Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1965, the daughter of an electrician and an activist. She was one thing of a kid star in her house nation, releasing her first album as merely Björk at 12 years outdated. A charismatic and distinctive vocalist, she fronted a number of bands earlier than the 1986 formation of the Sugarcubes, which rapidly turned the primary internationally profitable Icelandic band (and nearly the one internationally profitable Icelandic band till the emergence of Sigur Rós).
Correctly launching her solo profession in 1993 with the album Debut, Björk turned a groundbreaking artist on the intersection of different and dance music, and a frequent presence on MTV with a sequence of wildly imaginative music movies. Although American audiences generally noticed Björk as a whimsical pixie from a mysterious faraway land, her catalog has change into increasingly bold and achieved with every launch. Arranging her songs for orchestras, programming innovative beats, and writing lyrics with wit, emotion, and historic and literary inspirations, Björk is an artwork pop icon and one of many world’s most authentic dwelling songwriters.
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20. Björk (1977)
Over a decade earlier than she launched the album often called Debut, an 11-year-old Björk turned a nationwide movie star after a recording of her singing was broadcast on the radio in Iceland, and she or he was supplied her first file deal. Any diehard Björk fan ought to in all probability hearken to her self-titled album, simply to listen to the occasional hair-raising moments confirming that the seeds of her distinctive phrasing had been there from the very starting, however few will wish to hear it greater than as soon as. There may be some spectacular musicianship on the album, although, and “Arabadrengurinn (The Arab Boy),” co-written by Björk’s stepfather Sævar Árnason, is a sitar-spangled glimpse at what Icelandic disco apparently gave the impression of.
19. The Eye with Kukl (1984)
Earlier than Björk, Einar Örn and Sigtryggur Baldursson discovered industrial success with the Sugarcubes, they made two albums in a darker post-punk type with an earlier band, Kukl. They performed their first present opening for British anarchist punk legends Crass, whose label Crass Data launched each Kukl albums. The Eye is an atmospheric and groove-driven file, with Örn’s abrasive vocals usually crowding out Björk’s extra interesting voice.
18. Drawing Restraint 9 (2005)
Björk was in a relationship with artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney from 2001 to 2013, and their most important collaboration was his movie Drawing Restraint 9, which Björk co-starred in and scored. The soundtrack album options a few of the quietest and most experimental music of Björk’s profession, together with her singing on solely three songs and indie rock legend Will Oldham singing on one other. Along with her voice often the defining function of Björk’s albums, Drawing Restraint 9 is an intriguing alternative to listen to her compose instrumental music and let harp and shō, a Japanese woodwind instrument, carry her melodies. “This isn’t at all times a simple file – it calls for stillness and endurance from the listener,” David Peschek wrote within the Guardian’s evaluate of Drawing Restraint 9.
17. Miranda with Tappi Tikarrass (1983)
Björk shaped a number of bands as a teen, together with Exodus and the memorably named Spit and Snot. The primary band she made information with, nonetheless, was the post-punk quartet Tappi Tikarrass, which made an EP in 1982 and a full-length the next 12 months. Miranda is a uncommon occasion of Björk writing her lyrics totally in Icelandic, and her melodies sound beautiful and in some methods extra pure in her mom tongue. There are some blistering 2-minute songs like “Drek-Lek,” however the album incorporates a reasonably subtle mixture of kinds and tempos much like lots of the band’s British and American new wave contemporaries. “Krió” specifically sounds prefer it might’ve been a success single in one other universe. Tappi Tikarrass reunited with out Björk and recorded a brand new album in 2017.
16. Holidays in Europe (The Naughty Nought) with Kukl (1986)
At its greatest, Kukl’s second album fuses goth and a extra pop sensibility much like Siouxsie and the Banshees’ greatest work, and songs like “Gibralter (Copy Thy Neighbour)” and “Holland (Latent)” signify a major leap ahead within the improvement of Björk’s signature vocal type. Kukl break up up shortly after the discharge of Holidays in Europe, although, with a few of its members forming the Sugarcubes by the top of 1986.
15. Volta (2007)
Virginia hip-hop and R&B producer Timbaland was one among Björk’s most vocal followers in American pop within the ’90s, sampling “Jóga” on tracks by Missy Elliott and Complete. Almost a decade later, Björk invited Timbaland to work on her sixth album, and he co-produced two tracks on Volta and co-wrote one among them. The thrill across the long-awaited collaboration helped Volta change into Björk’s solely High Ten album in America and made “Earth Intruders” her first Sizzling 100 entry in over a decade. Timbaland was at extra of a industrial peak than a inventive one in 2007, although, and his contributions to Volta are a bit of underwhelming. Additionally they really feel out of step with the remainder of the album, which options a lot of orchestral brass preparations and two duets with British-American singer Anohni. “The place even her most divisive albums have managed to push her inventive boundaries, Volta feels limp and surprisingly empty– nearly unfinished,” wrote Mark Pytlik within the Pitchfork evaluate of the album.
14. Gling-Gló with Trio Guðmundur Ingólfsson (1990)
When Björk throws covers of songs written within the ’40s and ’50s into the futuristic soundscapes of Debut and Submit, the distinction is arresting. For anybody who heard these tracks and pined for extra of Björk as a jazz singer, there’s Gling-Gló, an album she recorded with a piano trio in between Sugarcubes information. A lot of the songs on the album are Icelandic pop requirements, although some American songs like “Ricochet” and “The Outdated Lamp-Lighter” are translated into Icelandic, and Björk has seldom gave the impression of she’s having extra enjoyable on a file.
13. Right here As we speak, Tomorrow Subsequent Week! with the Sugarcubes (1989)
As with their earlier band Kukl, the Sugarcubes’ weakest album is the one which options trumpeter and vocalist Einar Örn on the mic a bit of extra usually than Björk. Right here As we speak, Tomorrow Subsequent Week! was considered one thing of a sophomore stoop, charting decrease than the band’s debut in a number of nations and receiving withering critiques. The band’s rhythm part places a bit of spring within the step of the album’s greatest songs, although, together with “Velocity Is the Key” and “Expensive Plastic.”
12. Stick Round for Pleasure with the Sugarcubes (1992)
Björk determined to embark on a solo profession after Right here As we speak, however the Sugarcubes had a 3rd album on their file contract, so she caught round lengthy sufficient to make Stick Round for Pleasure. The aptly titled lead single “Hit” is the one track in Björk’s profession to achieve No. 1 on Billboard’s Trendy Rock chart, a stunning monitor with hovering melodies, a cool backbeat, and DJ scratches. One of many band’s greatest influences, Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John McGeoch, guested on “Gold.” By the top of 1992, the Sugarcubes had been performed, and have since solely reunited as soon as for a 2006 live performance in Reykjavik. “The track ‘Hetero Scum’ is especially amusing — ‘I’m leaking you’re leaking’ yelps Örn — whereas ‘Vitamin’ works into a fairly good imitation of the wacky dance-pop of the B-52’s,” wrote Gina Arnold within the Leisure Weekly evaluate of Stick Round for Pleasure.
11. Selmasongs (2000)
Björk’s most important movie position, because the star of Danish auteur Lars von Trier’s musical Dancer within the Darkish, has an advanced legacy. Movie critics had been sharply divided on the deserves of the film, although Björk’s efficiency as manufacturing unit employee Selma Ježková was broadly acclaimed, and followers who’d waited three years for a comply with as much as Homogenic weren’t totally happy by the soundtrack album. In 2017, Björk accused von Trier of repeatedly sexually harassing her in the course of the making of the movie. There are some brilliant spots on Selmasongs, although, significantly “Within the Musicals,” which feels she took a chance to place a bit of of the outdated Hollywood sparkle of “It’s Oh So Quiet” into one among her authentic songs. “I’ve Seen It All,” a duet that introduced Björk along with one other legendary singer on the peak of his powers, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, was nominated for an Oscar, and Björk walked the crimson carpet in an immediately iconic costume formed like a swan.
10. Biophilia (2011)
In a profession full of huge concepts, Biophilia might be the only most bold challenge Björk has ever undertaken. A multimedia “app album,” it options advanced time signatures, new musical devices developed particularly for the recording classes, and lyrics that tackle environmental issues and the 2008 international monetary disaster that had disastrous results on Iceland’s financial system. The lead single “Crystalline” prominently encompasses a “gameleste” (a hybrid of a gamelan and a celesta) and builds to a blistering drum and bass climax. The remainder of Biophilia is never fairly so thrilling, although, and the album is arguably simpler to admire as an idea than to get pleasure from as merely a set of songs. Biophilia was Björk’s final collaboration with LFO’s Mark Bell, who’d labored on almost all of her albums till his loss of life in 2014.
9. Utopia (2017)
Björk’s albums have change into much less frequent for the reason that ’90s. After finishing 2015’s cathartic and heartbroken Vulnicura, although, she continued working with Venezuelan producer Arca on an album with a extra hopeful tone that adopted simply two years later. The 71-minute Utopia is Björk’s longest album, and is themed round “air sounds” together with birdsong area recordings and a 12-piece flute part. The impact is usually serene and soothing, even when busy, stuttering digital beats often enter the combo.
8. Fossora (2022)
The flute-heavy sound of Utopia is expanded upon with Fossora, which options a greater variety of woodwinds. Björk didn’t keep too dedicated to an early plan to make Fossora her “clarinet album,” although, and there’s a diverse sonic palette that features “Mycelia” and “Sorrowful Soil,” vocal items that return to the a cappella experimentation of Medúlla. Fossora is partly impressed by the 2018 loss of life of the singer’s mom, and Björk’s daughter Ìsadóra sings on the closing monitor “Her Mom’s Home.”
7. Life’s Too Good with the Sugarcubes (1988)
The Sugarcubes’ 1986 debut single featured the track “Ammæli” with Icelandic lyrics. The next 12 months the band recorded the English model, “Birthday,” and signed with One Little Indian (now One Little Unbiased), the British label Björk has remained with ever since. The BBC’s John Peel helped make “Birthday” a success within the U.Okay., and it quickly turned a university radio sensation in America, the place the Sugarcubes had been invited to carry out on Saturday Evening Stay. Life’s Too Good is a type of effortlessly charming information that may all of the sudden flip the music world’s consideration in direction of a rustic it had beforehand ignored, and with out it we might not have all of Björk’s different nice information. “Mama” stays one among her strongest vocal performances, and there’s an infectious power to the Sugarcubes’ greatest songs in contrast to something in her solo catalog.
6. Medúlla (2004)
Medúlla marks the purpose in Björk’s profession, to the delight of some followers and to the chagrin of others, the place her albums turned extra closely conceptual and much much less prone to include dance pop jams. Björk didn’t stick with her authentic thought of making Medúlla totally out of the human voice, finally fleshing out the songs with some synths and standard devices. Nonetheless, a lot of the sounds on the album got here from the mouths of Björk and company like Inuit throat singer Tagaq and Religion No Extra’s Mike Patton. “The place Is the Line,” which options each an Icelandic choir and human beatbox Rahzel of the Roots, is an exhilarating realization of Medúlla’s potential. “Oceania,” composed for the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer time Olympics, is an instance of Björk’s uncommon present for making music that capabilities on a worldwide stage whereas nonetheless deeply particular person and rooted within the avant garde.
5. Vulnicura (2015)
Not each nice artist has made a breakup album, however it’s one thing of an emotional and inventive ceremony of passage that has produced quite a lot of traditional information. And Vulnicura is Björk’s estimable contribution to the breakup album canon, impressed by the top of her relationship with Matthew Barney, her associate of 11 years and the daddy of one among her kids. The album is usually attractive and expansive, with a number of songs working over 8 minutes lengthy that return to Homogenic’s palette of grand string preparations and booming drums, as if Björk is soothing herself with lovely melodies. After which there’s a dramatic tonal change on “Household,” with tense violins straight out of a horror film: “Is there a spot the place I pays respects for the loss of life of my household?”
4. Debut (1993)
Even to these of us who had been acquainted with the Sugarcubes, there was one thing disorienting and otherworldly about Debut’s lead single “Human Habits” when it first appeared on the radio and MTV in 1993. Björk and British producer Nellee Hooper (Soul II Soul, Sinead O’Connor) had created one thing totally distinctive and haunting, an ideal invitation into the world she’d simply begun to construct. The album options a few of Björk’s most danceable music like “Large Time Sensuality,” and solely hints at a few of the stranger territory she’d discover on later albums, however it was an infinite step ahead from all the things she’d made within the earlier 16 years, justifying the title Debut.
3. Vespertine (2001)
Björk by no means actually adopted tendencies, however her early solo albums all exist in dialog with the quickly altering sound of digital dance music. Over the course of the ’90s, she absorbed and put her personal spins on home, journey hop, and drum and bass. Within the early 2000s, minimalism was coming into vogue in digital circles, and Björk labored with collaborators just like the experimental duo Matmos to create percussion sounds out of commonplace objects on Vespertine. The light, squishy textures of these loops, together with the work of avant jazz harp participant Zeena Parkins, make for the surprisingly acceptable sonic backdrop of a few of Björk’s most intimate and erotic songs.
2. Homogenic (1997)
One passage of “Pluto,” wherein Björk howls wordlessly by a thick haze of vocal distortion over a pummeling beat, has change into one thing of a meme on social media lately, usually utilized by pop stans for instance of music that solely a pretentious hipster might love. Within the context of Homogenic, although, “Pluto” is the abrasive climax earlier than the calming fantastic thing about “All Is Filled with Love” closes the album, a necessary a part of the journey. That push and pull between noisy, glitchy drums and sweeping string preparations is the important stress that drives Homogenic, Björk’s tribute to the attractive however generally deadly volcanic topography of Iceland. “Esoteric but blunt, Homogenic is an eerily sustained work that ambitiously shares the strategies and auras of latest design, movie, and theater,” Stephen Hunter wrote within the SPIN evaluate of the album.
1. Submit (1995)
Björk described Submit as a “promiscuous” album due to its vast number of kinds and collaborators. And it’s that wildly eclectic spirit that makes it such a permanent and pleasant album, veering from the stomping industrial opener “Military of Me” to the lovable and campy “It’s Oh So Quiet,” from the brilliant tropical taste of “I Miss You” to a pair of murky collaborations with journey hop auteur Difficult. Björk was by no means nearer to the pop zeitgeist than within the mid-’90s, even writing a track for Madonna, and she or he seized that second as audaciously as attainable on Submit.
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