Live 8 Concert
DVDs
& CDs from bands playing at the Live 8 Concerts: BUY
NOW Live 8 DVD
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bjork
Bjork, vocals,
Bjork's
most popular CDs and DVDs: Telegram,
Bjork, Bjork - Greatest Hits, Drawing Restraint, Homogenic, Medulla
Buy
DVDs and CDs from your
favorite musicians.
Buy the Complete
Live 8 DVD set here
(4 Box set)
,
Set list:
Pagan
Poetry
All is Full of love 3:33
Desired Constellation
Jonga
Hyperballad
Generous Palmstroke
bachelorette
It's In Our Hands (Soft Pink Truth Remix)
Discography:
 |
Bjork - Greatest hits |
| Buy this
CD at: |
 |
Drawing Restraint |
| Buy this
CD at: |
 |
Homogenic |
| Buy this
CD at: |
 |
Medulla |
| Buy this
CD at: |
Shop for Bjork
's full collection:
Shop for music, cds, dvds movies, books and more...
Bjork at Live 8
Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born on
November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Bjork is an Icelandic
singer/songwriter with a great expressive range and an interest in many
kinds of music including popular, trip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, electronica,
folk, and classical.
Björk usually goes by her first name only. This is not a stage name
or affectation; it is normal for an Icelander to be referred to by his
or her first name, as the last name simply indicates the name of the father.
See Icelandic naming conventions.
Björk means "a birch tree" in Icelandic (the meaning of
Icelandic names is often transparent), cognate with Old English beorc
and the modern English word. Though many English-speakers pronounce her
name "Byork", a more accurate approximation would be "Byerk",
which she has pointed out rhymes with "jerk". Guðmundsdóttir
is pronounced roughly "Gvuth-muns-doe-ter", and means "Guðmundur's
daughter".
Early career
Björk's musical career began at the age of eleven, when she began
studying classical piano in elementary school. One of her instructors
submitted a recording of Björk singing Tina Charles' song "I
Love to Love" to Radio One, an Iceland radio station. The recording
was aired nationally; upon hearing it, a representative of the record
label Fálkinn contacted Björk with a record contract offer.
With the help of her stepfather, who played guitar, she recorded her first
album, eponymously entitled Björk, in 1977, which featured several
Icelandic children's songs, and covers of popular songs such as the Beatles'
"Fool on the Hill", sung in Icelandic. The album became a smash
hit in Iceland, though it was virtually unknown elsewhere.
Punk music began to have an influence on Björk; at the age of fourteen,
she formed the all-girl punk band Spit and Snot, shortly followed by a
jazz fusion group called Exodus in 1979. In 1980, she graduated from music
school at the age of fifteen, and in 1981, she and Exodus bassist Jakob
Magnússon formed another band, Tappi Tíkarrass, and released
an extended single, Bitið fast í vitið in the same year.
Their album Miranda was released in 1983.
Björk next collaborated with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Einar
Melax from Purrkur Pillnikk, and Guðlaugur Óttarsson, Sigtryggur
Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen from Þeyr. After writing songs and
rehearsing for two weeks they (under the name KUKL which means 'witchcraft'
in Icelandic) found they worked well together, and decided to continue,
developing a sound that some have described as resembling Goth music.
Björk began to show indications of what would become her trademark
singing style, punctuated with howls and shrieks.
KUKL toured Iceland with UK anarchist band Crass, and later visited the
UK in a series of performances with Flux of Pink Indians. The band produced
two albums as a result of these collaborations: The Eye in 1984, and Holidays
in Europe in 1986, both on Crass Records. In the summer of 1986, several
members of KUKL went on to form a band called Pukl but soon changed the
name to Sugarcubes.
Popularity
The Sugarcubes' first single, "Ammæli" (or "Birthday"
in English), became a huge hit in England. They gained a significant cult
following in the US and UK, and calls from record companies began coming
in. Eventually the band signed with One Little Indian in the UK and with
Elektra Records in the United States, and recorded their first album,
Life's Too Good, in 1988. The album propelled them into international
stardom-the first Icelandic rock band to achieve such popularity.
While with the Sugarcubes, Björk participated in a number of side
projects. She recorded Gling-Gló, a collection of popular jazz
and original work, with the bebop group Trio Guðmundar Ingólfssonar,
released in Iceland. Björk also contributed vocals to 808 State's
album Ex:El, a collaboration which cultivated her interest in house music.
Tensions steadily mounted between Björk and Einar Örn, however,
and by 1992 the Sugarcubes dissolved. Björk moved to London and began
thinking about a solo career; to this end, she began working with producer
Nellee Hooper, who had produced for Massive Attack, among others.
Their partnership produced Björk's first international solo hit,
"Human Behaviour". Her solo debut album, simply entitled Debut,
was released in June of 1993, to positive reviews; it was named album
of the year by New Musical Express, and eventually went platinum in the
United States. Debut was a mix of songs Björk had written since she
was a teenager as well as newer lyrical collaborations with Hooper.
The success of Debut led her to collaborate with other artists on one-off
tracks; she worked with David Arnold on "Play Dead", the theme
to the 1993 film The Young Americans (which appeared as an extra track
on a re-release of Debut) and also appeared on a track on the 1997 album
Not For Threes by Plaid, which was released on the cult Warp Records label.
Björk returned to the studio during 1994 to work on her next solo
album with Nellee Hooper, Tricky, Graham Massey of 808 State, and electronic
music producer Howie B. The album, Post, contained songs based on Björk's
relationships and songs about love (one of her favorite subjects), as
well as some angry and confrontational material. Like "Debut,"
it was a collection partly made up of songs she had written in past years.
She wrote the song "Bedtime Story" for Madonna's 1994 album
Bedtime Stories, which became Madonna's first single released in 1995
and performed on MTV Unplugged during this time. By 1995, the new album
Post was ready; it was released in June, reaching number two on the UK's
pop charts, and also went platinum in the United States. January of 1997
saw the release of Telegram, an album of uncharacteristic remixes of songs
from Post.
Later that year, the minimalist electronic album Homogenic was released.
Björk worked with producers Mark Bell of LFO and Howie B on the album,
as well as Eumir Deodato; numerous remixes followed. Homogenic was her
first conceptually self-contained album and is regarded as one of Björk's
most experimental and extroverted works to date, with enormous beats that
reflect the landscape of Iceland. The album contains a string of memorable
music videos, several of which received airplay on American MTV. "All
Is Full of Love" became an alt-rock hit in 1999. The album eventually
reached gold status in the States in 2001.
In 2001 the album Vespertine was released. This album saw Björk creating
an introverted, internal, personal world of microbeats and tiny rhythms.
The album featured chamber orchestras, Inuit choirs, very hushed vocals
and personal, vulnerable themes. She collaborated with experimental sound
manipulators Matmos, a DJ from Denmark Thomas Knak, and an experimental
harpist Zeena Parkins for the album. Lyrical sources included American
poet E. E. Cummings and independent filmmaker Harmony Korine.
The album spawned three singles: "Hidden Place", "Pagan
Poetry", and "Cocoon". America's then-more independent
and artistic music video channel, MTV2, played the album's first video,
"Hidden Place", pretty heavily, despite its somewhat controversial
lyrics and imagery. However, the next video, for "Pagan Poetry",
brought Björk to an even higher level of controversy with the channel.
The song's video features graphic piercings, blurred sex scenes, and Björk's
exposed nipples. As a result, the clip was initially rarely played in
America, even by MTV2, and certain parts (for example, Björk's breasts)
were censored out during the rare occasions when it was played. In 2002,
the clip finally enjoyed unedited American airing as part of a late night
special on MTV2 entitled Most Controversial Music Videos. Previously banned
or censored videos were shown in their entirety during the TV-MA-rated
special which aired on MTV2 regularly on weekends between 1 and 5 AM,
until the infamous Janet Jackson incident at the 2004 Super Bowl. The
video for "Cocoon" also featured a naked Björk, this time
with her nipples secreting a red thread that eventually enveloped the
singer herself in a cocoon. The video received no American airplay.
In 2003 Björk released a series of low-priced DVDs and CD box set
called "Family Tree". Greatest Hits saw the release of a retrospective
of the previous 10 years of her solo career. The songs on the album were
chosen by Björk's fans through a poll on Björk's website. A
DVD edition of the CD was also released; it contained all of Björk's
solo music videos up to that point.
2004 saw the release of Björk's Medúlla, in late August. "Medúlla"
was a more impromptu piece of work after two concept albums, and in the
midst of production, Björk decided the album would work best as an
entirely vocal-based album. She used the vocal skills of Hip hop Beatboxer
Rahzel, avant-rocker Mike Patton, Soft Machine drummer/singer Robert Wyatt,
and several choirs; she again appropriated text from poet e. e. cummings
for the song "Sonnets/Unrealities XI."
In August 2004 Björk performed the song "Oceania" (from
her Medúlla album) at the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, Greece. In typical Björk style, her performance was one
of the more unique of the event. As she sang, her dress slowly unravelled
to reveal a 10,000 square foot (900 m²) map of the world, which she
let flow over all of the Olympic atheletes. The song "Oceania"
was written especially for the occasion. Shortly after, an alternate version
of the song began circulating on the internet with additional vocals by
Kelis. Though some were confused as to the authenticity of this collaboration,
Björk's camp confirmed its legitimacy.
The follow-up of "Oceania" was "Who is it" which charted
at No.26 in the UK followed by "Triumph of a Heart" in 2005
charting at No.31. A video for the potential next single, "Where
is the Line", was filmed in collaboration with Icelandic Artist,
Gabríela Fridriksdóttir in late 2004.
With the disaterous tsunami which struck southeastern Asia in late 2004,
Björk began working on a new project, "Army of Me-Xes".
This new project recruited fans and musicians from around the world as
Björk posted on her website the need for the covering and remixing
of the 1995 hit, "Army of Me". Björk was overwhelmed with
the 600 responses which came flooding in. Out of these Björk as well
as co-writer Graham Massey, picked the best 20 to appear on the album.
The album was released in late May in the US and in April in the UK. It
peaked at No.14 on the dance albums chart in the UK. It was recently posted
on her official website, www.bjork.com, that she is currently working
on a
In 2005, Björk collaborated with her New York-based long-time boyfriend
Matthew Barney on the experimental art film Drawing Restraint 9, a no-dialogue
exploration of Japanese culture. She was also responsible for the film's
soundtrack, her second after 2000's Selmasongs.
In addition, it is also reported that she is working on a follow-up to
Medulla and after this album she will embark on a lengthy tour.
Björk in film
Björk in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the DarkBjörk's intermittent
acting career began in 1990, when she appeared in Juniper Tree, a tale
of witchcraft based on the Brothers Grimm story of the same name. Björk
played the role of Margit, a girl whose mother has been killed for practising
witchcraft. Björk also had an uncredited role in 1994's Prêt-à-Porter.
This article about Bjork is posted under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from this Wikipedia
article.
Bjork music CDs and Live 8 DVDs.
If your like our Live 8 website, let people know.
Link your site to ours: Link to us details here.
Bands that played Live 8 Japan
Bjork
Def Tech
Do
As Infinity
Dreams Come True
Good Charlotte
McFly
Rize
More artists at these venues:
Live
8 Canada
Live 8 Eden Project
Live 8 France
Live 8 Germany
Live 8 Italy - Rome
Live 8 Japan - Tokyo
Live 8 Russia
Live 8 South Africa
Live 8 UK - London
Live 8 USA
