Björk’s favourite albums of the 21st century
As new forms of electronic music began to emerge in the 1990s, building from the success of certain producers and artists from the previous decade, Björk released her first solo album, the aptly-named Debut, blending these sub-genres, like house, IDM and electropop. However, the artist’s brilliance came from the fact that she was able to merge these sounds with a variety of other genres, like jazz, trip-hop, alternative rock, industrial and pop, as well as her distinctive voice.
Several decades later, Björk is still making boundary-pushing and innovative music, proving herself to be a true visionary. Whether she’s screeching over a pounding beat or whispering over a gentler palette, Björk is always doing something interesting. With every album, she has collaborated with new figures, drawn inspiration from the most unlikely of sources, and experimented with new ways of creating music (such as making a record where most of the instruments were performed by the human voice).
She cites everything from her native Iceland and the rainforest to Kate Bush and avant-garde composers as musical inspiration, seemingly putting no limit on the boundaries of her influences. The musician can find equal inspiration from music as she can from natural sounds and phenomena, which makes her work so captivating.
Music is clearly the main love of Björk’s life, and she has not stopped actively discovering new music over the years, keeping up to date with those who are actively innovating experimental and electronic realms. From Death Grips to Mica Levi, Björk has championed many modern artists over the years. However, when The Rest Is Noise asked the singer to list 11 of her most beloved albums, old and new, she had two 21st century picks that feel like quintessential Björk favourites.
The first is Drukqs by Aphex Twin, who has had a significant impact on Björk’s use of electronic music. The ambient musician released his first record, Selected Ambient Works 85–92, in 1992, shortly before Björk released Debut. However, she selected his 2001 record as a favourite, which contains the iconic piano-led number ‘Avril 14th’. She has been a fan for a while, once hailing his song ‘Come to Daddy’ “a masterpiece” and calling Aphex Twin a “pioneer.”
Drukqs features many tracks with a similar essence to ‘Avril 14th’, while others are more rooted in drum and bass and heavier electronic stylings. For Björk, who has shown an equal love for hardcore electronica and chilled-out, mellow rhythms, Drukqs is the perfect combination of both.
She also cited James Blake’s 2011 self-titled album as a favourite, which earned a Mercury Prize nomination upon its release. The musician is one of Britain’s most acclaimed producers and electronic masters, working with many popular artists throughout his career, like Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean and Kanye West.
Björk believes his debut album to be an astounding piece of work, with the record moving between interesting electronic textures, from post-dubstep experimentations defined by soulful vocals to Latin-American inspired rhythms. There are plenty of manipulated instrumentals and vocals paired with evocative layers of sounds, making it a highly intriguing album, with listeners able to discover new elements with every listen.