Our very own flower in the tundra, Iceland's Bjork is anything but conventional.
Working with some of the biggest names of the underground music scene including trip-hop artist Tricky and producer Howie B., Bjork, has, through the years, made the weird sound eerily mundane and attracted fans with her lyrics, fashioning them to remain somewhat enigmatic yet poetic.
Bjork, the one-name moniker of techno's reigning diva, brings "Homogenic" which continues to push the sonic envelope, challenging listeners to shed any established ideas that they may have had about pop music.
An album which, like her past forays, clues listeners onto the inner-workings of the pixie-like chanteuse by delving deep into the artist's psyche, "Homogenic" is equal parts classical and techno, oxymorons on paper but interesting doppelgangers of one another a la Bjork.
Known for her penchance to mix the classic with contemporary while seeing the world through the rosy-colored glasses of childhood, Bjork continues to please with "Homogenic," an album which despite its name is merely not more of the same.
On the contrary, "Homogenic" is probably the most coherent of any of the artist's past albums. With its broad palette of sounds and samples, technology and old-fashioned musical scores, "Homogenic" is a unfurling carpet which showcases previously undiscovered soundscapes of beats and rhythms.
Releasing her first solo record in 1993, "Debut" premiered to accolades and kudos from critics. Although the album wasn't the first for the artist (she previously fronted for a band called the Sugarcubes), it was a debut of sorts because it celebrated Bjork's entry as a solo artist. Recorded in locations as varied as the beach and the outdoors, "Debut" offered us danceable disco and sob-inducing ballads, fodder which spanned the emotional gamut.
With "Debut," Bjork was determined to produce an album which included something for everyone -- tracks included the eerily-prophetic "Human Nature" and the sensual "Venus As A Boy."
With "Post," Bjork's second album, listeners were given an edgier Bjork. With some collaboration from break-beat artist and then-boyfriend, Goldie, Bjork crafted sinister tracks like "Army of Me" where she screams over techno-tinged rhythms about the need to get on with on with life despite her lover's constant need for affection.
Also on "Post," Bjork preaches the wonders of releasing some tension through non-violent means on the track"Hyperballard."
Addressing the pains of being stuck in a relationship, Bjork advocates "walking toward the edge" of a cliff and "throwing little things off" in order "to feel happier to be safe up here with you."
Just last year, Bjork released "Telegram" a remixed album covering selections from "Post" and featuring among other rarities, tracks spotlighting rappers, stringed instruments and the absence of any music just bare lyrics.
"Homogenic" is the first album after the "Post" era. It is classic Bjork in that it continues to redefine our preconceived standards of the artist. The album juxtaposes selections scored for the String Octet , an ensemble composed of orchestral instruments, and the techo ingenuity of Mark Bell, a member of Britain's electronica elite, LFO. All songs feature the the tiny voice of the Icelandic fairy and each track competes to be as original as possible.
"Homogenic" begins with the incredible hip, "Hunter," a song which talks about the search for home. Bjork muses: "if travel is searching/ and home what's been found/ I'm not stopping/ I'm going hunting." A wafting keyboard sample is the first to catch our attention and then the throbbing bass lines begins.
Deftly produced and complete with a stringed score in the background, along with snatches of accordion, drum machine and lush organ, "Hunter" is Bjork's introduction to the album and her vision.
Classical and techno manage to co-exist in a symbiotic relationship, each one feeding off the other to produce something different and bold.
"Joga," the first single released off the album, is a melancholy track. The String Octet serves to add emotional depth to an already slow and tranquil tune. Highlighting Bjork's knack for the melodramatic, she croons about the "state of emergency/ how beautiful to be."
"Bachelorette" comes to listeners with a deliberate and methodical musical line which is highlighted by the snippets of cosmic fireworks exploding in the background. Samples of harpsichord and bassoon can be heard giving the track a Baroque feel.
"Pluto" is a hard-driving track with Bjork's voice providing the only oasis from the musical volcano that seems to spew with each bar of the song. She roars "excuse me/ but I just have to explode." Bjork's filtered voice along with the driving electronica beats gives the tune an industrial feel.
"Homogenic" is an album which is undoubtedly unlike any of Bjork's others. Testing the artist as a producer and a writer, "Homogenic" is happy then sad, light and then incredibly hard. It ushers the listeners from one extreme (the saccharine ballard) to the other (hard hitting techno).
Bjork thus continues to be a formidable contender in the musical industry. She has decided not to adhere to any one musical category, but just redefine them to fit her tastes.
