Björk Guðmundsdóttir ˈpjœr̥k ˈkvʏðmʏntsˌtoʊhtɪr (born 21 November 1965), known as Björk ( in English), is an
IcelandicIcelanders are a Scandinavian ethnic group and a nation, native to Iceland.On 17 June 1944, when an Icelandic republic was founded the Icelanders became independent from the Danish monarchy. The language spoken is Icelandic, a North Germanic language, and Lutheranism is the predominant religion...
singer-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Her
eclecticEclecticism is used to describe a composer's conscious use of styles alien to his nature, or from one or more historical styles. The term is also used pejoratively to describe music whose composer, thought to be lacking originality, appears to have freely drawn on other models .-Sources:* Kennedy,...
musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
,
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
,
electronic dance musicElectronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
,
classicalClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Her voice has been acclaimed for its distinctive qualities.
Björk's 1990s singles "
It's Oh So Quiet"It's Oh, So Quiet" is a song by American singer Betty Hutton, released in 1951 as the B-side to the single "Murder, He Says". It is a cover of the German song "Und Jetzt ist es Still", performed by Horst Winter in 1948, written by Austrian composer Hans Lang and Erich Meder...
", "
Army of Me"Army of Me" is a song by Björk, released in 1995 as the first, and leading, single from her second solo album Post. The song also appeared, later in the same year on the soundtrack of Tank Girl as well as in the soundtrack of Sucker Punch in 2011...
" and "Hyperballad" charted in the
UK Top 10The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Her record label, One Little Indian, reported that by 2003 she had sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. She has acquired a high level of critical acclaim. She has won four
BRIT AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
, four
MTV Video Music AwardsAn MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
, one
MOJO AwardThe MOJO Awards is an awards ceremony that began in 2004 by Mojo, a popular music magazine published monthly by Bauer in the United Kingdom...
, three
UK Music Video AwardsThe UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music....
and in particular, she received, in 2010, the
Polar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
from the
Royal Swedish Academy of MusicThe Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
, in recognition for her "deeply personal music and lyrics, her precise arrangements and her unique voice".
Additionally, Björk has been nominated for 12
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, one Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. For her performance in
Dancer in the DarkDancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey...
, Björk won the
Best Actress AwardThe Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
at the
2000 Cannes Film FestivalThe 2000 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier.-Jury:* Luc Besson, President * Jonathan Demme * Nicole Garcia...
. She was ranked number 36 on
VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll", number 8 on
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "22 Greatest Voices in Music". and number 60 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
's "100 Greatest Singers"
Early life
Björk was born and raised in
ReykjavíkReykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
,
IcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. Her father is
Guðmundur GunnarssonGuðmundur Gunnarsson is an Icelandic electrician and union leader. The father of the singer Björk , he is a nationally known figure in his own right as the leader of the Icelandic Electricians' Union, Rafiðnaðarsamband Íslands .Guðmundur's parents were Gunnar Guðmundsson and Hallfríður...
, a union leader and electrician, and her mother is Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, an activist who protested against Kárahnjúkar, a controversial hydro-electric development in Iceland.
Her musical career began when she was eleven with her study of classical
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in elementary school. One of her instructors sent a recording of Björk singing Tina Charles' song "I Love to Love" to
RÚVRíkisútvarpið is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the country, the service broadcasts a variety of general programming to a wide audience across the whole country via radio...
, then the only radio station in Iceland. The recording was broadcast on radio nationally; after hearing it, a representative of the record label
FálkinnFálkinn was an Icelandic record label.The label's only well known original release was Björk's 1977 debut album Björk. Fálkinn is sometimes used as the title for the album as the album did not have an official title....
contacted Björk to offer a record contract. An album,
BjörkBjörk is the first official release from the Icelandic singer Björk. In 1976, Björk appeared on Icelandic radio singing "I Love to Love" through the music school she attended, which led her to a record deal...
, was recorded and released in 1977.
In her teens, Björk was influenced by
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
; at 14 she formed the all-girl punk band Spit and Snot, shortly followed by the
jazz fusionJazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
group Exodus in 1979. In 1980 she graduated from music school. In 1981 she and
bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jakob Magnússon formed another band called Jam-80, which later became
Tappi TíkarrassTappi Tíkarrass was a famous Icelandic punk/pop band which added elements of funk, disco and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time...
(which means "Cork the Bitch’s Ass" in
IcelandicIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
), and released an extended single, "
Bítið Fast í VítiðBítið Fast í Vítið, which in Icelandic could be translated as ,"Biting hard into the know" or"Biting hard into knowledge", was an EP released in 1982 by Tappi Tíkarrass, an Icelandic punk/pop group led by vocalists Björk and Eyþór Arnalds....
" in the same year. Their album,
MirandaMiranda was an album released in December 1983 by Icelandic band Tappi Tíkarrass, which was led by singer Björk.With Miranda the band switched their music style to disco music, pop melodies and mellow songs counteracting their previous punkish EP, Bítið Fast í Vítið in 1982...
, was released in 1983.
Björk collaborated with
Einar Örn BenediktssonEinar Örn Benediktsson is a popular music singer and trumpet player who has worked with Björk and The Sugarcubes. Since the 2010 elections he is a member of the city council of Reykjavík....
and Einar Melax from
Purrkur PillnikkPurrkur Pillnikk is a rock band from late punk era in Iceland. The band existed for 18 months and were very active as they released at least two LPs, one live-album and two EPs...
, and Guðlaugur Óttarsson,
Sigtryggur BaldurssonSigtryggur Baldursson is an Icelandic drummer and singer.Sigtryggur was born in Norway to Icelandic parents. He was a founding member of the Sugarcubes and has been a longtime fixture on the Icelandic punk and alternative music scene. Other bands he has played in have included Þeyr, KUKL,...
, and Birgir Mogensen from Þeyr. After writing songs and rehearsing for two weeks, the new band, KUKL ("sorcery" in Icelandic), developed a sound described as
Gothic rockGothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
. Björk began to show indications of her trademark singing style, which was punctuated by howls and shrieks.
KUKL toured Iceland with anarchist
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
punk band
CrassCrass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
, and later visited the UK in a series of performances with
Flux of Pink IndiansFlux of Pink Indians were an English anarcho-punk/post punk band, that originated from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.-Biography:...
. They produced two albums as a result of these collaborations:
The Eye in 1984, and
Holidays in Europe in 1986, both on
Crass RecordsCrass Records is an independent record label which was set up by the anarchist punk band Crass.-Overview and history:Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own Dial House based Exitstencil Press...
.
The band eventually dissolved, in part due to the closure of their label, Gramm. In mid-1986, several members of KUKL and the
surrealistSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
group Medusa got together to create the arts collective Smekkleysa (Bad Taste). They created a musical division, a band again called KUKL, but soon changed the name to
The SugarcubesThe Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
.
The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes' first single, "Ammæli" (meaning "Birthday" in
IcelandicIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
), became a surprise hit in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after being declared single of the week by
Melody MakerMelody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
. The Sugarcubes were immediately signed up by One Little Indian, a new label set up by Derek Birkett, the former bass player of Flux of Pink Indians. They gained a
cult followingA cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and calls from larger record companies began coming in. They rejected all these offers, and instead chose to have complete creative control by remaining with a friend's label. Björk is still signed to this label. The Sugarcubes also signed a distribution deal with
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and recorded their first album,
Life's Too GoodLife's Too Good, released in April 1988, was the first album by the Icelandic alternative rock-pop band The Sugarcubes, which brought fame to lead vocalist Björk...
, in 1988. Its release propelled them into international stardom—an unprecedented success for an Icelandic rock band. While with the Sugarcubes, Björk participated in several side projects. She recorded
Gling-GlóGling-Gló, released in 1990, is the only album by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, consisting of Björk Guðmundsdóttir on vocals, Guðmundur Ingólfsson on piano, Guðmundur Steingrímsson on drums, and Þórður Högnason on bass...
, a collection of popular
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and original work, with the jazz group
Trio Guðmundar IngólfssonarTríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar was an Icelandic bebop group and a piano trio, no longer in existence, following the death of its leader, pianist Guðmundur Ingólfsson in 1992...
, released in Iceland. Björk also contributed vocals to
808 State808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
's album
ex:elex:el is an album by electronic music group 808 State which reached #4 in the UK Albums Chart on its release in 1991 and features the UK Top 40 singles "Cubik" - #10 in November 1990, "In Yer Face" - #9 in February 1991 and "Lift" - #38 in August 1991....
, with whom she cultivated her interest in
house musicHouse music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. She contributed vocals on the songs "Qmart" & "Ooops" which was released as a
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the UK and was later included on 808 State's "Best Of" album,
808:88:98808:88:98 is a greatest hits compilation by 808 State.-Track listing:#"Pacific 707"#"Cübik"#"Cobra Bora"#"In Yer Face"#"The Only Rhyme That Bites" #"Olympic" #"Ooops"...
. She also contributed vocals to the song "Falling", on the album "Island" by
Current 93Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
and
Hilmar Örn HilmarssonHilmar Örn Hilmarsson , also known as HÖH , is a musician, an art director, and allsherjargoði of Ásatrúarfélagið ....
.
1992–96: Pop-dance beginnings, Debut and Post
In 1992, The Sugarcubes split up. They remain friends and are all still involved in the management of Smekkleysa/Bad Taste. Björk moved to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to pursue a solo career; she began working with producer
Nellee HooperNellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
(who had produced for
Massive AttackMassive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
, among others). Their partnership produced Björk's first international solo hit, "
Human Behaviour"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
", a clattering dance track based on a guitar rhythm sampled from
Antonio Carlos JobimAntônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
. In most countries the song was not widely played on radio, but was widely seen on MTV, accompanied by an influential video by Oscar-winning film director
Michel GondryMichel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
, who would become a frequent collaborator for Bjork.
Her solo debut album,
Debut, was released in June 1993 to positive reviews; it was named album of the year by
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, and eventually went platinum in the United States.
Debut was the leap Björk made from being in numerous bands during her teens and early twenties, to her solo career. But although this was far from her real debut as a singer and musician, having released her first solo album at the age of 11, she set the title to
Debut to signify a start of something brand new.
Debut had a mix of songs Björk had been writing since she was a teenager, as well as more recent lyrical collaborations with Hooper. Although the music was mostly dance-oriented, it was varied in instrumentation. One single from the album, "Venus As a Boy", featured a Bollywood-influenced string arrangement, Bjork covered the jazz standard "Like Someone in Love" to the accompaniment of a harp, and the final track, "The Anchor Song", was sung with only a saxophone ensemble for accompaniment.
At the 1994
BRIT AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
Björk won the awards for Best International Female and Best International Newcomer. The success of
Debut enabled her to collaborate with other British and artists on one-off tracks. She worked with
David ArnoldDavid Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
on
"Play Dead""Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk, and was released as the third single from her 1993 album Debut.-Background:It is a dark piece underscored by moody strings with lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain....
, the theme to the 1993 film
The Young AmericansThe Young Americans is a 1993 crime drama that marked the feature film debut of British director Danny Cannon.-Plot:Harvey Keitel plays an American cop who travels to London to apprehend a gangster who has formed a new gang of sociopathic teenagers trying to imitate American culture.-Cast:*Harvey...
(which appeared as a bonus track on a re-release of
Debut), collaborated on two songs for
TrickyTricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
's
Nearly God-Album name, recording history, collaborators:The album's title comes from an interview where Tricky was asked "So how does it feel to be God... well, nearly God."...
project, appeared on a track on the 1997 album
Not For ThreesNot For Threes is an album by Plaid released in 1997 on Warp Records. This was Plaid's first full length CD release. Björk wrote and sang the lyrics for the track "Lilith".-Track listing:#"Abla Eedio" – 7:56#"Kortisin" – 5:23#"Headspin" – 5:34...
by
PlaidPlaid is a London-based British electronic music duo comprising Andy Turner and Ed Handley. They are former members of The Black Dog and used many other names, such as Atypic and Balil , before settling on Plaid...
, which was released on the
cultA cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
Warp RecordsWarp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
label, and co-wrote the song "Bedtime Story" for
MadonnaMadonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's 1994 album
Bedtime StoriesBedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a more R&B direction...
.
Post was Björk's second solo studio album. Released in June 1995, the album was produced in conjunction with
Nellee HooperNellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
,
TrickyTricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
,
Graham MasseyGraham Massey was a founding member of the British band, 808 State, formed in 1988 in Manchester, England. Originally a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording their debut album, Newbuild in 1988 under the new name 808 State.-Music:The band was...
of
808 State808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, and electronica producer Howie B. Building on the success of her previous album
Debut, Björk continued to pursue different sounds, taking particular interest in
danceDance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and
technoTechno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. Production by Tricky and Howie B also provided trip hop/electronica-like sounds on tracks like "
Possibly Maybe"Possibly Maybe" is a song by Björk, released as the fifth single from her 1995 album Post. It is a song with deep electronic tones and soft beats that reflects on potential love....
" and "Enjoy". It was these producers' influence along with older friend Graham Massey, that inspired Björk to create material like the storming industrial beats of "
Army of Me"Army of Me" is a song by Björk, released in 1995 as the first, and leading, single from her second solo album Post. The song also appeared, later in the same year on the soundtrack of Tank Girl as well as in the soundtrack of Sucker Punch in 2011...
".
Post however also included more subtle and playful moments than
Debut, with deeper jazz and orchestral arrangements on some tracks and a mood of intimate contemplation toward the end.
It was ranked number 26 in
SpinSpin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
s "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005". Post
and HomogenicHomogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
were placed back to back on Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's "Best of the 90's" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 373 on Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
. Although again Bjork received more mainstream attention for her videos than her singles, Post
included several UK pop hits and was eventually certified platinumIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in the U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
1997–2002: Embracing beats, strings,
Homogenic
and Vespertine
In 1997, the album HomogenicHomogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
was released. It marked a dramatic shift from her earlier "pixiePixies are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name.They are usually depicted with pointed ears, and often wearing a green outfit and pointed...
" image cultivated on the Debut
and Post
albums. Björk worked with producers Mark Bell of LFO and Howie B on the album, as well as Eumir DeodatoEumir Deodato is a Brazilian pianist, composer, record producer and arranger, primarily based in the jazz realm but who historically has been known for eclectic melding of big band and combo jazz with varied elements of rock/pop, R&B/funk, Brazilian/Latin, and symphonic or orchestral music.Mainly,...
; numerous remixes followed. Homogenic was her first conceptually self-contained album and is regarded as one of Björk's most experimental and extroverted works to date, with enormous beats that reflect the landscape of Iceland, most notably in the song "
Jóga"Jóga" is a song by Björk, and the first single from her 1997 album Homogenic. It features a mix of classical string instruments with heavy electronic beats which is present in the whole album.-Background:...
", which fuses lush strings with rocky electronic crunches.
The emotionally-charged album contains a string of
music videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, several of which received airplay on
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The video for "
Bachelorette"Bachelorette" is a song by Björk, released as the second single from her 1997 album Homogenic.The song was originally written for a film by Bernardo Bertolucci, but the project was withdrawn...
" was directed by frequent collaborator
Michel GondryMichel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
, while "
All Is Full of Love"All Is Full of Love" is a song by Björk, released as the fifth and final single from her album Homogenic. The version of the song used in the video is actually the original version of the song, while the version on Homogenic is a remix by Howie B...
" was directed by
Chris CunninghamChris Cunningham is an English music video film director and video artist. He was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970 and grew up in Lakenheath, Suffolk....
. The single "All is Full of Love" was also the first
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
single to ever be released in the U.S., which paved the way for other artists to include DVD video and other
multimediaMultimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
features with their singles.
In an interview with
SpinSpin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine,
RadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
singer
Thom YorkeThomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
called the song "
Unravel"Unravel" is the third song on the album Homogenic by Björk, which was released in 1997. The song features a prominent example of Björk's use of a half-singing, half-speaking technique which, according to folklore specialist Njall Sigurason, is comparable to that of Old Icelandic...
" from this album his favourite song ever, claiming "I'm trying to get Radiohead to do a cover because I think it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." In November 2007, the band covered the song as part of a live webcast. The video can be seen on
YouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
The album reached gold status in the U.S. in 2001 and platinum in 2006.
In 2001, Björk released the album
VespertineVespertine, is the fifth studio album by the Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 27 August 2001. On this album, Björk creates a quiet, introverted world of microbeats and personal lyrics...
. The album featured chamber orchestras,
choirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s, hushed vocals, microbeats made from household sounds, and personal, vulnerable themes. She collaborated with experimental sound manipulators
MatmosMatmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore signed to the Matador Records label. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances, including...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
-based
DJ Thomas KnakThomas Knak is a Danish electronic musician, producer, film composer and DJ. He lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jack of all trades, he makes music for commercial , for various radio and TV programmes, for theatre plays, for choreography and films.He started in 1999 under the name Opiate...
, and the experimental
harpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist
Zeena ParkinsZeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
for the album. Lyrical sources included the works of American
poetPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
E. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
, the American independent filmmaker
Harmony KorineThe story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
and
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
playwright
Sarah KaneSarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
's penultimate play, Crave
. To coincide with the album's release, Björk released a coffee table bookA coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
of loose proseProse is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and photographs titled Björk. Björk embarked on a tour of theatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
s and operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
houses in Europe and North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in support of the album, accompanied by the musicians MatmosMatmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore signed to the Matador Records label. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances, including...
, Zeena ParkinsZeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
and an InuitThe Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
choirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, whom she had held auditions for on a trip to GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
prior to the tour. At the time Vespertine
was Björk's quickest selling album ever, having sold two million copies by the end of 2001.
Vespertine spawned three singles: "
Hidden Place"Hidden Place" is a song by Icelandic recording artist Björk, taken from her fourth English language , Vespertine . It was written by Björk, Guy Sigsworth and Mark Bell and produced by Björk...
", "
Pagan Poetry"Pagan Poetry" was the second single from singer Björk's album Vespertine. The single peaked at number 38 in the UK and number 12 in Canada. It was written and produced by Björk with additional production by Marius De Vries and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent...
", and "Cocoon."
MTV2MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
played the album's first video, "Hidden Place", which was subsequently released as a DVD single. However, the next video, for "
Pagan Poetry"Pagan Poetry" was the second single from singer Björk's album Vespertine. The single peaked at number 38 in the UK and number 12 in Canada. It was written and produced by Björk with additional production by Marius De Vries and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent...
", brought Björk to an even higher level of controversy with the channel. The song's video features graphic piercings, Björk's exposed nipples, and simulated
fellatioFellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
. As a result, the clip was initially rarely shown by MTV, and certain parts (for example, Björk's breasts) were
censoredthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
during the rare occasions when it was played. In 2002, the clip finally enjoyed unedited American airing as part of a late night special on MTV2 entitled "Most Controversial Music Videos". The video for "Cocoon" also featured a seemingly naked Björk (actually wearing a close fitting bodysuit), this time with her nipples secreting a red thread that eventually enveloped the singer in a cocoon. The video was directed by
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist
Eiko Ishiokais an Oscar-winning costume designer, known for her work in stage, screen, advertising, and print media, and has been called "Japan’s leading art director and graphic designer," though she now works primarily in New York City....
, and was not aired by
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
2002 saw the appearance of the CD box set Family Tree
containing a retrospective of Björk's career, comprising many previously unreleased versions of her compositions, including her work with the Brodsky QuartetThe Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
. Also released alongside Family Tree
was the album Greatest HitsGreatest Hits is a compilation album released in November 2002 featuring the songs of Icelandic singer Björk. Although not all of Björk's singles are included on this collection, all of the songs on Greatest Hits were released as singles. The tracks were selected by fans through a survey on...
, a retrospective of the previous 10 years of her solo career as deemed by the public: the songs on the album were chosen by Björk's fans through a poll on her website. A DVD edition of the CD was also released; it contained all of Björk's solo music videos up to that point. The new single from the set, "It's In Our Hands", charted in the UK at number 37. The video, directed by
Spike JonzeSpike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
, features a heavily pregnant Björk.
2003–06: Medúlla and vocal development
Björk and the
Brodsky QuartetThe Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
recorded a composition written, especially for her, by composer
John TavenerSir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
called "Prayer Of The Heart" in 2001 and it was played then for a slide show presentation in 2003 for the American photographer,
Nan GoldinNancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer.-Life and work:Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Lexington, to middle class Jewish parents whose ideas, moderately liberal and progressive, were put to the test when on April 12, 1965 their eldest...
.
In 2003, Björk released a box set called
Live BoxLive Box is a set of 4 live CDs, a live DVD and a 36-page booklet by Icelandic singer/songwriter/musician Björk, released in August 2003. Each live CD roughly corresponds to one album in her four album solo discography....
, consisting of four CDs containing live recordingsA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
of her previous albums and a DVD featuring a video of one track from each CD. Each of the four CDs were later released separately at a reduced price.
In August 2004, Björk released MedúllaMedúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
. During production, Björk decided the album would work best as an entirely vocal-based album. However, this initial plan didn't materialize exactly that way, as the majority of the sounds on the album are indeed created by vocalists but several feature prominent basic electronic programming. Björk used the vocal skills of
throat singerInuit throat singing or katajjaq, also known as the generic term overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit...
Tagaq,
hip hopHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
beatboxer
RahzelRahzel M. Brown, also known as simply Rahzel, is an American musician and virtuoso beatboxer, formerly a member of The Roots.Nicknamed the "Godfather of Noyze," Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and his...
, Japanese beatboxer
DokakaDokaka is a Japanese beatboxer who performs music solely by multitracking his own voice, generally with one instrument per track. He has distributed his recordings primarily as free downloads from his website; these include...
, avant-rocker
Mike PattonMichael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
,
Soft MachineSoft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
drummer/singer
Robert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, and several
choirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s; she again appropriated text from e. e. cummings for the song "Sonnets/Unrealities XI." At the time Medúlla
became her highest charting album in the U.S., debuting at number 14. It has since been surpassed by VoltaVolta is the seventh studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in May 2007. It was produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Timbaland and Danja. The music of Volta was a new style for Björk, focusing on similar sounding music combining African beats and other instruments with songs in tribute to Africa...
, which debuted at number nine in the U.S.
In August 2004, Björk performed the song "
Oceania"Oceania" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk. It was formerly planned to be the first single release from Björk's Medúlla album. Later it was just released as a promo. It was written for the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, where she performed immediately following the Parade of Nations...
" at the
Opening CeremonyThe Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games was held on August 13, 2004 at the Olympic Stadium in Maroussi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. 72,000 spectators attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well...
of the
2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. As she sang, her dress slowly unfurled to reveal a 10,000 square foot (900 m²) map of the world, which she let flow over all of the Olympic athletes. The song "Oceania" was written especially for the occasion and features the talents of
ShlomoSimon Shlomo Kahn is a British beatboxing artist.-Background and career:Shlomo is of Israeli, Iraqi and German descent and grew up in the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. He can speak Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic; he is a classically trained percussionist and a jazz drummer.His original...
, a
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
-based beatboxer, and a London choir. An alternate version of the song began circulating on the
InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
with additional vocals by
KelisKelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
. It originally appeared on the promotional "Oceania" single released to radio stations and later became available to the public as a B-side of the "Who Is It" single, which charted at number 26 in the UK. This was followed in early 2005 by "
Triumph of a Heart"Triumph of a Heart" was the third single from Björk's album Medúlla. The hip-hop-influenced song features beatboxer Rahzel from The Roots, Gregory Purnhagen, and Japanese beatboxer, Dokaka....
", charting at number 31. A video for the potential next single, "
Where Is the Line?"Where Is the Line" is a song by Icelandic artist Björk, taken from the 2004 album Medúlla. The track was originally intended to be released as the albums third commercial single "Where Is the Line" is a song by Icelandic artist Björk, taken from the 2004 album Medúlla. The track was originally...
", was filmed in collaboration with the Icelandic artist Gabríela Fridriksdóttir in late 2004. This was initially a sequence from an art installation movie of the artists, but was released exclusively on the
Medúlla VideosThe Medúlla Videos is an official DVD released by Björk on May 30, 2005. The DVD includes all of the videos from her fifth studio album, Medúlla. A total of five music videos are included, two of which are for songs which were not released as singles, and are exclusive to this DVD release...
DVD as an official promo for the track.
Other than these few performances, no concerts or tours were arranged to promote Medúlla
. Björk said in numerous interviews that this was because she wished to immediately continue writing and recording yet another new album. She spoke to Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
in June 2004: "Every album I've done, the minute that it's done, I feel really lubricated and, like, 'Wow, now I can write an album in five minutes'... And I just want to find out if that's just a
fantasyFantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...
or if it's true." Also, Björk thought it would be too difficult to play the songs live.
In 2006, Björk remastered her first three solo studio albums (Debut
, Post
, Homogenic
) and her two soundtrack albums (Selmasongs
and Drawing Restraint 9
) in 5.1 surround sound for a re-issue in a new box-set titled ( surrounded):Surrounded is a box set released on June 27, 2006, featuring seven of Björk's albums in DualDisc format....
, released on 27 June. Vespertine
and Medúlla
were already available in 5.1 as either DVD-A or SACD but are also included in the box set in repackaged format. The DualDiscDualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
s were also released separately.
During this era, Björk earned another BRIT AwardsThe Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
nomination for Best International Female Solo Artist. She was also awarded the Inspiration Award at the Annual Q Magazine
Awards in October 2005, accepting the prize from Robert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, with whom she collaborated on Medúlla
.
Björk's former band, The Sugarcubes, reunited for a one-night-only concert in Reykjavík on 17 November 2006. Profits from the concert were donated to The Sugarcubes' former label, Smekkleysa, who according to Björk's press statement "continue to work on a non-profit basis for the future betterment of Icelandic music".
2007–10:
Volta
and global collaboration
Björk contributed a cover of Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's song "The Boho DanceThe Hissing of Summer Lawns is a studio album by Canadian songwriter Joni Mitchell.-Reception:The album was not as radio-friendly as Mitchell's earlier work, and although the album achieved initial commercial success, reaching number four on the charts and quickly going gold, contemporary reviewers...
" to the tribute album A Tribute to Joni MitchellA Tribute To Joni Mitchell is a tribute to Joni Mitchell featuring Sufjan Stevens, Björk, Caetano Veloso, Brad Mehldau, Cassandra Wilson, Prince, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang and James Taylor.-Track listing:...
, released on 24 April 2007.
Björk's sixth full-length studio album, VoltaVolta is the seventh studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in May 2007. It was produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Timbaland and Danja. The music of Volta was a new style for Björk, focusing on similar sounding music combining African beats and other instruments with songs in tribute to Africa...
, was released on 7 May 2007. It features 10 tracks primarily written and produced by Björk herself, and intended as more direct and extroverted than her past few albums, but featuring a wide range of collaborators and cross-cultural musical elements. Volta features input from acclaimed hip hop producer
TimbalandTimothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, singer
Antony HegartyAntony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
, poet
SjónSigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson , known as Sjón , is an internationally known Icelandic author and poet. His pen name is formed from his given name , and means 'Sight'....
, electronic beat programmer Mark Bell,
koraThe kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
master
Toumani DiabateToumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
,
pipaThe pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
player Min Xiaofen, and on several songs,
brassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
compositions by an all-female ensemble from Iceland. It also uses the
ReactableThe Reactable is an electronic musical instrument with a tabletop Tangible User Interface that has been developed within the at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain by Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger....
, a novel "tangible-interface" synthesizer from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, which on Volta is played by Damian Taylor.
The first single from the album, "
Earth Intruders"Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the first single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released digitally in the USA on 9 April and 21 April 2007 and in Europe on 28 April 2007. It is produced by R&B...
", was released digitally on 9 April 2007 and became her second-ever
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
entry in the United States. Volta debuted at number nine on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart, becoming her first Top 10 album in the U.S., netting week-one sales of 43,000. The album also reached number three on the
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
albums chart with sales of 20,600 albums sold in its first week, and number seven in the
UK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
with 20,456 units sold. The second single from the album, "
Innocence"Innocence" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the second single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. It is co-produced by Hip-Hop/R&B record producer Timbaland and his protégé Danja. The song was premiered on Björk's MySpace profile on...
", was digitally released on 23 July 2007, with an accompanying music video chosen from a contest conducted through her official website. "
Declare Independence"Declare Independence" is an industrial-nu metal song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released on January 1, 2008...
" was released on 1 January 2008 in a super deluxe packaging including 2 x 12" Vinyls, a CD and a DVD featuring Oscar-winning French director
Michel GondryMichel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
's "Declare Independence" video. "
Wanderlust"Wanderlust" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released digitally as the fourth single from her seventh full-length studio album, Volta, on 7 April 2008.White labels of the single were issued in February 2008...
" was subsequently released in a similar format, featuring Encyclopedia Pictura's short film directed for the track, shot in stereoscopic
3DThree-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
. The fifth single released from the album was "
The Dull Flame of Desire"The Dull Flame of Desire" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk featuring Antony Hegarty from the band Antony and the Johnsons. The track was released as the fifth and final single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta, on 29 September 2008. Björk has performed the song 12 times...
", featuring vocals by
Antony HegartyAntony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
. Upon its 27 September 2008 digital release, it topped the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart and reached number three on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.
Björk then completed an 18 month world tour, having performed at many festivals and returning to Latin America after nine years, playing in
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
,
São PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
,
CuritibaCuritiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
,
GuadalajaraGuadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
,
BogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
,
LimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Santiago de Chile and
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
as part of different events. She also returned to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for the first time in 12 years in January 2008, touring the nations with the
Big Day Out FestivalThe Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
. She played a one-off intimate show at the
Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, as part of the
Sydney FestivalSydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
.
Announced via an
eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
, a new Björk track was discovered under the title "
Náttúra"Náttúra" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as a single promoting the protection of the Icelandic environment. All proceeds from the single will be donated to the Náttúra Foundation, the environmental preservation campaign after which the song is named...
". Björk commented the song was "composed especially to encourage active support for a more environmental approach to Iceland’s natural resources than those suggested by parties who are aloof and blind to the consequences of their actions."
The song was initially labeled as a new single by Björk with backing vocals from Radiohead frontman
Thom YorkeThomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
. Björk's official website later confirmed that the single would be released on October 27, 2008, through
iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, however the track was eventually made available at nattura.grapewire.net, exclusively.
Damian Taylor has mentioned collaborating with Björk on her new album using instruments like the
ReactableThe Reactable is an electronic musical instrument with a tabletop Tangible User Interface that has been developed within the at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain by Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger....
and the
Tenori-onTenori-on is an electronic musical instrument, designed and created by Japanese artist Toshio Iwai and Yu Nishibori of the Music and Human Interface Group, Yamaha Center for Advanced Sound Technology. It consists of a screen, held in the hands, of a sixteen by sixteen grid of LED switches, any of...
.
According to an October 2008 interview with Pitchfork magazine, Björk plans to take the next three to four years to record her next album.
In a statement released by bjork.com, a limited edition boxset entitled
VoltaïcVoltaïc refers to five separate releases of related material from singer-songwriter Björk's sixth studio album Volta. The full version of the release will include a CD of 11 songs performed live at the Olympic Studios, a DVD of Björk's live performances in Paris and Reykjavík during the Volta tour,...
from One Little Indian Records was announced, with a release date in North America of April 20, 2009 (later delayed to mid-June). The release consists of various live recordings of performances in Paris and Reykjavík. The live set was also recorded at the Olympic Studio in London. The release is available as Standard, Deluxe and Deluxe Vinyl, including up to four discs, depending on format.
Disc 1 (AUDIO) Songs From The Volta Tour Performed Live At Olympic Studios
Disc 2 (DVD) The Volta Tour Live In Paris, Live in Reykjavik
Disc 3 (DVD) The Volta Videos and the video competition
Disc 4 (CD) The Volta Mixes.
http://www.bjork.com/news/?id=894;year=2009
In May 2010, the
Royal Swedish Academy of MusicThe Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
announced that Björk was to receive the prestigious
Polar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
alongside
Ennio MorriconeEnnio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
. A month later, Björk, along with the
Dirty ProjectorsThe Dirty Projectors aka David Longstreth includes Amber Coffman , Angel Deradoorian , Brian McOmber , Nat Baldwin , and Haley Dekle during live performances...
, announced that they would be collaborating on a joint EP entitled
Mount Wittenberg Orca-Personnel:The following people contributed to Mount Wittenberg Orca:*Written by: David Longstreth*Performed by: Nathaniel Baldwin, Björk, Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle, Angel Deradoorian, David Longstreth and Brian McOmber....
, which was released on 30 June, to raise money for marine conservation. In September 2010, Björk released "The Comet Song"The Comet Song" is a song by Icelandic artist Björk, written by herself and long-time friend and collaborator Sjón as the title theme of the 2010 movie Moomins and the Comet Chase. The song is released as a charity single and all the benefits are donated to the victims of the 2010 Pakistan...
" as part of the soundtrack for the movie Moomins and the Comet ChaseMoomins and the Comet Chase is a 2010 stop motion film compiled from the Comet in Moominland-based episodes of the 1977–1982 Moomins TV series animated at Se-ma-for in Poland, restored and re-soundtracked with multiple voice actors replacing the single narrator...
. Also in 2010, she dueted with fellow Icelander (and One Little Indian labelmate) Olof ArnaldsÓlöf Arnalds is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene for quite some time. Apart from her own music and being a touring member of Múm since 2003, she has cooperated with bands and artists such as Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Mugison,...
on a track called "Surrender" from Arnalds' new album, Innundir skinni- Critical response :Innundir skinni is Icelandic musician Ólöf Arnalds second album. The album was produced by Sigur Rós band member Kjartan Sveinsson, who also worked with Arnalds on her debut album...
and performed a duet with Antony and the JohnsonsAntony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.-Career:British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released...
on the album SwanlightsSwanlights is the fourth studio album by Antony and the Johnsons, released on October 12, 2010 worldwide through Secretly Canadian, and October 11, 2010 in the United Kingdom through Rough Trade...
. The song is titled "Flétta".
On 20 September 2010, Björk performed her version of "
Gloomy Sunday"Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933, as "Vége a világnak" . Lyrics were written by László Jávor, and in his version the song was retitled "Szomorú vasárnap"...
" at designer
Alexander McQueenLee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
's memorial in St. Paul's cathedral in London. On 7 December 2010, a previously unreleased song was released by Björk soundtracking a film made by Nick Knight as a tribute to McQueen, with whom Björk collaborated on multiple occasions.
Björk appeared on Átta Raddir, one of Jónas Sen's TV shows. The episode aired on February 27, 2011. The shows are produced by The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. In the show Björk performed eight songs, including "Sun In My Mouth" which had not previously been performed live.
2011–present: Biophilia, music, technology and nature
Björk, along with long-time collaborative partner, Michel Gondry, were originally announced to collaborate on a 3-D "scientific musical". Gondry states that it will be a 40-minute IMAX museum project. On 3 December 2010, in an interview with Pitchfork, Björk was asked if she was "working on anything at the moment", and replied "Yes, it will be ready in [a] few months." On 17 February 2011, Pitchfork reported that Björk would release a collaboration with Syrian musician
Omar SouleymanOmar Souleyman is an Arab musician from Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria, in the north eastern region of Syria. He began his career in 1994, working with a number of musicians with whom he still performs, and around five hundred studio and live albums have been released under his name...
. The project will be available "on limited 12-inch, CD, and digital download sometime this year".
On 17 March 2011, Björk confirmed details about her next project,
BiophiliaBiophilia is the musical project and eighth full-length studio album by Icelandic singer Björk. The album was released on 10 October 2011, over four years after her previous studio album, Volta ....
. The new project will combine music with technological innovation and themes of science and nature, including an "app album", educational collaborations with children and specialized live performance, kicking off in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom at the
Manchester International FestivalThe Manchester International Festival is an international cultural festival of original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. It is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009 and 2011...
on 30 June. She will perform at the event for six nights. It is expected that the special project Biophilia will see her tour a select number of cities with extended residencies. Björk performed at
BestivalBestival is a four-day music festival held at the Robin Hill country park on the Isle of Wight, England. It has been held annually in late summer since 2004. The event is organized by DJ and record producer Rob da Bank and is an off-shoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights. The initial...
on 11 September. The press release stated that this would be her only outdoor concert of the year. She is also scheduled to perform six shows, among which two during the
Iceland AirwavesIceland Airwaves is an annual music festival held in Reykjavík, Iceland on the third weekend of October. The festival spans five days and its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international.-Festival:...
Festival, at
HarpaHarpa is a concert hall and conference centre in Reykjavík, Iceland. The building is in the final stages of construction. The opening concert was held on May 4, 2011. Harpa was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in co-operation with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson...
in Iceland from 12 October to 7 November.
In June 2011, the first single off Biophilia
, "Crystalline"Crystalline" is a song by Icelandic artist Björk, released as the lead single from her seventh album Biophilia. The song was released as a single on June 28, 2011 accompanied by an iPad app developed exclusively for the song...
", was released. The song was composed using complex breakbeats along with only one of several specialized instruments custom built for the project, the "gameleste", a celesta modified with elements of gamelanA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
. Other instruments used on the album and in Bjork's live performances harness lightning to create sound.
A central part of Biophilia is a series of interactive iPad apps made by leading programmers and designers, one app for each of the 10 songs on the new album. Bjork discussed how the apps would represent the scientific and natural ideas within the songs and enable people to play and understand the songs and ideas in different ways, such as "Virus", a love song between a virus and a cell, in which the "Virus" app will stop playing the song if you are successful in stopping the destructive relationship. Two of the apps, "Crystalline" and "Cosmogony", were released on 19 July 2011, along with a music video for "Crystalline", directed by Michel Gondry. However, the album was released in usual form as a series of 10 music tracks as well, including a CD release, on 10 October 2011, and Bjork said it is designed to work as music just as any of her other albums are.
In a June 2011 interview with
StereogumStereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...
, Björk stated that her contract with One Little Indian has ended since all promotions for Volta
concluded and that she has signed with both National Geographic and NonesuchNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
for Biophilia.
Compositions
Björk's music style tends to be quite eclectic and often challenging. She has embraced many genres throughout her career, creating a varied range of pieces, from big band music to sound art. Björk's lyrical themes range from personal matters to scientific, natural, or social topics.
Voice
Björk is a "robusto"
sopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, which means she has a voice which is particularly marked by a certain fullness of sound with a light timbre, but without losing the projection or volume of it. Her vocal range covers three octaves, going from F3 to E6, but she tends to use her chest and mid voice more often, using her head voice particularly during vocal games in live concerts. Her singing style is largely based on improvisation and natural expression, letting her voice perform long vocal acrobatics while performing. Classical composer
John TavenerSir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
has praised Björk as being "more intelligent than most opera singers", music critic Alex Ross has cited Björk as one of the most gifted voices nowadays. The National Public Radio counted Björk among its list of "50 Great Voices" and MTV included her on its countdown "22 Greatest Voices in Music".
Currently, Björk trains her voice with vocal coach Maureen Scott from the British Voice Association.
Björk in film
Björk's intermittent acting career began in 1990, when she appeared in The Juniper Tree
, a tale of witchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
based on the Brothers GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
story of the same name. Björk played the role of Margit, a girl whose mother has been killed for practicing witchcraft. Björk also had an uncredited role in 1994's Prêt-à-PorterPrêt-à-Porter is a 1994 American satirical black comedy film co-written, directed, and produced by Robert Altman and shot during the Paris, France, Fashion Week with a host of international stars, models and designers...
.
In 1999, Björk was asked to write and produce the musical score for the film Dancer in the DarkDancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey...
, a musical drama about an immigrant named Selma who is struggling to pay for an operation to prevent her son from going blind. Director
Lars von TrierLars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
eventually asked her to consider playing the role of Selma, convincing her that the only true way to capture the character of Selma was to have the composer of the music play the character. Eventually, she accepted. Filming began in early 1999, and the film debuted in 2000 at the
53rd Cannes Film FestivalThe 2000 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier.-Jury:* Luc Besson, President * Jonathan Demme * Nicole Garcia...
. The film received the
Palme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
, and Björk received the
Best Actress AwardThe Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
for her role. It was reported that the shoot was so physically and emotionally tiring that she swore off acting ever again. Björk later stated that she always wanted to do one musical in her life, and this was the one.
The soundtrack Björk created for the film was released with the title Selmasongs
. The album features a duet with Thom YorkeThomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
of RadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
titled "I've Seen It All"I've Seen It All" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk, with lyrics by Sjón and Lars von Trier. It was released as the first promotional single from the Dancer in the Dark soundtrack, Selmasongs. The song features vocals from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke...
", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song and was performed at the 2001 Oscars, while Björk was wearing her celebrated "swan dress," which was recently auctioned off for charity on eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. She was invited to record "Gollum's Song" for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
but declined the invitation, as she was then pregnant; the song was instead recorded by another Icelander, Emilíana TorriniEmilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...
.
Björk also appeared in the 2005 documentary Screaming MasterpieceScreaming Masterpiece is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon about the music scene in Iceland...
, which delves into the Icelandic music scene. The movie features archive footage of The SugarcubesThe Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
and Tappi TíkarrassTappi Tíkarrass was a famous Icelandic punk/pop band which added elements of funk, disco and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time...
, and an ongoing conversation with Björk herself.
Her partner Matthew BarneyMatthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture, photography, drawing and film. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance and video...
is a contemporary artist based in New York. Björk collaborated with him on the experimental art film Drawing Restraint 9Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
, a dialogueless exploration of Japanese culture. Björk and Barney both appear in the film, which was released in 2005. She is also responsible for the film's soundtrack, her second after Selmasongs
.
Director and previous collaborator Michel GondryMichel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
asked Björk to star in his film The Science of SleepThe Science of Sleep is a 2006 French film written and directed by Michel Gondry. The film stars Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, and Alain Chabat.-Plot:...
, but she declined.
She collaborated with SHOWstudio and founder Nick KnightNick Knight OBE is a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and web publisher—as director of SHOWstudio.com.-Life and career:Knight studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design....
in 2010 by providing music for an Alexander McQueenLee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
tribute.
Charitable work
After the tsunamiThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
which struck Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
in late 2004, Björk began work on a new project entitled Army of Mixes to help raise money for a relief fund. This project recruited fans and musicians from around the world to either cover or remix the 1995 track, "Army of Me". From over 600 responses Björk and her co-writer Graham Massey picked the best twenty to appear on the album. The album was released in April in the UK and in late May 2005 in the US. By January 2006, the album had raised around £250,000 to help UNICEF's work in the south east Asian region. Björk visited
Banda AcehBanda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
in February 2006 to view some of UNICEF's work with the children who were affected by the tsunami.
On 2 July 2005 Björk took part in the historic
Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
series of concerts, headlining the
Japan showOn 2 July 2005, a Live 8 concert was held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan.The event is also referred to as "Live 8 Tokyo" or "Live 8 Japan"The concert was the first Live 8 show to start, because of Japan's earlier time zone...
with
Do As InfinityDo As Infinity is a Japanese pop and rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as D.A.I., alluding to the fact that Do As Infinity was named after Dai Nagao...
,
Good CharlotteGood Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
and McFly. She performed eight songs with
MatmosMatmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore signed to the Matador Records label. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances, including...
, a
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
stringA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
octetIn music, an octet is a musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.-Octets in classical music:Octets in classical music are one of the largest groupings of chamber music...
and
Zeena ParkinsZeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
.
Björk has also taken an interest in environmental issues in her native country. In 2004 Björk took part in the "Hætta" concert in Reykjavík, organised in protest against the building of
AlcoaAlcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
aluminiumAluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
smelters in the country, which would make Iceland the biggest smelter in Europe. She founded the organization "Náttúra" which aims to promote Icelandic nature and grassroots industries. On October 28, 2008, Björk wrote an article for The Times discussing the state of the Icelandic economy, and her thoughts on the proposed use of natural resources to get the country out of debt. Björk, in collaboration with
Audur CapitalAudur Capital is a financial service company, founded in 2007 by two Icelandic business women, with the aim of incorporating feminine values into finance. Halla Tomasdottir is Audur’s executive chairman and Kristin Petursdottir is the company CEO.The company offers wealth management, private...
, set up a venture capital fund titled "BJÖRK" to support the creation of sustainable industries in Iceland. She has written the foreword to the English translation of the Iceland bestseller by Andri Snaer Magnason entitled "Dreamland." On May 21, 2010, Björk wrote an open letter in the newspaper Reykjavík Grapevine, calling on the Icelandic government to "do everything in its power to revoke the contracts with Magma Energy", the Canadian company who now has complete ownership of Icelandic geothermal company HS Orka.
Protégés
Over her extensive career, Björk has frequently used her position and influence to help launch new acts, or
mentorIn Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
them as they establish themselves as recording artists.
The first example of this was most evident with Iranian born
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
producer,
Leila ArabLeila is an Iranian recording artist, producer and dj based in London.She has worked with prominent European musicians such as Björk, and has released music on Rephlex Records, XL Recordings and Warp Records....
. Leila was initially recruited to play
keyboardsA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and provide backing vocals on Björk's first international solo tour in 1993 in support of Björk's Debut
album. In 1995, Björk recalled Leila's to be part of her second touring band for her next tour in support of the Post album. This time Leila was given the opportunity to experiment with the live output mixing from the stage, rather than playing keyboards. This was to be Leila's first encounter with live mixing, and would later form the basis of her own solo music career where she has integrated live mixing into her own compositions and live shows. Leila has gone on to release three international solo albums throughout the 1990s to present, on the influential
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
labels,
Rephlex RecordsRephlex Records is a record label started in 1991 by electronic musician Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Rephlex coined the term braindance to describe the otherwise uncategorisable output of Aphex Twin and Rephlex Records...
,
XL RecordingsXL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
and Warp Records.
In 1998, Björk established her own short-lived record label, Ear Records, which operated under the
One Little Indian RecordsOne Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
umbrella. Her only signee that received a release was her long-time friend, Magga Stína. Magga Stína recorded her debut solo album under the production of Björk's longtime collaborator,
Graham MasseyGraham Massey was a founding member of the British band, 808 State, formed in 1988 in Manchester, England. Originally a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording their debut album, Newbuild in 1988 under the new name 808 State.-Music:The band was...
(of the British
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
act
808 State808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
.) The album was simply titled 'An Album' and featured just one single release, 'Naturally'. In 1998, Björk invited Magga Stína to perform as her support act on the
HomogenicHomogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
world tour, and in 2004 Stína contributed to the production of Björk's
MedúllaMedúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
album. Stína is presently still performing and recording in
IcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
In 2001, Björk heard of a Canadian
Inuit Throat SingerInuit throat singing or katajjaq, also known as the generic term overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit...
called Tagaq and invited her to perform on several dates of Björk's
VespertineVespertine, is the fifth studio album by the Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 27 August 2001. On this album, Björk creates a quiet, introverted world of microbeats and personal lyrics...
world tour as a special guest. In 2004, Tagaq was invited to collaborate on the
a cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
album
MedúllaMedúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
, in which the duet 'Ancestors' was recorded. 'Ancestors' was later featured on Tagaq's first solo album,
SinaaSinaa is the first full-length studio album from Inuit throat singer Tagaq. The album was released on 2005 in her official website and later in stores. The album is mainly all vocals with some instruments in the background...
in 2005.
In 2004,
LeilaLeila is an Iranian recording artist, producer and dj based in London.She has worked with prominent European musicians such as Björk, and has released music on Rephlex Records, XL Recordings and Warp Records....
discovered the work of Finnish multimedia artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who had taken her combination of Lo-fi, homemade electro pop with her own self-produced music videos, and combined them under the
alter egoAn alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
character,
HK119HK119 is the alter ego of Finnish multimedia artist, singer and recording artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who lives and works in London, UK.-Career:...
. Leila soon referred
HK119HK119 is the alter ego of Finnish multimedia artist, singer and recording artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who lives and works in London, UK.-Career:...
's work to Björk, who quickly and excitedly started mentioning HK119 in various press and interviews. In 2004, Björk announced
HK119HK119 is the alter ego of Finnish multimedia artist, singer and recording artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who lives and works in London, UK.-Career:...
as her favourite act of 2004, and cited her as "The Perfect Blonde Woman".
HK119HK119 is the alter ego of Finnish multimedia artist, singer and recording artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who lives and works in London, UK.-Career:...
was soon signed to Björk's parent label
One Little Indian RecordsOne Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
, who released her debut
HK119HK119 is the debut, eponymous solo album from Finnish multimedia artist and singer-songwriter Heidi Kilpeläinen, performing under her alter ego HK119...
album in 2006. HK119 and Björk appeared in a joint interview in Dazed & Confused magazine in 2006, where Björk stated about HK119's work "It's unique. Even if I gave you $3million, you couldn't improve on it... Their simplicity is their strength."
HK119HK119 is the alter ego of Finnish multimedia artist, singer and recording artist Heidi Kilpeläinen, who lives and works in London, UK.-Career:...
later released her second album,
Fast, Cheap And Out Of ControlFast, Cheap and Out of Control is the 2008 follow-up album to HK119's 2006 eponymous debut. The album was released through One Little Indian Records on 28 September 2008 in the United Kingdom....
in 2008 on
One Little Indian RecordsOne Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
, and is currently recording her third album.
In 2009, Björk used her website and various radio interviews throughout the year to express her enthusiasm for two more new acts. The first was fellow Icelandic musician,
Ólöf ArnaldsÓlöf Arnalds is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and indie musician who has been active within the Icelandic music scene for quite some time. Apart from her own music and being a touring member of Múm since 2003, she has cooperated with bands and artists such as Stórsveit Nix Noltes, Mugison,...
, who is also a member of Icelandic
folktronicaFolktronica or electrofolk is a genre of music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring samplings of acoustic instruments—especially stringed instruments—and incorporating hip hop rhythms...
band
múmmúm are an experimental Icelandic musical group whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments.- History :...
. In 2006, Arnalds released her debut solo album
Við Og ViðVið og við is Icelandic musician Ólöf Arnalds debut album, roughly translating to "Now and Then". It was released in by the 12 Tónar label. The album has been produced by Sigur Rós band member Kjartan Sveinsson who together with Skúli Sverrisson and Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson from Múm also contribute...
in Iceland, which Björk citied as one of her favourite recent new acts of the last few years during a radio interview, and encouraged
One Little Indian RecordsOne Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
to reissue the album in the UK and Europe in 2009. On the same radio show for the American NPR channel, Björk also praised the works of emerging British artist
MicachuMica Levi, known by her stage name Micachu , is an English singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. She is classically trained and is best known for experimental music in a variety of genres.-Biography:...
and the more obscure,
Omar SouleymanOmar Souleyman is an Arab musician from Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria, in the north eastern region of Syria. He began his career in 1994, working with a number of musicians with whom he still performs, and around five hundred studio and live albums have been released under his name...
. Björk later used her official website to host the premier of
MicachuMica Levi, known by her stage name Micachu , is an English singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. She is classically trained and is best known for experimental music in a variety of genres.-Biography:...
's debut video on the
Rough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, 'Turn Me Well'.
Family
Björk's father,
Guðmundur GunnarssonGuðmundur Gunnarsson is an Icelandic electrician and union leader. The father of the singer Björk , he is a nationally known figure in his own right as the leader of the Icelandic Electricians' Union, Rafiðnaðarsamband Íslands .Guðmundur's parents were Gunnar Guðmundsson and Hallfríður...
, is a well-known union leader in Iceland and was nationally recognized before his daughter became famous. Her mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, has also been politically active.
Björk and her partner, artist
Matthew BarneyMatthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture, photography, drawing and film. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance and video...
, have a daughter, Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney, born 3 October 2002. Björk also has a son, Sindri Eldon Thórsson, born 8 June 1986, with Thór Eldon, who was her band mate in The Sugarcubes. Sindri is a
journalistJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and plays bass for several bands.
Paparazzi and controversies
Björk has complained of being hounded by
paparazziPaparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
. In 1996, Björk arrived at Bangkok International Airport with her son Sindri after a long haul flight when Julie Kaufman, a female reporter greeted Björk with "Welcome to Bangkok", which was then followed by Björk attacking her and knocking her to the ground. Björk has said that the reason for the attack was that the reporters in the airport started talking to her son, saying such things as "It must be hard to be the son of a pop star." Björk's record company also said that the reporter had been pestering Björk for four days. Björk later apologized to Kaufman, who declined to press charges. On 13 January 2008, Björk attacked a photographer who had photographed her arrival at
Auckland International AirportAuckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand with over 13 million passengers a year, expected to more than double by 2025...
in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for her scheduled performance at the
Big Day OutThe Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
festival. Björk allegedly tore the photographer's shirt down the back, and in the process she fell to the ground. There were no charges filed by the photographer, or her employer
The New Zealand Herald- External links :* * *...
, and Auckland police did no further investigation.
Political views
Björk's years in KUKL aligned her with the left-wing, specifically anarchist, Crass Collective. While she has since been hesitant to be seen as an overtly political figure, and has said so on her website, she is strongly supportive of numerous
liberation movementA liberation movement is an organization leading a rebellion against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperialist outlook.-See also:*Anti-imperialism...
s across the globe, including support for
independenceSeparatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
for
KosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
.
She dedicated her song "
Declare Independence"Declare Independence" is an industrial-nu metal song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released on January 1, 2008...
" to
GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and the
Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, which caused a minor controversy in the Faroes. When Björk twice dedicated "Declare Independence" to the people of
KosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
during a concert in Japan, a planned performance of hers was cancelled at
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's Exit Festival, reportedly due to safety concerns.
In 2008, Björk set off an international controversy after she dedicated "Declare Independence" to the
Tibet freedom movementThe Tibetan independence movement is a movement for the independence of the lands where Tibetan people live and the political separation of those lands from the People's Republic of China. It is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora in countries like India and the United States, and by...
during a
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
concert, chanting "Tibet! Tibet!" during the song. China's Culture Ministry issued a denunciation through state news agency Xinhua stating that Björk "broke Chinese law" and "hurt Chinese people's feelings", and pledged to further tighten control over foreign artists performing in China. A later statement accused Björk of "whipping up ethnic hatred".
Sexuality
In an interview with
DivaDiva is a leading lesbian magazine in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1994 by Millivres Prowler Group Ltd., who also produce the Gay Times. The current editor is Jane Czyzselska, who was promoted to the position in 2004. It includes many articles dedicated to lesbian and bisexual social...
magazine in October 2004, she said:
Björk has accumulated a large homosexual fanbase over the years; in an interview with
InstinctInstinct is a monthly American magazine geared toward gay men, published by Instinct Publishing, Inc. since 1997. Distributed by Curtis Circulation...
magazine in 2004, she acknowledged it, saying:
Stalker
On 12 September 1996, obsessed fan Ricardo López mailed an acid-spraying letter bomb to Björk's London home and then killed himself, but the package was intercepted by the
Metropolitan Police ServiceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
. López filmed himself in the process of making the acid bomb which was intended to kill her. The nearly 18 hours of videotape described López's obsession with Björk, the construction of the device, his thoughts on love and other subjects, including racial remarks against Björk's then-boyfriend
GoldieClifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
. The video footage continues after his mailing the bomb to Björk's London home and ends as López shaves his head, applies face paint and commits suicide by shooting himself on camera.
In her few public comments on this event, Bjork later said it was hard emotionally, and it disrupted her life and work in London, explaining in part why she chose to leave the UK scene for good, reject her cute image, and began to write more personally with Homogenic
(1997).
Discography
BjörkBjörk is the first official release from the Icelandic singer Björk. In 1976, Björk appeared on Icelandic radio singing "I Love to Love" through the music school she attended, which led her to a record deal...
(1977)
Gling-GlóGling-Gló, released in 1990, is the only album by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, consisting of Björk Guðmundsdóttir on vocals, Guðmundur Ingólfsson on piano, Guðmundur Steingrímsson on drums, and Þórður Högnason on bass...
(1990) with
tríó Guðmundar IngólfssonarBjörk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar was an Icelandic jazz and bebop music band.The band formed in 1990 when the singer-songwriter Björk Guðmundsdóttir, who at the time sang and wrote for The Sugarcubes, joined the tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar...
Debut (1993)
Post (1995)
HomogenicHomogenic is the fourth studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in September 1997. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B and Markus Dravs, it was released on One Little Indian Records...
(1997)
VespertineVespertine, is the fifth studio album by the Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 27 August 2001. On this album, Björk creates a quiet, introverted world of microbeats and personal lyrics...
(2001)
MedúllaMedúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
(2004)
VoltaVolta is the seventh studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in May 2007. It was produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Timbaland and Danja. The music of Volta was a new style for Björk, focusing on similar sounding music combining African beats and other instruments with songs in tribute to Africa...
(2007)
BiophiliaBiophilia is the musical project and eighth full-length studio album by Icelandic singer Björk. The album was released on 10 October 2011, over four years after her previous studio album, Volta ....
(2011)
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1987 |
The Juniper Tree |
Margit |
|
| 2000 |
Dancer in the Dark Dancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey...
|
Selma Ježková |
Also composer of the Soundtrack Selmasongs Selmasongs was released in September 2000 by Icelandic singer, musician and actress Björk as a soundtrack to the film Dancer in the Dark, in which she also starred as the main character, Selma....
|
| 2005 |
Drawing Restraint 9Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
|
Occidental Guest |
Also Composer of the Soundtrack Drawing Restraint 9 The Music from Drawing Restraint 9 is a soundtrack created by Björk in collaboration with her partner Matthew Barney for his film of the same title. For this project Björk traveled to Japan to study ancient Japanese music...
|
| 2007 |
Anna and the Moods Anna and the Moods is a 2007 computer animated movie by the Icelandic digital design and animation company CAOZ in Reykjavík. The voice of the main character Anna is performed by singer, songwriter and composer Björk....
|
Anna Young
(voice) |
|
Cameos and Soundtrack Appearances
| Year |
Title |
Notes |
| 1982 |
Rokk í Reykjavík Rokk í Reykjavík was a documentary directed by Icelandic Friðrik Þór Friðriksson during the Icelandic winter of 1981-1982 and released for the local television the same year....
|
Cameo with the Tappi TíkarrassTappi Tíkarrass was a famous Icelandic punk/pop band which added elements of funk, disco and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time...
|
| 1983 |
Nýtt Líf Nýtt Líf is a film directed by Þráinn Bertelsson and released in 1983. The film is a comedy shot in the Westman Islands and stars Eggert Þorleifsson and Karl Ágúst Úlfsson, among others. The music features several musicians including the band Tappi Tíkarrass , which contributed the songs...
|
Features music of the Tappi TíkarrassTappi Tíkarrass was a famous Icelandic punk/pop band which added elements of funk, disco and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time...
|
| 1994 |
Prêt-à-Porter Prêt-à-Porter is a 1994 American satirical black comedy film co-written, directed, and produced by Robert Altman and shot during the Paris, France, Fashion Week with a host of international stars, models and designers...
|
Cameo as a Model (Uncredited) |
| 2005 |
Screaming Masterpiece Screaming Masterpiece is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon about the music scene in Iceland...
|
|
| 2005 |
Arakimentari Arakimentari is a 2004 USA film directed by Travis Klose. It is a documentary film about acclaimed and controversial Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. The film looks at Araki's personal life as well as his art.-Cast:* Nobuyoshi Araki ... Himself...
|
Documentary on JapaneseThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
photographer Nobuyoshi Arakiis a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. He is also known by the nickname .-Life and career:Araki was born in Tokyo, studied photography during his college years and then went to work at the advertising agency Dentsu, where he met his future wife, the essayist Yōko Araki...
|
| 2006 |
Matthew Barney: No Restraint Matthew Barney: No Restraint is a 2006 documentary directed by Alison Chernick. It follows artist Matthew Barney and his collaborator, singer-songwriter Björk, as they embark on a filmmaking journey in Japan...
|
Documentary on the making of Drawing Restraint 9Drawing Restraint 9 is a project by visual artist Matthew Barney consisting of a feature length 35mm film, large-scale sculptures, photographs, drawings, and books. The Drawing Restraint series consists of 16 numbered components and related materials. Some episodes are videos, others sculptural...
|
| 2010 |
Moomins and the Comet Chase Moomins and the Comet Chase is a 2010 stop motion film compiled from the Comet in Moominland-based episodes of the 1977–1982 Moomins TV series animated at Se-ma-for in Poland, restored and re-soundtracked with multiple voice actors replacing the single narrator...
|
Features the original song The Comet Song "The Comet Song" is a song by Icelandic artist Björk, written by herself and long-time friend and collaborator Sjón as the title theme of the 2010 movie Moomins and the Comet Chase. The song is released as a charity single and all the benefits are donated to the victims of the 2010 Pakistan...
|
Related bibliography
- Post, by Sjón
Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson , known as Sjón , is an internationally known Icelandic author and poet. His pen name is formed from his given name , and means 'Sight'....
Sigurðsson/Björk Ltd. Bloomsbury (1995).
- Björk – The Illustrated Story, by Paul Lester. Hamlyn (1996).
- Björk – An Illustrated Biography, by Mick St. Michael. Omnibus Press (1996).
- Björk Björkgraphy, by Martin Aston. Simon & Schuster (1996).
- Björk, Colección Imágenes de Rock, N°82, by Jordi Bianciotto. Editorial La Máscara (1997).
- Dancer in the Dark, by Lars von Trier. Film Four (2000).
- Lobster or Fame, by Ólafur Jóhann Engilbertsson. Bad Taste (2000).
- Army of She, by Evelyn McDonnell. Random House (2001).
- Human Behaviour, by Ian Gittins. Carlton (2002).
- Björk: There's More to Life Than This: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Ian Gittins. Imprint (2002).
- Wow and Flutter, by Mark Pytlik. ECW (2003).
- Björk, by Nicola Dibben. Equinox (2009).
See also
- Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar
Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar was an Icelandic jazz and bebop music band.The band formed in 1990 when the singer-songwriter Björk Guðmundsdóttir, who at the time sang and wrote for The Sugarcubes, joined the tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar...
- Kraumur
Kraumur Music Fund is an independent Icelandic music fund and operation established by the in the beginning of 2008 to "to strengthen Icelandic musical life, primarily by supporting young musicians in performing and presenting their works."...
– a music fund of which Björk is an advisory board member
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- Mononymous persons
A mononymous person is an individual who is known and addressed by a mononym, or "single name". In some cases, that name has been selected by the individual, who may have originally been given a polynym...
- Music of Iceland
The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers Björk and Emiliana Torrini, and post-rock band Sigur Rós. Iceland's traditional music is related to Nordic music...
- Vegvísir
A Vegvísir is an Icelandic magical stave intended to help the bearer find their way through rough weather. The symbol is attested in the Huld Manuscript, collected in Iceland by Geir Vigfusson in 1880 .A leaf of the manuscript provides an image of the vegvísir, gives its name, and, in prose,...
– Björk's largest tattoo, located on her left arm
External links