THE HISTORY OF BJ烼K
A MORE DETAILED HISTORY ABOUT BJ烼K AND THE EARLY YEARS 1977-92+
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geographically and culturally isolated, Iceland has produced relatively few
internationally famous individuals in its thousand-year history. While
scholars may remember some of the contry's historical heros, name-dropping
a character or two from its legendary Sagas, most people would probarbly
struggle to pluck more than Magnus "I've started so I'll finish" Magnusson's
name from the geothermally-heated ether.
Until recently, that is. With the accolades heaped upon her album, "Debut",
ex-Sugarcubes vocalist Bj顤k (pronounced Byerk) looks set to ovbertake the
'Mastermind' host as the world's most famous Icelander, and has probarbly
done more to put her home country on the map in the last six months than
any Nordic tour operator has managed in a decade.
Western infulences has obviously permeated Iceland's cultural defences since
NATO established a base there in the 1950's, and although the island's rich
heritage exerts a strong influence over any creative artist born there,
too much can be read into the power the nation wields over a performer like
Bj顤k. Just because they come from Iceland, the Sugarcubes once quipped,
didn't mean theyhad to sing about volcanoes and the aurora borealis.
Similarly, Bj顤k is unique. Her exotic looks are more reminiscent of the
peoples of Central Asia, or even neighbouring Greenland, than they are of
the average Icelandic native. And her extraordinary vocal style is no hark
back to a traditional form of folk singing either: it is her own distinctive
creation. At the same time, it is British artists like Kate Bush (one of
Bj顤k's teenage heroines) who seems to have influenced that remarkable voice
we know today, although where that leaves her other childhood favourite,
Genesis is anyone's guess!
With Bj顤k set to become Best International Newcomer and Best International
Female Artist at the 1994 Brit Awards, and with a new single, "Violently Happy",
a live video and that long-awaited remix album, due later this year, interest
in the ex-Sugarcubes looks, if anything, set to increase.
What better time, then, for your trusty 'Record Collector' to dig a little
deeper than the average mag to reveal the secret history of the 'newcomer'
who has sung on more records, and has been in more bands, than Iceland has
proverbial geysers. Worthy as it is, "Debut" is not quite what it purports to
be: Bj顤k's real debut, as we shall see, happened a long, long time ago.
The First Debut -- 1977
Bj顤k Gu繜undsd鏒tir (literally 'Gudmund's daughter') was born on 21st October
1966, in Iceland's capital city, Reykjavik. From the age of six until she was
14, she attended a local music school, where she studied the classics, and
learned to play the flute and the piano. The family home was a hippy commune,
with a steam of artists and musicians among the constant human traffic.
Bj顤k's stepfather, Saevar Arnason, was himself a guitarist, and played in
a band called Pops, recreating Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and "all that hippy
music". This bohemian atomsphere laid down a firm musical grounding for Bj顤k's
future vocation, and provided a stepping stone to the first, and most
remarkable, aspect of her recording career: an eponymously titled solo album,
released in Iceland in 1977.
Documentation about this record is scant. Although Bj顤k often alludes to it,
precise details are hard to come by. And with the singer on a promotionaly
tour of Japan and Australia at the time of writing, I turned to one of the few
people with first-hand knowledge of this early release: Hildur Hauksd鏒tir
-- Bj顤k's mum.
"The record came about when Bj顤k was at school," revealed Hildur, on the phone
from Reykjavik. "They used to have an open house every week where the kids had
to entertain, read aloud and things like that. Bj顤k sang a song called 'I Love
To Love'. She was born musical. She started to sing very early. She started
singing melodies around seven months old." Bj顤k's teachers were sufficiently
impressed with her redition of Tina Charles' U.K. No.1 from February 1976,
to take the budding starlet along to Iceland's Radio 1, then the contry's only
national broadcasting organisation, who in turn seemed only too pleased to play
the song on air.
"After that she was offered a record deal by a label called F嫮kkin," continues
Hildur. "I knew two musicians here, Palmi Gunnarsson, a bass player and singer,
and Sigurdur Karlsson a drummer, and they had already recorded some songs with
Bj顤k. We worked on the recordat the Hljdrijinn Studios in Reykjavik. Palmi and
Siggi brought in some of the best players in Iceland. After that first record
with all thouse grown-ups, she only ever worked with oeioke her own age."
Among the other musicians on "Bj顤k" was stepfather S獒ar Arnason, and
Bj顤gvin G疄lason, one of Iceland's most acclaimed guitarists. Bj顤k would
return the favour several years later when she sang on the track "Afi" on
G疄lason's 1983 LP, "琀ugglega".
The "Bj顤k" album was released in time for Christmas 1977, with a cover
designed by Hildur, and photographed at a local Reykjavik studio. In contrast
to precocious recordings by singing kids like Lena Zavaroni, the tone of
"Bj顤k" mercifully falls short of the little-madam-wearing-mummy's-make-up
image(although who knows what she's singing about!).
Producers Gunnarsson and Karlsson constructed a perfect listenable, mid-70s
pop album (albeit one sung by an 11-year old), which mixed a handful of
standard Icelandic pop tunes, and a Bj顤k orginal - the instrumental
"J鏌annes Kjaval" (a tribute to a celebrated Icelandic painter) -- with
covers of Melanie's "Christopher Robin" (with a decent approximation
of Mel's vocal growl), Stevie Wonder's "Your Kiss Is Sweet", Edgar Winter's
"Alta Mira" and the Beatles' "Fool On The Hill" (translated as "翼fur 猲 猳 H鏊"!).
Despite her tender age, Bj顤k managed to press her personality into the
grooves, and this, her real debut, is as much her own record as it is her
producer's.
Perhaps succumbing toa little of the mythmaking which is an inevitable side-
effect of stardom, Bj顤k has recently maintained that the album went platinum
in Iceland, indicating that she became an instant celebrity. Her mum is not
so sure. "I have no idea!" replied Hildur, when asked how many copies "Bj顤k"
sold. "It's sold out today, I know that. And they are playing it on the radio
now in Iceland! But at the time, she was not exactly what you'd call famous.
In Iceland it's different from elsewhere. It's such a small place, everybody
knows each other already. But the record didn't separate her from school or
anything." And what became of the F嫮kinn label? "They have stopped making
their own records. They only sell others' records now, and bicycles".
Exodus 1979-1980
Punk, and its musical aftermath, new wave, didn't hit Iceland until the late
1970s and early 80s. But when it did, the teenage Bj顤k was one of the first
to get involved. Around 1979, while still at school, she formed her first
band, Exodus. Remembered as a na鴳e blend of new wave and pop, Exodus' legacy
apparently survives as a "garage recording" on a cassette, although few
Icelanders claim to have ever heard it. The band did manage one appearance
on local TV, however, which provided Bj顤k with another feather in her local-
celebrity cap. And outfit called Jam 80 was Bj顤k's next musical project, but
its fleeting tenure on the emerging new wave scene extended to one gig,
before expiring. It's not known whether Paul Weller was an influence here!
Tappi Tikarras 1981-1983
In 1981, Bj顤k, then aged 14, formed the band Tappi T璭arrass - which
translates as something like 'Cork The Bitch's Arse'! -- and which featured
at least one other member from Exodus, bassist Jakob Magnusson. Tappi was
Bj顤k's most professional band so far, and went on to record two
albums. On the evidence of the second, "Miranda", issued in 1983, the band
relied upon a repertoire of fairly standard new wave, spiced up by the
occasional bout of Rezillos/X-Ray Spex-inspired thrash. Prior to "Miranda",
Tappi released a six- track mini-album, "Bitid Fast I Vitid" (something
like "Bite Hard In Your Mind"), on the Spor label in 1981, which sold well,
earning the band a solid repurtation. Bj顤k's vocal delivery at this point
-- save for the odd throaty punk bray -- displayed few of the dive-andsoar
gymnastics which would characterise both the Sugarcubes and her later
solo work. She was more your average indie Icelander, while her guitarist
probarbly owned every record the Cure ever made.
With Tappi T璭arrass, Bj顤k worked the same venues as future Sugarcube members
Einar 琀n(pronounced Ay-nar Urn), then with Purrkurr Pillnikk, and Sigtryggur
Baldursson, drummer with the first Icelandic band known outside of its home
territory. Peyr (pronounced Theyr) was first brought to Britain's attention
courtesy of errant Killing Joke vocalist Jaz Coleman, who abandoned his
doom'n'gloomy mates in 1982 amidst much media interest, absconding north
to work with these punky Icelanders.
Tappi T璭arrass, Purrkurr Pillnikk and Peyr all appeared in the controversial
1982 documentary film, 'Rokk 촠Reykjav璭' ('Rock In Reykjavik'), which for the
first time in Iceland, addressed 'youth' issues (no Killing Joke pun intended)
like gluesniffing and drug-taking. The Sugarcubes' label Smekkleysa (Bad Taste)
recently reissued the 'Rokk 촠Reykjav璭' double sound-track album, containing
Tappi's "Hrollur" and "D犱kl疄ur", sporting a new cover design and a free
poster of the band's young lead vocalist, Bj顤k Gu繜undsd鏒tir, rocking out in
a fetching yellow dress. By the time the final Tappi T璭arrass recordings, live
renditions of "Speglar" and "Sei簨ur", appeared on the compilation album,
"Satt 3", in 1983, the band had called it a day.
Kukl 1984-1986
After Tappi's demise, Bj顤k joined forces with Purrkurr Pillnikk's Einar 琀n
and Peyr's Siggi to form Kukl (imagine the word 'cook', with an additional 'l'
stuck on the end, pronounced in a broad Scouse accent!). The name translated
as 'Sorcery', and the band's ethos questioned Iceland's establishment, and the
way it appropirated elements of the country's pagan paaast to shore up its
own belief systems. The criticism worked both ways, of cource, and it can't
have been a suprice when, following a TV appearance where the now
anti-establishment Bj顤k appeared with her hand bandaged after a minor
accident, mailcious gossip- mongers spread the word she was concealing
the scars of drug addiction.
Built upon the noisier elements of the three core members' previous bands,
Kukl plied a domineering allout punk-goth racket, indebted, stylistically
at least, to the Fall, Killing Joke and Siouxsie and the Banshees
(although there are will be those in Iceland who'll dispute any Killing
Joke influence!).
With each new enterprise came a new level of success, and with Kukl,
Bj顤k and her future Sugarcube partners Einar and Siggi achieved a degree of
international recognition. This resulted in two albums, "The Eye" and
"Holidays In Europe (The Naughty Naughty)", being issued, via the anarchist
Crass label, in the U.K.
While "The Eye" barely acknowledges that Kukl's lead singer and the Bj顤k of
"Debut" fame are on in the same person, some of those delightful yelps of
glee and characteristic touches of vocal magic make and early appearance on
"Holiday In Europe". Both LPs were re-pressed at various intervals throughout
the 1980s, after the international success of the Sugarcubes.
Kukl lasted until 1986, when after three years of anarcho-punk sincerity,
Bj顤k, Einar and Siggi split the band (leaving half-a-dozen tracks unreleased)
to form a new group whose concept would turn Kukl;s political activism --
and eventually the U.K. indie scene -- on its head. Their new trademark would
be nothing more radical than "mischievous fun", and their new name was
Sykurmolnarnir, or the Sugarcubes.
Sugarcubes 1986-1992
In the mid-80s, the Sugarcubes went from being independent Icelandic oddballs
to, some said, the best band since the Smiths. And with their debut single,
"Ein Mol 선Mann" ("One Cube Per Head"), which contained "Amm熞i" ("Birthday")
and "K飆tur"("Cat"), Bj顤k suddenly came of age: That Voice had arrived.
With precocious little shrieks, and knowing, earthy growls, her exquisite,
other-wordly tones wailed with wild abandon, seemingly fit to burst with
impish delight. Underpinned by the menacing, beckoning rumble of Einar,
Siggi and the crew, with "Birthday" the Sugarcubes created one of the few
genuinely orginal sounds of the decade.
Unwittingly paraphrasing the Kinks' Ray Davies, Bj顤k annonced "We're not
like everyone else",and proved it too, wih the Cubes' critically acclaimed
debut album, "Life's Too Good". Now elevated to the status of Indie Press
Darlings 1987, the majors began vainly offering the band huge sums of money
(ꌷ50,000 for instance) to sign up and sell out. Naturally, they refused.
The Sugarcubes second album "Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!" didn't fare
as well, and almost impaled the band on its own exaggerated motto of 'World
Domination Or Death'. The third, "Stick Around For Joy", was considered a
return to form, although poppier and less experimental than previous efforts.
And then there was Einar's continued role as the band's rapping court jester
--the (im)perfect foil to Bj顤k's vocal majesty -- which attracted an unfair
degree of critical backlash, where reviewers, pulling no punches, branded him
superfluous irritant, even urging the band to sack him.
After six years of varying fortunes, the band which had been founded as a joke,
had become very much a serious concern. "I realised that it was now or never",
said Bj顤k recently. "Either I record all those songs which had been floating
in my head for years, otherwise I'd never do it." In 1992 she left the
Sugarcubes to go solo.
Solo 1990 & 1993
Tales of the Sugarcubes' disintegration are probarbly inaccurate, but what is
certain is that the group's various members returned to more or less a 'normal'
life in Iceland, with Bj顤k, for her part, reportedly working either on a
market stall, or if you will, in an antique shop, to help pay off some of
the band's debts amassed throughout the late 80s.
But this period was also musically productive, and yielded Bj顤k's second solo
album. In 1990, consolidating what had been an established, if occasional,
relationship with the veteran be-bop ensemble the Tr薃 Gu繜undar Ing鏊fssonar,
Bj顤k recorded an album of jazz standards, "Gling Gl. The band's leader was
the late pianist Gu繜undar Ing鏊fsson (he died shortly after the album was
completed) -- Iceland's only professional jazz musician -- and accompanied
simply by a bassist and a drummer, his trio provided Bj顤k with a platform
for an accomplished set of jazz and popular standards. Bj顤k's jazz delivery
was very much in the classic Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan mould --
although she tackled the songs in an orginal (and Bj顤k's unique!) way.
Don't be put off if you're not into jazz. If you like Bj顤k, you'll love
this.
And there was more jazz to come on the streamlined and sophisticated "Debut",
Bj顤k's rebirth as a mainstream artist, issued around the world in July 1993.
In fact there was more of everything on "Debut": house rhythms, a 20-piece
Indian classical orchestra and Arabic influences -- a multi-cultural work of
music, no less, through which Bj顤k appears as wide-eyed and exuberant as
she was on her first solo album back in 1977. With the pace of her new success
obliging a permanent move to London, it appears as if the first 17 years were
only just the beginning for Bj顤k. "I've come a long way," she said recently.
"Much of it has been in Iceland, but here it's just the same. Only a hundred
times bigger."
Collaborations 1982-1993
In addition to Tappi T璭arrass, Kukl and the Sugarcubes, which form the bulk
of Bj顤k's discography, in between and sometimes running concurrently with
those bands were numerous other musical projects involving Bj顤k. Some of
these produced vinyl evidence, others survive only as memories.
In 1982, Bj顤k fell in with Stifgrim, a freeform rock-jazz (as oposed to
jazz- rock) duo, comprimising guitarist Steinn Skaptason and vocalist/stand-
up comedian Kristinn J鏮 Gudmundsson. Her sole gig with the band was a part
of Iceland's bid to get into the 'Guinness Book Of Records' for the longest
ever continuous live performance. Nearly one hundred bands took part
in the event, which lasted several weeks, each playing for anything up to
twelve hours. Bj顤k's effort was recorded for posterity, and a choice
90-minute 'Best Of' recording of Stifgrim's world-record bid apparently
survives on cassette. A week after this occasion, Bj顤k was involved in one
other Stifgrim-related event, where she accompanied Kristinn J鏮 Gudmundsson on
guitar as he crooned his way through "Love Me Tender".
Between 1982 and 193, Bj顤k earned a crust playing a Jupiter synthesiser in
Cactus, a bar-room cover version group, which survived two summer seasons
playing 70s hits to Iceland's heavy weekend drinkers in the south of the
country. No known recordings exist.
In 1984, she signed up with Rokha Rokha Drum as a backing vocalist and drummer.
Rokha's lead vocalist was one Sj鏮, alias poet Johnny Triumph, who went on to
collaborate with the Sugarcubes in 1987 on "Luftgitar" (reportedly their
best-selling record in Iceland). Alternating on guitar and bass in Rokha
Rokha Drum was Th鏎 Eldon (later in the Sugarcubes, Bj顤k's future husband,
and father of her son Sindri), and future Kukl and Sugarcubes keyboardist
Einar Melax (not to be confused with the rapping Einar 琀n). Rokha Rokha Drum
survived long enough to play their "arty-farty" music at four or five gigs
between 1984-85 in "galleries and snobby cafes", and also to record an
eight-song demo tape, apparently lost forever in 1986.
The Elgar Sisters were active around 1985, and featured Th鏎 Eldon,
Sigtryggur Baldursson (the Sugarcubes' Siggi) and the modestly-named God
Krist (ex-Kukl) on guitar. Bj顤k was their vocalist. Although the band never
performed live, the Elgar Sisters wrote and recorded 11 songs, all
of which remained unreleased until 1993, when Bj顤k resurrected three
reflective numbers for her solo B-sides: "S獮ast 仩" and the instrumental
"Gl鏎a" on "Big Time Sensuality", and "Stigdu M璲" on "Venus As A Boy".
In the late 80s, Bj顤k appeared as backing vocalist with veteran singer-
songwriter Megas (Magnus Th鏎 Jonsson) -- the Icelandic Bob Dylan and
"grandfather of punk" -- on three of his albums,"Loftmynd", "H鐪udlausnir"
and "H犚tuleg Hlj鏔sveit Og Gl熜akendid Stella" (the latter having something
to do with "The Criminal Woman Stella"). Also appearing on Megas' melodic
"Loftmynd" is ex-Strawberry Switchblade Rose McDowell, and Bj顤k's sister,
Ingar Gu繜udsd鏒tir. (Ingar, incidentally, also played in the noisy new wave
band Blatt Afram, whose only recorded legacy is two songs on the 1897 live
cassette "Snarl 2", otherwise notable for its two Sugarcubes songs "Mykjan"
and "Skalli").
The traditional Icelandic carol, "J鏊ak飆turinn" ("The Christmas Cat"), is
Bj顤k's contribution to the difficult-to-pronounce "Hvitt Er 촠Borg Og B
Christmas compilation, issued on the equally challenging Hlj鶇aklettur label
in 1988.
While the Sugarcubes were taking a sabbatical between 1989-90, bassist Bragi
and keyboard player Magga formed a cabaret duo Caviar. This later developed
into a lighthearted big-band, Hlj鏔sveit Kondr墂s B, which played Icelandic
versions of popular British and American standards ("Wonderful World" was one).
Various Sugarcubes and members of Reptile and HAM (two groups signed to the
'Cubes' Bad Taste organisation), swelled the ranks to nearly a dozen, with
each musician alternating on each other's instruments. Bj顤k played clarinet.
'Cubes drummer Siggi later took to the microphone as his alter-ego, Bogomil
Font, to record an album of Latin standards. Although Bj顤k wasn't involved,
the poject wasn't a million miles away from the singer's own "Gling-Glo"
album.
Bless, a band featuring Bad Taste's Gunni Hj嫮marsson, issued its "Gums"
mini-LP of "hard-hitting rock and wimpy ballads, recorded under the influence
of the Pixies" in 1990. The album features Bj顤k on backing vocals on two
tracks.
Bj顤k, Einar 琀n, Th鏎, Siggi and/or Bogomil Font, in addition to 'Cube
cohorts like God Krist and Johnny Triumph, all feature on "Island", a
collaborative album between David Tibet's post-industrial outfit Current
93 and Icelandic musician H烺 (Hilmar 琀n Hilmarsson). Bj顤k signs backing
vocals on the album's lead track, "Falling". (H烺, incidentally, is now
working with Einar's new band, Frostbite.)
In 1992, Oskar Jonasson, director of some of Sugarcubes' videos (and Bj顤k's
boyfriend at the time), made his feature film, 'S鏚鏔a Reykjav璭', (re-titled
'Remote Control' outside Iceland). For the soundtrack to this comedy about
the Icelandic underworld, Bj顤k guests with rockabilly outfit KK Band on a
cover of the local 50s standard, "팠Borg M璯 Borg"; and with DJ P鏎hallyr on
the techno track, "Takk". The CD is still available.
Here in Britain, Bj顤k scored her biggest hit single to date (No. 12) as a
collaborative effort with David Arnold. "Play Dead", a song taken from the
film, 'Young Americans', is now available as a bonus track on cassette and
CD copies of "Debut". Prior to that, Bj顤k's first venture into dance
music was also a joint effort. "Ooops", a 1991 signle by Mancunian dance
masters, 808 State, featured Bj顤k's distinctive vocal tones, and is also
featured on their album, "EX:EL".
Finnaly, and perhaps inspired by Sugarcubes drummer Siggi and his "Nordic
death metal group" the Human Seeds, in several interviews in 1990, Bj顤k
talked excitedly about forming -- of all things -- a speed metal band to
be called Scud. Her co-conspirators in this venture were members of Bad
Taste outfit HAM, whose forte Bj顤k revealed to be "Gothic heavy metal with
a comic twist"! Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Scud never progressed
beyond the realms of Icelandic fantasy!
Many thanks to those Icelandic 璯f顤m嫢甐nme疄ters Alsie (Asmunder Jonsson)
and Gunni Hj嫮marsson at Bad Taste; and special thanks to Bj顤k's mother
Hildur Hauksd鏒tir. Thanks also to Dave Wilson for his help and for supplying
the bulk of the illustrations, and to Phil Deere, Derek Birkett and One
Little Indian Records.