Bjork

This book provides the first musicologically-informed account of Icelandic singer-songwriter Bjork's work to date. Bjork is internationally recognised for her unique and innovative musical style, and her collaborative working relationship with artists, musicians and engineers. Her work crosses the boundaries between club and dance culture and 'high art', and has won numerous awards, including an award for Best Actress (Cannes Film Festival) for her role in the film "Dancer the Dark", for which she also wrote and scored the music.This book presents an analysis of audio and video tracks, live performances and recorded sound, looked at through the interviews, videos, critical reception, and fanzines that surround the music. Reference is made to the whole of her career, but the focus is on her solo career from Debut onwards. The analysis reveals recurrent cultural themes brought into focus by her music: landscape and identity, the relationship between humans and technology, song as a vehicle for emotional expression, and female autonomy. There are additional chapters on her compositional process, to include newly gathered interview material, and on the critical-musicological approach adopted in this book.