Earlier this week, Björk issued a statement that took the Icelandic publication The Reykjavik Grapevine to task for crediting Valgeir Sigurðsson with writing the arrangements on her 2001 album, Vespertine. The singer responded to the news item in a detailed statement that includes a list of the album’s credits. Björk wants to make the music press accountable for perpetuating the perception that men turn all the knobs in the production of electronic music.

Her full post appears on her website. The excerpt here gives one of four reasons why the misunderstanding around crediting continues to persist.

I´ll admit that one thing could confuse things: people have to use their ears and actually read the creditlist[sic] to get this information. all the music i have made: like for example string arrangements, synthbasslines [sic] or programming of electronic patterns, i never play myself live because i want to give 100% of myself into the singing i either ask the computers to play it or i get other musicians to play it. this could confuse things.

She also makes reference to a journalistic incident with M.I.A., the London-based Sri Lankan electro artist, citing Pitchfork Media’s insinuation that her musical partner at the time, Diplo, was responsible for her sophomore release, Kala. … continue reading

Björk is not on my iPod.

Don't misunderstand. I think Björk is brilliant. And she's weird — something I value highly, as a fellow weirdo. But her music is an experience, not something to put on the mp3 player to help you keep your workout rhythm. When I play Björk, I listen.

Last year's Volta is a good example. Here's how Rolling Stone described the album: "Ten luxuriant, often dark songs ranging from Martian electronica to inimitable balladry to id-channeling reveries, with African percussion, thick brass and deeply emotional singing." … continue reading

Ever since Malinda told us about SpotDJ over the summer, I've been spending far too much time making mix tapes. I think part of the appeal is that when I was of mix-tape age, the technology was not friendly to such an endeavor. Making any kind of compilation required finding a stereo that had both a turntable and cassette recorder, then painstakingly finding songs on records and recording them to cassette. You young'uns have it so easy. And yes, I did have to walk to school in the snow.

Anyway, what better reason to make a mix tape than Halloween? I started with the intention of doing an all-female mix. For reasons I don't care to explore, the first song I thought of was "The End" by Nico. And Pat Benatar's "Hell Is for Children." When did Benatar start looking like this?

Bjork is always kind of scary, and "Ancestors" is a great Halloween song. And nothing says horror like "Rawhead and Bloody Bones" by Siouxsie & the Banshees.

But when I went to make the mix, I hit a snag. Most of the songs I wanted weren't available via SpotDJ. And honestly, could you imagine a Halloween mix without "Thriller?" So, I decided to fill in with songs loved by a woman, namely me. … continue reading

I guess we already knew that Björk is living in a braver, newer world than the rest of us.

But a recent post on the Wired website revealed just how cutting-edge she is. The article describes the reacTable, a "tangible music interface." The first two sentences kinda made me drool:

"The reacTable, a new instrument that lets musicians manipulate sounds by moving glowing blocks on a round, transparent table, is wowing festival audiences after it was hand-picked by Björk for use on the singer's summer tour. The modular synthesizer mashes up shades of Tron, laser hockey and classic Moogs using open-source reacTivision software and an under-the-hood camera to track blocks that, when added, rotated or moved, combine to produce beeps, whoops and soaring synth lines."

Leave it to Björk to popularize something like this, right? She's sorta the patron saint of the off-kilter. … continue reading