Toronto Star  1997-01-17

By Jennie Punter


"Bjork's Music Mixes Technology And Artistry"


The artistry of the remix is what captivates Bjork. In the world of 
electronic music, DJs don't take requests. They are the remix artists, 
computer geeks, manipulators of found and sampled sound, bending sonic 
shaped into some of the most visionary, and often commercially 
successful music around these days.

And we're not just talking techno artists that cater to the dance floor.
Electronic music offers an ever wider range of aural experience than the 
traditional guitar-bass-drums configuration of rock'n'roll, and it's 
pricking listener's ears.

Bjork's experiments with the remix began when the Icelandic singer and 
songwriter moved to London four years ago, after splitting from pop 
group The Sugarcubes for a solo career that turned her into a pop diva.
Her latest album, Telegram, features mostly remixes, by artists like 
Dillinja, Outcast and Mark Bell - of songs from her second solo album, 
Post, which sold platinum in Canada.

"I'm a sucker for creativity and music that is brave," says Bjork, in 
town yesterday. "I found what was most exciting in England were the 
remix artists.

"I don't feel I am sacrificing anything by letting people remix my 
songs, because I already did my own versions," she says. "Some of these 
remixers are my friends, ao I trust them musically, completely.

"So when I was writing the songs for Post, I was already thinking, 'what 
would this person or that person do? What would come out of that 
collaboration?' So it's very exciting."

Bjork says being a solo artist allows for a more creative collaborative 
space. Two of the songs on Post, for instance, were co-written by 
Tricky, who played Toronto last night. Telegram features one new song, 
"My Spine," which is a collaboration with British percussionist Evelyn 
Glennie.

"I was terrified whe I left Sugarcubes on this mission, that it would be 
very lonely," Bjork recalls. "When you are in a band it's sometimes like
a marriage and there can be nery dull moments.

"As a solo artist, one minute you are working with someone, then you 
turn around and work with someone else, and every collaboration is 
intense and completely full-on."

Not all the remixes on Telegram involve electronics. Bjork's vocal 
performance on "Hyper-Ballad" is backed by a gorgeous string arrangement 
from the Brodsky Quartet.

"A lot of people confuse the words modern and cold and think that modern 
music is supposed to be cold with no emotion," Bjork explains. "I think 
this is rubbish, because emotions will always be our main drive. What I 
like about the Brodsky Quartet is that they can play some of the bery 
stark chamber music written in the last 20 years, but remain completely 
full of passion.

"People keep telling me that technology is cold, that computers are the 
death of feeling in music and that it's only music if it has guitars or 
violins," she says. "But how can you blame a computer for that? Who is 
supposed to put the soul in the music? I mean, you don't look at a 
guitar and expect it to jump up and write a tune for you.

"A computer is just a tool. Every decision is made by the artist useing 
that tool.

"And I think gor all these reasons, that if a person in 1997 wants to 
express themselves as strongly as possible about what is feels like to 
be living today, technology is a good teel that allows someone to be 
independent," says Bjork. "So that's why I tend to look in that category
for the music I listen to in my life."