Caves full of bats and human trombones. Earthquake beats and microscopic sounds. Pagan poetry and scientific rigour… Thirty years on from the Sugarcubes’ “Birthday”, Björk remains a unique and brilliant creative force. To celebrate the anniversary, Graeme Thomson rounds up the elusive artist’s closest collaborators, and learns the secrets of her greatest albums. “It was like standing next to a volcano,” says Anohni. “I couldn’t keep up.”
In 1976, an 11-year-old music student named Björk Guðmundsdóttir appeared on the radio in her native Iceland. Over the subsequent 40 years, Björk has pursued her idiosyncratic muse through the nightclubs of Manchester, a cave in nassau, recording studios in Mali and beyond. There have been experiments with rare earth magnets, albums about “patterns in nature and music, and how they relate to each other” and annual board meetings of her old band, the Sugarcubes. Over the next 11 pages, we speak to many of Björk’s closest collaborators who provide eye-witness testimony to her remarkable creative achievements. We learn of an “inhuman oracle sound”, trips to record waterfalls and innovative instructions delivered in the studio to her co-conspirators: “You know when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste? It needs to sound like that…”
THE SUGARCUBES LIFE’S TOO GOOD
(ONE LITTLE INDIAN, 1988)
The seasick sway of “Birthday” introduces 22-year-old Björk Guðmundsdóttir’s extraordinary voice to the world, and a star is born. The Sugarcubes’ first single is followed by an LP of off-kilter indie, bubblegum pop, post-punk attack, conceptual art-rock… and plastic trumpets.
Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Uncut UK.
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Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Uncut UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kim Gordon: La Ghosts & Flowers
As KIM GORDON prepares to release No Home Record – her brilliant debut solo album – she takes stock of her consistently adventurous career so far. To discuss: her early days in New York’s Downtown, cooking with Neil Young and the perils of gentrification. “Life is unexpected,” she tells Tom Pinnock
Tinariwen: Even Nomads Get The Blues
A lot has changed for TINARIWEN since they became superstars of desert rock’n’roll. But their Saharan homeland remains as troubled as ever. We track the band down in Morocco, where Michael Bonner hears tales of exile, insurgency and belonging. “As long as people are oppressed, there will be room for protest music,” they explain
Angel Olsen: Her Bright Materials
Welcome to Asheville, North Carolina, where ANGEL OLSEN is poised to release her new album, All Mirrors. Erin Osmon joins the singer-songwriter at home to discuss heartbreak, fantasy property deals and her latest bold pop experiment. “Sometimes your dreams are not what they seem,” she says
“I Was Insatiable!”
From a back garden in Epsom to the stage of the O2 – via Bombay, New York, Marrakesh and Beijing – join us as JIMMY PAGE guides us through 60 years’ worth of his marvellous adventures. CliffRichard! Exorcisms! “A cauldron of inspiration”! There are road trips with The Yardbirds, magical recording sessions at Headley Grange, his ongoing relationship with Robert Plant and the vast musical legacy of Led Zeppelin to consider. “I was dealt a very good hand,” Page tells Michael Odell. “And I like to think I played it well.”
'I Was Pretty Bad At Being A Pop Star'
Riding high on the back of Bon Iver’s endorsement and his finest album in years, the piano master discusses the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, cryogenics and appearing in “some of the worst videos ever made”
The Go-Betweens - G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 2 – 1985–1989 Domino
Australian indie ambassadors’ golden age showcased in opulent style.
It's Too Late To Stop Now
Has VAN MORRISON mellowed at last? After yet another remarkable period in his ongoing creative renaissance, the Celtic soul warrior is on good form as he talks R&B, transcendence and mythical bootlegs with Graeme Thomson. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing for quite a while,” he reveals
Robert Plant - Digging Deep
ESPARANZA 7/10 Percy on 45! A boxset of 7”s traces Plant’s post-Zep progress. By Michael Bonner
Leonard Cohen - Thanks For The Dance
The poet’s intimate musical postscript.
'I'll Tell You The Full Story…'
During the past 12 months, a series of lavish boxsets have tracked DAVID BOWIE’s early development throughout 1968 and 1969. As this comprehensive archeological survey concludes with Conversation Piece, long-serving producer TONY VISCONTI relives the highs and lows of Bowie’s breakthrough. There are ham sandwiches, Marc Bolan impressions, the peerless “Space Oddity”, and tearful studio interludes… but, most importantly, we learn how the music made during this brief but pivotal period critically influenced one superstar in the making: David Bowie himself…
