Welcome back.
Have I told you about Bjork? I don't think I have. If you don't know about her, you're sadly missing out. If you do know about her you probably have one of two divergent views of her: either she's nuts or she makes fantastic music. The latter is the correct view and only comes with a dash of the former incorporated. Forget about that swan dress she wore last decade and instead read on about one of my favorite albums ever, and certainly one of her best, Homogenic.
Bjork had, by the time she started producing this album, a long and storied career. She had been a child star in her home country of Iceland, making music when she was barely in primary school. In her teens she formed punk bands like Spit and Snot and eventually sang for the band The Sugarcubes, who were modestly successful. They did very well in Europe and had a few radio hits here in the late 80s but eventually they split up and Bjork went her own way, releasing an album on her own of jazz standards. Enjoying the freedom of independent creation she released her first solo effort in 1993, the dubiously named Debut. Produced by Nellee Hooper (of the famed Bristol trip hop sound), the album is fantastic, full of different styles and sounds, from house to flamenco to trip hop and jazz. I love it and you should give it a spin. Critical acclaim for the album was immediate accolades were showered upon the pixie genius. Her follow up, the phenomenal Post, was released in 1995. Showing more and more variety to her style, the album was conceptually representing a woman who ventures out in to a larger world and shows what she finds there. Another amazing album, another of my favorites. It's very electric and poppy, a very interesting sound. This is another example of amazing work she can create. To follow these two albums, though, Bjork wanted to create a work with a singular sound or vision. The previous solo efforts definitely had consistent elements but varied greatly from song to song. Flow was, at times, wonky (to use a perfectly scientific term). In creating this album she said she wanted to make music with one flavor.
Fittingly, the album was titled Homogenic, and it was exactly that. A cohesive album of both organic and technological origin, Bjork created it in the home of her drummer in Málaga, Spain, it actually reflects the writing she had done in her home in Iceland. With the majority of production handled by Mark Bell, Howie B and Guy Sigworth, Bjork was able to head into fresh territory, as she felt she had lost the creative spark working with Nellee Hooper. Working closely with the producers, Bjork would create melodies from scratch by herself or on a keyboard, then construct the resulting song from the ground up around them, filling in the beats and accompaniment as they went. The ensuing album is absolutely fantastic, one of my all time favorites. It was actually the first of hers that I ever heard, so I jumped in right at the high water mark, which I'm sure influenced my perception of her style. The good thing about this is that in doing so I gained a great sense of her musical personality right off the bat, as her previous work was at times scattered.
In this album she breaks away from the dance sensibility and pixie behavior, moving more towards a matured, serious tone. There are definitely still playful moods present, but they come through less often than before. Instead we have wonderfully brooding and dramatic songs like the opener, 'Hunter', a song whose militaristic beats propel behind a throbbing bass line, all of which leads into a wide open chorus that wraps back around into the same beat. The first song constructed for the album, '5 Years', is quite indicative of the sound on display here and could very likely be responsible for the tone of the whole album. It's a song with a simple element at its core - the same descending accordion loop plays over a crunch of percussion while she sings of a failed relationship and where she hopes her former lover (rumored to be trip-hop extraordinaire Tricky) finds himself. I find it to expertly encapsulate the sound of the entire album, as the two elements of Bjork's unbelievable voice and the accordion represent the natural element while the drum loop is the technological flipside, the blown-out crunch being overly twisted by effects and samples. You'll find this style running through the heart of the album. Also embodying this sense of duality presented is one of my favorite songs of hers, the massive and epic 'Joga'. Critics have said the dynamics in the song represent the nature of Iceland itself and how it influenced Bjork as an artist. We have that same combination of organic elements, dramatic and deep strings looping on repeat, while a low synth line eventually comes to compliment it over a skipping drum loop. In these contrasting but deftly mixed elements people have compared it to Iceland itself, the rigidity of the technologically savvy culture living in stark contrast to the constantly evolving and moving volcanic landscape that nurtures life. It's a beautiful and moving piece of work that shows how far she had come from her previous club-centered albums.
This album is phenomenal, start to finish. While she has continued growing and experimenting in her career (including the novel and fascinating Medulla, which is made solely of samples voices) this album stands as my favorite and is regarded as quite possibly her best (or most iconic) work. I was amazed when I first heard it - I had read all these rave reviews but had no idea what to expect. It was unlike anything I had heard at the time. Her voice is so intense and alive, so full of vigor and personality that it stood head and shoulders above anything on the radio or otherwise and the production made it sound like something from the future. Even now, over a decade later, this album still holds up. It still sounds fantastic and gets regular rotation in my playlists. I know I great deal of people were already on board but if you weren't before, do so now. You're missing out on a fantastic album that deserves to be heard.
Have I told you about Bjork? I don't think I have. If you don't know about her, you're sadly missing out. If you do know about her you probably have one of two divergent views of her: either she's nuts or she makes fantastic music. The latter is the correct view and only comes with a dash of the former incorporated. Forget about that swan dress she wore last decade and instead read on about one of my favorite albums ever, and certainly one of her best, Homogenic.
Bjork had, by the time she started producing this album, a long and storied career. She had been a child star in her home country of Iceland, making music when she was barely in primary school. In her teens she formed punk bands like Spit and Snot and eventually sang for the band The Sugarcubes, who were modestly successful. They did very well in Europe and had a few radio hits here in the late 80s but eventually they split up and Bjork went her own way, releasing an album on her own of jazz standards. Enjoying the freedom of independent creation she released her first solo effort in 1993, the dubiously named Debut. Produced by Nellee Hooper (of the famed Bristol trip hop sound), the album is fantastic, full of different styles and sounds, from house to flamenco to trip hop and jazz. I love it and you should give it a spin. Critical acclaim for the album was immediate accolades were showered upon the pixie genius. Her follow up, the phenomenal Post, was released in 1995. Showing more and more variety to her style, the album was conceptually representing a woman who ventures out in to a larger world and shows what she finds there. Another amazing album, another of my favorites. It's very electric and poppy, a very interesting sound. This is another example of amazing work she can create. To follow these two albums, though, Bjork wanted to create a work with a singular sound or vision. The previous solo efforts definitely had consistent elements but varied greatly from song to song. Flow was, at times, wonky (to use a perfectly scientific term). In creating this album she said she wanted to make music with one flavor.
