It was the summer of 2006. I had spent the better part of an hour sampling a huge variety of musical groups in the CD section of Barnes and Noble when I ran across several Bjork albums. I had heard OF her before, but never really had taken the time to actively listen to her music. What little I had heard before had honestly grated on my nerves, and/or unimpressed me. But, I had continued to hear how a small legion's worth of fans swore by her music, and I decided to give "Medulla" a chance. Just one short listen.
What I heard for the next few minutes sent chills down my spine layers upon layers of vocals and nothing else. Pure a cappella bliss - unconventional, gritty, graceful; full of complex harmonies, beat boxing, full choirs, strange time signatures, and Bjork's signature voice. Which for some reason didn't annoy me as much as it enchanted me. I bought it immediately, rushed home, and popped it in my DVD player.
What followed was, literally, a life-changing hour of music. It was an assault on my ears from all directions, ranging from a single solo voice to dozens upon dozens; from clean, pure vocals to highly-distorted almost-unrecognizable samples of voice, to guttural "noises" that challenged my comfort zone. Make no mistake, there is nothing conventional about this album, save a few beautifully-recorded choral pieces, but even then, Bjork's emotive, guttural voice contrasts beautifully with the choir, setting it apart from any choral piece you may have ever heard.
Lyrically, the music is kind of hard to classify - much like the music itself. Themes of sadness, joy, lost love, and everything in between make themselves known. Bjork uses a language of her own, which I like to call "Bjorkish", which is featured on several pieces, simply adding to the other-worldly feel of the album. What's important to note, however, is that regardless of if you can understand the words, you can clearly understand the emotions of the songs. Several songs had me in such an unsettled state, in fact, that I almost had to fast forward it. But I dare not. And I now appreciate those tracks more for that simple reason - if music is supposed to be a reflection of human emotion, then Bjork is one of the few musicians I've ever listened who has managed to capture more than just "happy", "sad", or "angry".
My favorite track on the album is, without a doubt, "Desired Constellations" - a song which Bjork ponders the mistakes of her life, likening her attempts to make things right to tossing stars across the sky repeatedly and randomly, hoping to find the right constellation with each throw. Starting with a mellow, unrecognizable loop of an Icelandic Choir, Bjork's soft vocals build to a heart-wrenching climax in which she croons, "How am I going to make this right?" It came at a time in my life when I was asking the exact same thing. Talk about capturing and emotion and expressing it in a song.
It was the 5.1 mix of this album that really got me thinking about audio recording engineering. It was such a dynamic mix to such a dynamic album, full of emotion and complexity. And while this album got me hooked on the rest of her repertoire, there is still no doubt in my mind that this is, and will be, one of my favorite albums for years.
What I heard for the next few minutes sent chills down my spine layers upon layers of vocals and nothing else. Pure a cappella bliss - unconventional, gritty, graceful; full of complex harmonies, beat boxing, full choirs, strange time signatures, and Bjork's signature voice. Which for some reason didn't annoy me as much as it enchanted me. I bought it immediately, rushed home, and popped it in my DVD player.
What followed was, literally, a life-changing hour of music. It was an assault on my ears from all directions, ranging from a single solo voice to dozens upon dozens; from clean, pure vocals to highly-distorted almost-unrecognizable samples of voice, to guttural "noises" that challenged my comfort zone. Make no mistake, there is nothing conventional about this album, save a few beautifully-recorded choral pieces, but even then, Bjork's emotive, guttural voice contrasts beautifully with the choir, setting it apart from any choral piece you may have ever heard.
Lyrically, the music is kind of hard to classify - much like the music itself. Themes of sadness, joy, lost love, and everything in between make themselves known. Bjork uses a language of her own, which I like to call "Bjorkish", which is featured on several pieces, simply adding to the other-worldly feel of the album. What's important to note, however, is that regardless of if you can understand the words, you can clearly understand the emotions of the songs. Several songs had me in such an unsettled state, in fact, that I almost had to fast forward it. But I dare not. And I now appreciate those tracks more for that simple reason - if music is supposed to be a reflection of human emotion, then Bjork is one of the few musicians I've ever listened who has managed to capture more than just "happy", "sad", or "angry".
My favorite track on the album is, without a doubt, "Desired Constellations" - a song which Bjork ponders the mistakes of her life, likening her attempts to make things right to tossing stars across the sky repeatedly and randomly, hoping to find the right constellation with each throw. Starting with a mellow, unrecognizable loop of an Icelandic Choir, Bjork's soft vocals build to a heart-wrenching climax in which she croons, "How am I going to make this right?" It came at a time in my life when I was asking the exact same thing. Talk about capturing and emotion and expressing it in a song.
It was the 5.1 mix of this album that really got me thinking about audio recording engineering. It was such a dynamic mix to such a dynamic album, full of emotion and complexity. And while this album got me hooked on the rest of her repertoire, there is still no doubt in my mind that this is, and will be, one of my favorite albums for years.
Then again, I can sing almost every Spice Girl and ABBA song, so I can't talk.