Björk

Björk on the cover of her 2nd studio album 'Post'

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Björk is a singer/songwriter who grew up and was born in Iceland. Her musical career began in 1977 when Björk was 12 and a radio station helped her create an album of covers of popular songs. She then collaborated in many bands such as Tappi Tikarrass, KUKL, The Elgar Sisters and The Sugarcubes. The Sugarcubes was the band that spring boarded her career into the international scene, but after their third studio album, the group disintegrated:

"Sugarcubes, number one was people. We liked each other and we had a good time together and the music that came out of that relationship was a bit of an accident. When I realized the Sugarcubes had become this serious band-thing, I started to realize that it was now or never. If I didn't record all those songs I'd written in my head, then it would never do it." "You shouldn't milk out a joke for too long."

After a few other collaborations, Björk finally released her first official solo album of new material titled Debut. The album, rich with playful beats and unique melodies, quickly went Platinum in the U.S.

Her presence in the pop scene continued with subsequent releases Post, a more electronically inspired album with classic elements, then Homogenic, which experimented further with her unique sound and spawned the song 'All Is Full of Love' (the video of which, directed by Chris Cunningham, won countless awards for it's advances in video technology) and one of Amy's favorite Björk songs: 'Jòga.'

After the era of Homogenic, her focus changed to the movie 'Dancer In The Dark' in which she starred and for which she wrote the soundtrack titled Selmasongs. Björk played a blind woman, Selma, who used music to overcome her many problems in life, and ultimately her death.

Vespertine came next where Björk played with tiny beats and sounds, while still always keeping classical strings a vital part of her repertoire. It was within the era of Vespertine where the famous Swan Dress appeared, which raised eyebrows at the 2001 Academy Awards. The next year, Björk released Greatest Hits, Family Tree—'a taxonomy of songs' from her entire musical career—and a complete videography called Volumen. She also released 4 live albums to compliment each of her previous studio albums respectively.

Her next studio album, Medúlla, features music that is almost 100% human vocals (While most of the album consists of vocals, a few instruments managed to sneak in. There is a gong on 'The Pleasure is all Mine,' a bass synth on 'Oceania,' and Björk plays the piano on 'Ancestors'). The avant-garde sound of this album is totally different from any of her previous work. It is the only album, as of yet, that has not been toured live.

Björk later starred in and wrote the soundtrack for her current boyfriend Matthew Barney's movie Drawing Restraint 9, an art film that focuses on 'change of form.' The movie briefly toured independent theaters around the world and spent over a year at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as an exhibit. Björk explored traditional Japanese music styles to complement the experimental film where two lovers find themselves on a whaling ship and cut off and eat pieces of each other's legs before making love, turning into whales, and swimming away (to put it simply).

Her most recent studio album, Volta, was released in April of 2007 and was accompanied by her first worldwide tour in 4 years. The album is yet another reinvention for the artist with strong brass rhythms and creative use of unique instrumentation. In 2009, she produced a live compilation titled Voltaic including studio recordings of songs as they were performed live, a live concert DVD, a disc of Volta remixes and a DVD of music videos to document her epic 2-year tour.

Björk has two children, her son Sindri (born June 8th 1986) and her daughter Ísadóra (born October 3rd 2002). Sindri bears a very striking resemblance to his mother and is a noted photojournalist in Iceland and the UK.

Amy and Björk

When asked about her significant musical influences, Björk is almost always mentioned by Amy in interviews. A few times she elaborates:

She's my idol, - Lee gushed. - It was the only time I was awestruck. I was so shocked to meet her I could hardly speak, which is embarrassing. Because I believe we're all equal and fame doesn't mean much and that we're all just people. But with Björk, it was so hard for me. I've always been that 'dumb fan' with her. Her art has inspired me so much. I wanted to understand all her lyrics because they were so intimate. It was like she was offering a piece of herself she would never be able to if not through her art. When people approach me freaking out — shaking and crying — I just tell them I'm no different. I want to tell them that I'm nothing special. But I also don't want to ruin their moment. But there I was, pulling the same crap on Björk," Lee said, letting out a big sigh. "I felt like such a stupid fan. 'I can't stick around for champagne, Björk, I have to go off and cry.' And I did. I held it together and then I went off and cried. I had just seen her perform for the first time.

I'd love to collaborate with Björk, but I honestly don't think there's anything I could bring to the table the she couldn't do better. I just saw her live the other night in Madison Square Garden and was completely stunned as always. I leave her show an emotional wreck—if any of you haven't explored her music, RUN to the store and buy Post, Homogenic, Vespertine, or ANY of them. There is nothing like Björk. She is the Mozart of our time.

Amy's favorite Björk album is Post, while her favourite songs are "Crystalline", "Army Of Me", "Joga" e "Pagan Poetry". Amy has also been spotted at a few of Björk's live performances.

In a 2006 interview at Rolling Stone Germany, Björk stated:

RS: In the actual musical scene, wich singer do you admire? Björk: In the actual musical scene, i really like Amy Lee from Evanescence. RS: Have you had any contact with her? Björk: In a show in Japan, she went to my room and we drank champagne together, she was really cool and funny, we just had a great time. she just has an amazing voice and the way she expresses her feelings and emotions in the music its also amazing, withput a dubt she would be one of the greatest in the scene, now, if we focus in the general scence we would have so many options thats its just hard to think of it.

External Links

• bjork.com
• the Björk FAQ
• Björk on Wikipedia
• Amy speaking about Björk