Bjork

Biography

Björk (born November 21st 1965) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter, whose famous hits include "Army of Me" and "It's Oh So Quiet".

Net worth: Bjork has a net worth of $45 million according to Celebrity Net Worth (2015).

Musical Career: Björk first became known through her original group, The Sugarcubes. Her solo career kick started with her album 'Debut', which was infused with a mixture of electronica, house, jazz, and trip-pop. She was actually one of the first artists who mixed electronic dance music with mainstream pop. Björk's musical style has set her aside, combining an array of genres such as dance, rock, classical, electronic, and avant-garde. Björk's success is reflected through 30 of her singles reaching the top 40 around the world. These included "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army Of Me", and "Hyperballad". By 2003, Björk sold over 15 million albums, according to her record label, The Little Indian. Björk's first 6 albums proved a huge success, selling more than 20 million copies world wide. Brit, MTV Video Music, Icelandic Music, and Polar Music, are among the awards won by Björk. The first of its kind; Björk's album 'Biophilia' was released as a series of apps, offering an interactive experience, and her unique creation got a place in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. Björk ranked 29th in the 100 greatest women in music (VH1), 8th in 22 greatest voices in music (MTV), and 60th in 100 greatest singers of all time (Rolling Stones).

Personal life: Bjork grew up in Reykjavík, Iceland with her activist mother Hildur Rúna, who divorced Bjork's electrician father Guðmundur at her birth. She went to Barnamúsíkskóli school to study piano and flute, and was broadcast singing on the RÚV radio station. Björk has two children; Sindri Eldon Þórsson, whose father is ex-Sugacubes bandmate Þór Eldon, and Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney, whose father is her current partner, Matthew Barney.

Biography by Contactmusic.com

11 Amazing Albums By Female Artists The 90s Brought Us

By Holly Mosley in Music / Festivals on 28 August 2020

Liz Phair Alanis Morissette Lauryn Hill Garbage Skunk Anansie The Cranberries TLC Tori Amos PJ Harvey Bjork

If only we could go back...

The 90s is by far one of our favourite decades for music, not only because of its rich and diverse span of genres, but also because of the incredible female talent that came out of that time. Here are just a few of the greatest women-led albums of this extraordinary era.

1. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes (1992)

This American redhead's debut album was actually a second attempt which she worked on with her then boyfriend Eric Rosse following the break-up of her band Y Kant Tori Read. It became a tour de force, breaking pop conventions with its acoustic piano and Tori's unusual vocal style, and lyrics that range from the funny to the surreal. It's a sublime commentary on female sexuality and it hasn't aged a day.

Continue reading: 11 Amazing Albums By Female Artists The 90s Brought Us

Seven Pop Acts That Alternative People Will Admit They Love

By Holly Mosley in Music / Festivals on 03 May 2019

Halsey CHVRCHES The Twilight Sad Bjork Bring Me The Horizon Grimes

These artists are no-one's guilty pleasure.

The world is by no means split into those who like alternative music and those who like pop music, but we can't help but get excited when we see a hugely diverse fanbase for an artist generally considered a chart act. Here are seven artists that bring together some very different music fans.

Billie Eilish

The alternative crowd are naturally used to turning the other way when a new face hits the charts, but there's something about this moody, quirky teen that has caught everyone's attention. Not only does she come across as a real person we can all relate to, as opposed to another manufactured, vapid popstar, her music has a weirdness and a darkness to it that has the alternative folk enchanted. And yet, her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is still as catchy and accessible as you'd expect from a chart-topping record.

Continue reading: Seven Pop Acts That Alternative People Will Admit They Love

Bjork's Star Wars Song

By Clive King in Music / Festivals on 17 November 2017

Bjork

Bjork claims a new song on her upcoming album features birdsong that sounds like lovable 'Star Wars' droid R2-D2.

Bjork's new album has a song which features effects that ''sound like R2-D2.''

The Icelandic singer's upcoming LP 'Utopia' has several songs that feature birdsong and on one track, 'The Gate', the sound is particularly unusual and though it comes from a recording of the animals, Bjork thinks they sound more like the loveable 'Star Wars' droid.

She said: ''I used a vinyl album of Venezuelan music I had, [Hekura-Yanomamo Shamanism From Southern Venezuela], that was recorded in the '70s - Venezuelan birds.

Continue reading: Bjork's Star Wars Song

So Wy Can You Not Listen To Bjork's 'Vulnicura' On Spotify?

By Stephanie Chase in Music / Festivals on 28 February 2015

Bjork

The Icelandic singer joins the growing list of artist keeping their music off the streaming service.

You may have noticed that Bjork’s latest album Vulnicura, which landed in January, is yet to appear on streaming services such as Spotify and it doesn't appear the singer is about to change this anytime soon.

Bjork Bjork's Vulnicura, not on Spotify

Explaining her decision to withhold the record from streaming services, Bjork told Fast Company, "We're all making it up as it goes, to be honest. I would like to say there's some master plan going on [with the album release], but there isn't. But a few months ago I emailed my manager and said, "Guess what? This streaming thing just does not feel right. I don't know why, but it just seems insane.”

Continue reading: So Wy Can You Not Listen To Bjork's 'Vulnicura' On Spotify?

Headliner Bjork To Bring 'Vulnicura' To Oxfordshire's Wilderness Festival 2015

By Holly Williams in Music / Festivals on 17 February 2015

Bjork Wilderness Festival Ben Howard George Clinton Roisin Murphy Nick Mulvey Nils Frahm Hercules and Love Affair Benjamin Clementine Will And The People

The singer is joined by Ben Howard and George Clinton on the line-up.

Bjork has become the latest headline announcement for Wilderness Festival 2015, set to hit Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire, UK from August 6th to 9th following the release of her acclaimed ninth album 'Vulnicura' early this year. She'll appear as the main act on the Friday.

Bjork - Vulnicura
Bjork to headline Wilderness 2015

Having released the follow-up to her 2011 record 'Biophilia' in January, the popular avant-garde Icelandic singer is taking to the road in support of it in the coming months. Among the handful of dates so far announced this year, she'll be topping Friday's bill at Wilderness in the Summer, alongside previously announced headliners for Saturday and Sunday, Ben Howard and George Clinton, the latter of whom will be rocking both his bands Parliament and Funkadelic.

Continue reading: Headliner Bjork To Bring 'Vulnicura' To Oxfordshire's Wilderness Festival 2015

Bjork - Vulnicura Album Review

By Jim Pusey in Music Reviews on 30 January 2015

Björk has always navigated a delicate balance between genius and whimsy. The 49-year-old's ninth solo album certainly falls pretty close to the former category, making it all the more disappointing that an internet leak has overshadowed the release of 'Vulnicura'. While certainly not pop in the most traditional sense, this is a bold, accomplished and intensely personal artistic statement. Indeed, for Björk's standards, this is quite a conventional sounding record, but as you'd expect, her interpretation of conventional is gloriously off the map if it were to be applied to other artists.

Drawing back from the envelope-pushing multi-media experience of 2011's 'Biophilia', Björk has chosen to channel her inner torment following the breakdown of her relationship with Matthew Barney. Despite the epic soundscapes, it's actually quite an emotionally claustrophobic album, which has a sonic narrative that escalates to a dramatic climax. That may all sound rather highbrow, verging on pretentious, but when an artist is so obviously using their art for cathartic purposes, it's difficult not to be pulled into the minutia.

Constraining herself to string arrangements and pre-programmed beats, there's a strange clash of old and new musical disciplines here that make the project rather unique. It's reminiscent of some of her previous work, but the raw emotion on display makes this a compelling, if not entirely comfortable, album. Lyrically, 'Vulnicura' is surprisingly direct, by the second track 'Lionsong' it's pretty easy to spot the motivation behind these nine songs. For example, Björk sounds incredibly vulnerable when she sings: "Once it was simple, one feeling at a time. It reached its peak, then transformed. These abstract complex feelings, I just don't know how to handle them". It almost makes me wonder whether there was an unconscious decision to score everything with strings here, as they would quite literally provide moments that tug on the heartstrings.

Continue reading: Bjork - Vulnicura Album Review

You Do Realise Bjork's 'Vulnicura' Has A 10-Minute Diss Track?

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 22 January 2015

Bjork

Bjork said her 2013 breakup was the most painful thing she had ever experienced.

Bjork's new album Vulnicura, which was rush-released this week after an online leak, is "complete heartbreak album" and features a 10-minute diss track aimed at her ex-boyfriend, the American multimedia artist Matthew Barney. Much of the album focuses on the relationship though 'Black Lake' is a 10-minute song in which the Icelandic singer-songwriter throws the proverbial darts at Barney.

Bjork Bjork called her 2013 break-up the most painful thing she had ever experienced

The song focuses on the events 2 months after the breakup. As Billboard notes, Bjork is "pissed" cannot deal with things and feels wronged.

Continue reading: You Do Realise Bjork's 'Vulnicura' Has A 10-Minute Diss Track?

Bjork Surprise Releases New Album 'Vulnicura' On ITunes

By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 20 January 2015

Bjork

The Icelandic indie icon follows in the footsteps of Beyonce and U2 by instantly releasing her new album ‘Vulnicura’ today.

Bjork’s new album Vulnicura has unexpectedly been released on iTunes less than one week after its announcement. Just six days ago, the singer posted a handwritten note on her Facebook page unveiling details of her ninth record, but the release date has been pushed forward by over two months.

The surprise decision may not have been made for fully artistic reasons, after Stereogum reported over the weekend that the new album had been leaked. The rushed release would therefore almost certainly be a response to that. The CD and vinyl editions of Vulnicura are still scheduled for their original March 23rd release dates, we understand.

Bjork
Distinctive singer Bjork has rushed out the release of new album 'Vulnicura' after online leaks

Continue reading: Bjork Surprise Releases New Album 'Vulnicura' On ITunes

Bjork Announces New Album 'Vulnicura' For Release In March

By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 15 January 2015

Bjork Kanye West FKA Twigs

The distinctive Icelandic singer will release her ninth album in March, her first new material in nearly four years.

Legendary singer Bjork has announced the release of a new album in March this year. The Icelandic songstress took to her Facebook account to post a handwritten note which unveiled some details of the new record, which will be called Vulnicura.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to announce my new album is coming out in March. It is called: Vulnicura,” she wrote. She also announced its full tracklisting, which consists of nine songs. The running sequence is ‘Stonemilker’; ‘Lionsong’; ‘History of Touches’; ‘Black Lake’; ‘Family’; ‘Notget’; ‘Atom Dance’; ‘Mouth Mantra’ and ‘Quicksand’.

Bjork
Bjork, pictured here at the Webby Awards in 2012, is releasing her ninth album in March

Continue reading: Bjork Announces New Album 'Vulnicura' For Release In March

Bjork: Biophilia Live Review

By Rich Cline

Very Good

Bjork's fans will adore this film, which captures the last night of her Biophilia world tour with remarkable artistry and an attention to detail. Those who don't know her work might find it somewhat hard-going. Bjork's music is thematically deep and aurally complex, but the songs are often atonal. None are very easy to hum along with. Still, the creative filmmaking offers some ideas for future concert documentaries.

In September 2013 at Alexandra Palace in North London, Bjork gave the final live performance of her Biophilia song cycle about the elements and nature. So it's only natural that the film is introduced with narration from David Attenborough. On-stage, Bjork interacts with musicians Manu Delago and Matt Robertson, as well as a large choir of women from Iceland walking barefoot around her as they sing in eerie harmony. Filmmakers Nick Fenton and Peter Strickland then take the imagery from her video screens and layer it onto the movie. So for much of the film it looks like Bjork is performing on a stage floating in outer space, alongside a gigantic squid or erupting volcano. Then eventually the crowd resolves around her, participating in this celebration of the natural world.

With that Attenborough opening and Bjork's cheeky expressions, there's a nicely witty undercurrent to the whole film. And the cameras capture the performance from askance angles that reveal unexpected things about the amazing instruments Bjork has created with her musicians. Not only do they sound beautiful, but they are just as fascinating to explore with our eyes as the outrageous plasticky onion-white dress she's wearing. Accompanying this is an unusually sharp audio mix that lets us hear every sound. Although this only makes us wish we could understand the lyrics of the songs, which are often strange and moody and hardly seem like songs at all.

Continue reading: Bjork: Biophilia Live Review

Molly Siems & Lara Bjork - The American Museum Of Natural History For 2013 Museum Spring Dance Under The Sea - New York, NY, United States - Thursday 18th April 2013