Björk - Debut [1993]

Genre: Electronica, Tribal House, Alternative, Ambient

MySpace: bjork

My opinion & thought: As always, Icelandic artists are incredibly awesome. Björk is no less one of the most inspiring & influencing female artist that exist in the planet earth. Her debut album is truly a breakthru of human kind music especially for dance music, so this is a classic. This is one of the 100 albums that you must hear or own before you die.

Stands out track(s): Venus As A Boy, Big Time Sensuality, Human Behaviour, Violently Happy




Björk Guðmundsdóttir [ˈpjœr̥k ˈkvʏðmʏntsˌtoʊhtɪr] (born 21 November 1965) is an Icelandic singer-songwritercomposeractress and music producer. She has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards (including one for acting).

She is best known for her expressive vocals, broad soprano vocal range, and a diverse and eclectic musical style which incorporates influences from many different genres, including popalternative rockjazzambient musicelectronicaclassical and folk, as well as her eccentric costumes. Her singles "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me" and "Hyperballad" all charted in the UK Top 10.

Her record label, One Little Indian, reported in 2003 that she had sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Her most recent album, Volta, was released worldwide on 8 May 2007. She was ranked #36 on VH1's "The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll" and #8 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".


Debut, released in July 1993, is an album by Icelandic singer-songwriter/musician Björk. It was her first solo project after leaving The Sugarcubes, but was not her actual debut, as she released the self-titled album Björk in 1977. The record was produced by Nellee Hooper and established Björk's audience outside of Iceland and cult followings in the UKU.S. and elsewhere. Sonically, the album is a mix of dance beat-driven pop ("Violently Happy", "Big Time Sensuality", "There's More to Life Than This"), earthy, new age ("One Day", "The Anchor Song", "Aeroplane", "Human Behaviour"), and seductive, rhythm-based songs ("Venus as a Boy", "Come to Me").Debut has been certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA and is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. "Play Dead", Bjork's collaboration with David Arnold, was soon added as a closing bonus track on a re-released version of the album in the UK, after the single almost cracked the top ten of the UK Singles Chart in late 1993.

Debut topped Billboard's Top Heatseekers albums chart and peaked at number 61 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. It peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart.

In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Debut the 74th greatest album of all time. The album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. It has also sold 921,000 copies in U.S. according to SoundScan

The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including new DTS 96/24 5.1-channel surround sound mixes. The DualDisc also formed part of the (____surrounded):box set.

In 2002, Q Magazine named "Debut" the 5th Greatest Album of All-Time by a Female Artist.


Charts:

CountryPeak positionCertificationSales
Australia10
Austria27
CanadaGold50,000+
France25
Germany24
Ireland10
Japan64
Norway9
Sweden2Platinum60,000+
Switzerland18
UK32x Platinum600,000+
U.S.61Platinum921,000+


Tracklisting:

  1. "Human Behaviour" - 4:10
  2. "Crying" - 4:52
  3. "Venus as a Boy" - 4:42
  4. "There's More to Life Than This" (Recorded Live At The Milk Bar Toilets) - 3:21
  5. "Like Someone in Love" - 4:33
  6. "Big Time Sensuality" - 3:57
  7. "One Day" - 5:24
  8. "Aeroplane" - 3:54
  9. "Come to Me" - 4:55
  10. "Violently Happy" - 4:59
  11. "The Anchor Song" - 3:32
  12. "Atlantic" (Japan bonus track) 3:15
  13. "Play Dead(UK/Japan bonus track) - 3:56

Personnel:
  • Garry Hughes – keyboards, Hammond organ, programming
  • Oliver Lake – arranger, brass
  • Corky Hale – harp
  • Björk – arranger, keyboards, producer
  • Gary Barnacle – brass
  • Paul Corkett – engineer
  • Marius De Vries - Keyboards, programming
  • Nellee Hooper – percussion, drums, producer, engineer
  • Howie B – engineer
  • Luis Jardim – bass, percussion, drums
  • Hugoth Nicolson – engineer
  • Brian Pugsley – engineer
  • Talvin Singh – director, tabla
  • Bruce Willie Smith – percussion, drums
  • Al Stone – engineer
  • Martin Virgo – keyboards, programming
  • Mark Warner – assistant engineer
  • Paul Wertheimer – engineer
  • Goetz Botzenhardt – assistant engineer
  • Jim Abbiss – engineer
  • Dave Burnham – engineer
  • Jean Baptiste Mondino – photography
  • Pete Lewis – assistant engineer
  • Paul Waller – keyboards, programming
  • Jon Mallison – guitar, assistant engineer
  • Mike Marsh – mastering
  • Mike Mower – brass
  • Tim Dickenson – assistant engineer
  • Jhelisa Anderson – backing vocals
  • Andy Bradford – assistant engineer
  • Oggy – assistant engineer
  • H. Shalleh – engineer

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