Björk is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, actress, and fashion icon, a queen of experimentation and innovation, producing eclectic, genre-bending music. This week, I look at her debut solo album, Debut, which saw her spreading her considerable creative wings.
Ahead of Debut, Björk had garnered significant recognition as the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band the Sugarcubes, a band largely credited with putting Iceland on the map musically. Their debut album, Life’s Too Good, received huge acclaim in the British music press, powered by its lead single, ‘Birthday’, a dreamy banger that demonstrated Björk’s supreme vocal range. The band’s split in 1992 allowed Björk to strike out on her own, embracing the more extroverted sounds that moved her musically.
Björk moved to London following the band’s split. London was on the cusp of a Britpop explosion, a nostalgic reawakening of 60s British rock and pop bands such as the Kinks. Björk was more interested in London’s burgeoning underground scene, with a growing fondness for club culture, and allured by the beats produced by British DJs. Debut was produced by Nellee Hooper, who produced Soul II Soul’s Grammy-winning dance- epic Club Classics Vol. 1. Hooper had also been part of the Wild Bunch, the Bristol-based sound system collective from which Massive Attack emerged, with his trip-hop influences showing on the album, especially on the hazy, intense ‘Come To Me’.
Debut is a stunning smorgasbord of genres, from alternative dance to techno, house, ambient, trip-hop, electronic, jazz, and even elements of world music. Its diversity is stunning, an eleven-track rollercoaster of genres that seamlessly blend without sacrificing her unique sound. The opening track, ‘Human Behaviour’, sets the tone, reflecting on human nature from an animal’s point of view. Inspired by David Attenborough, it has a wry humour, Björk singing, “They’re terribly, terribly, terribly moody,” her elastic vocal range creating a sense of drama. It has a hypnotic quality with its off-kilter industrial-sounding beats and kettle drums, while it features a sampled riff from Brazilian musical legend Antonio Carlos Jobim.
‘Human Behaviour’ was one of six singles produced for the album, the best arguably being the superb ‘Venus as a Boy’. A chilled-out song of beauty and wonder, perfectly captured in Björk’s vocals, with lush strings drifting in and out. The song demonstrates Björk’s interest in Indian music, featuring tabla drumming. The string sections on ‘Venus as a Boy’ and the hazy closer ‘Come To Me’ were recorded in India, thanks to her friend and collaborator Talvin Singh, who features heavily on the record as a percussionist, and musical director.
Tracks like ‘There’s More To Life Than This’, ‘Big Time Sensuality’, and ‘One Day’ are love letters to London’s dance scene. ‘There’s More To Life Than This’ is a pulsing dance anthem, though ironically, the lyrics suggest there’s more to partying, Björk singing about sneaking out of the party. ‘Big Time Sensuality’ is a thumping house banger, a song about embracing primal emotions. Bjork sings, “It takes courage to enjoy it”, insinuating that you must dance with fear to experience the unbridled joys of love. The primal nature of the track is harnessed by Bjork’s, at times, shouted, howled vocals. The song bounces into a funky conclusion before we are swept into the floaty, techno opening of ‘One Day’, a song that implores patience, with a trance-like beat throughout. The salvo of dance-driven tracks is interrupted by the intriguing ‘Like Someone in Love’, a cover of a 1944 Jimmy Van Heusen song popularised by Bing Crosby. It’s a beautifully intimate affair, with its twinkling harp and Björk’s hushed, intimate vocals.
Throughout the record, Björk touches upon themes of love and passion in an uplifting, enthralling manner, encapsulated perfectly on ‘Aeroplane’, a song about missing her then-boyfriend, Oliver Thrupp, who was still living in Iceland. The song’s off-kilter percussion and Björk’s broken vocals combine superbly to create a sense of discord, while the saxophones, which swoon in and out, create a sultry, jazzy vibe at points, creating the intimacy Björk is craving with Thrupp. Passion comes spilling out of her on ‘Violently Happy’, a throbbing, overpowering dance anthem. It’s a song of almost sinister euphoria. The brass-tinged closer ‘The Anchor Song’ seemingly has Björk longing for home. It has a gorgeous, melancholic sound, Björk’s voice full of almost mournful longing.
Debut is a kaleidoscopic effort, demonstrating the power of an artist unshackled. It’s eclectic but accessible, ultimately driven by feel-good messages of love, passion, and friendship. Debut announced Björk as a global phenomenon, and it’s an album that helped drag the underground into the mainstream. An influential and timeless record.