
While celebrity admirers and her profile rose continually, the media’s attacking of Björk’s private-life, and an episode at a Tokyo airport where a journalist tried to speak to her son against his mother’s request, overshadowed much of her actual produce, with some ridiculing the performer due to her unashamed eccentricity. Soldiering on regardless, Björk starred in the well-received ‘Dancer In The Dark’ motion-picture of 2000, even scoring the soundtrack, as encapsulated in the ‘Selma Songs’ album of the same year. With awards collected, she set off to work on the follow-up proper to ‘Homogenic’.
The ensuing work was ‘Vespertine’ – seen by many as her most innocent, vulnerable, truthful and challenging piece to date, dealing with – amongst other matters – sexuality of a notably intense degree, singles such as ‘Pagan Poetry’ and ‘Cocoon’ to support the release even featuring the singer in bizarre scenes centring on nudity and peculiar bodily-piercings.
Still alarming and worthy of sincere accolade, Björk proceeds to dumbfound, spellbind and compel. With the obligatory ‘Greatest Hits’ package and a string of additional DVDs due for release at the end of 2002 and beginning of 2003 set to remind us all of this fact, seemingly, her presence is as relevant and necessary as ever.
OFFICIAL SITE: An extensive press-archive, frequently-updated news, a photo and video gallery, gigography, discography, blah, blah, blah. And it looks amazing, too.
ONLY BJORK: \'Björk is not just a singer, it\'s a way of life,\' this site boldly proclaims, and it certainly seems true with its makers; packed with enthusiasm, a snazzy design and more besides, this is a first-rate effort.