Debut

by Bjoerk

Overview

Freed from the Sugarcubes' confines, Bjoerk takes her voice and creativity to new heights on Debut, her first work after the group's breakup. With producer Nellee Hooper's help, she moves in an elegantly playful, dance-inspired direction, crafting highly individual, emotional electronic pop songs like the shivery, idealistic "One Day" and the bittersweet "Violently Happy." Despite the album's swift stylistic shifts, each of Debut's tracks are distinctively Bjoerk. "Human Behaviour"'s dramatic percussion provides a perfect showcase for her wide-ranging voice; "Aeroplane" casts her as a yearning lover against a lush, exotica-inspired backdrop; and the spare, poignant "Anchor Song" uses just her voice and a brass section to capture the loneliness of the sea. Though Debut is just as arty as anything she recorded with the Sugarcubes, the album's club-oriented tracks provide an exciting contrast to the rest of the album's delicate atmosphere. Bjoerk's playful energy ignites the dance-pop-like "Big Time Sensuality" and turns the genre on its head with "There's More to Life Than This." Recorded live at the Milk Bar Toilets, it captures the dancefloor's sweaty, claustrophobic groove, but her impish voice gives it an almost alien feel. But the album's romantic moments may be its most striking; "Venus as a Boy" fairly swoons with twinkly vibes and lush strings, and Bjoerk's vocals and lyrics -- "His wicked sense of humor/Suggests exciting sex" -- are sweet and just the slightest bit naughty. With harpist Corky Hale, she completely reinvents "Like Someone in Love," making it one of her own ballads. Possibly her prettiest work, Bjoerk's horizons expanded on her other releases, but the album still sounds fresh, which is even more impressive considering electronic music's whiplash-speed innovations. Debut not only announced Bjoerk's remarkable talent; it suggested she had even more to offer. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	08/28/2015
Label:	One Little Indian
UPC:	5016958018818
Rank:	17797

Tracks

1. Human Behaviour
2. Crying
3. Venus as a Boy
4. There's Morwe to Life Than This
5. Like Someone in Love
6. Big Time Sensuality
7. One Day
8. Aeroplane
9. Come to Me
10. Violently Happy
11. The Anchor Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bjoerk   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards,Lead Vocals
David Arnold   Primary Artist
Oliver Lake   Guest Artist,Brass
Talvin Singh   Guest Artist,Tabla,Director,String Director,Musical Direction
Mike Mower   Brass
Luis Jardim   Bass,Drums,Percussion
Corky Hale   Harp
Garry Hughes   Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Jon Mallison   Guitar
Gary Barnacle   Brass
Marius de Vries   Keyboards
Jhelisa Anderson   Vocals (Background)
Martin Virgo   Keyboards
Nellee Hooper   Drums,Percussion
Paul Walter   Keyboards
Bruce Smith   Drums,Percussion

Technical Credits

Bjoerk Gudjmundsdottir   Composer
Jah Wobble   Composer
Talvin Singh   Musician
Garry Hughes   Programming
Mark Bell   Composer
Jon Mallison   Assistant Engineer
Mike Marsh   Mastering
James Van Heusen   Composer
Oliver Lake   Arranger,Brass Arrangement
Al Stone   Engineer
Paul Corkett   Engineer
Bjoerk   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Brass Arrangement
Howie B   Engineer
Marius de Vries   Programming
Pete Lewis   Assistant Engineer
Jim Abbiss   Engineer
Mark Warner   Assistant Engineer
Martin Virgo   Programming
Nellee Hooper   Composer,Engineer,Producer
David Arnold   Composer
Paul Wertheimer   Engineer
Johnny Burke   Composer
Jean Baptiste Mondino   Photography
Andy Bradford   Assistant Engineer
H. Shalleh   Engineer
Goetz Botzenhardt   Assistant Engineer
Tim Dickenson   Assistant Engineer
Paul Walter   Programming
Brian Pugsley   Engineer
Sureh Sathe   Arranger,String Arrangements
Oggy   Assistant Engineer
David Burnham   Engineer
Hugo Nicolson   Engineer