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►Homogenic
being a homecoming
Something like that, yeah. Although I haven't really, physically,
gone back to Iceland. It's inside. The music of Homogenic is very
close to the music I heard as a child. It's a very Icelandic
record, especially as far as rhythm is concerned. But it's not a
record that wasn't there yesterday; it's always been there, but
just had to materialize. The sounds, the rhythms, the emotions,
they've always been inside my head. I put them down on Homogenic.
I look at it as a document. And the title of the record actually
indicates that the music comes more or less from one direction:
straight from the heart, because home is where the heart is. This
time I didn't want too much intervention from others.
(Oor, September 1997)
►Homogenic
being calm
It's not as if was relaxed all the time during the
recording of Homogenic; on the contrary. But every now and then, a
couple of times a month, I could do it. Then I was very calm for a
very short moment. And I decided to make use of that. So if you
listen to the CD, you think: wow, Björk has finally calmed down.
But that's only how it appears. The songs on the record merely
represent the isolated moments of calmness, amidst all the fuss. (So
you've hardly changed.) Not really, no. I couldn't have. But
fortunately I am able to make a consistent record now.
(Oor, September 1997)
►Homogenic
being the most "her" yet
I know it sounds crap, but this album is the most me yet.
But my friends tell me not to fool myself. The only thing that
will surprise people from me is if there are no surprises. I don't
really care. I'm on this mission to get all this shit out of me
that I was born with and just learn to express it I feel like I'm
only ten percent there. Ninety percent is the songs I hear in my
head. I don't even know how to express them, let alone record them
and play them for other people. I'm trying to learn so badly
before I die. I've got like 50 years.
(Raygun, September 1997)
►Homogenic
vs Vespertine
Homogenic, for me, was very emotionally confrontational and
was very dramatic, both in the melodic sense of the strings and
the distorted beats. Everything on 11... a lot of steroids in the
air. Vespertine is sort of the opposite. Very introverted, very
quiet and calm and peaceful, and at peace with one's self. After
being obsessed with reality and darkness and always thinking
everything else is bullshit, you know, suddenly thinking to invent
a paradise isn't necessarily a bad thing. I used to always think
that was escapism. This record is very much about inventing your
own paradise, but underneath your kitchen table, so it's very
secretive. It's sort of about being on your own in your house with
your laptop and whispering for a year and just writing a very
peaceful song that tiptoes. It's all about reaching those euphoric
highs and those ecstasy moments, but with no outside stimulates.
All it takes is inside you. I'm quite aware it's an artificial
paradise, so it almost went Disney at times — you know, when you
see pink Bambi jumping about? Those types of things. I don't think
there are very many pink Bambis on Homogenic. Vespertine is sort
of a winter album for me. I think Homogenic was very summer, very
hot, burning desert. Maybe 'cause I did it in Spain; it might be
something as simple as that. But this one's like ... those days
when it's snowing outside, and you're inside with a cup of cocoa
and everything's very magical. You're euphoric, but you don't
speak for days 'cause you don't want to.
(MTV news, march 2001)
►Icelandic
techno
I wanted to make it an honest record. Me, here, myself, at
home. I asked myself if there is such a thing as Icelandic techno,
and how it could sound. Well, in Iceland, everything revolves
around nature, 24 hours a day. Earthquakes, snowstorms, rain, ice,
volcanic eruptions, geysers... Very elementary and uncontrolable.
But at the other hand, Iceland is incredibly modern; everything is
hi-tech. The number of people owning a computer is as high as
nowhere else in the world. That contradiction is also on
Homogenic. The electronic beats are the rhythm, the heartbeat. The
violins create the old-fashioned atmosphere, the colouring.
Homogenic is Iceland, my native country, my home.
(Oor, September 1997)
►Icelandic
techno
I wanted Homogenic to reflect where I'm from, what I'm
about. I wanted the beats to be almost distorted; imagine if there
was Icelandic techno. Iceland is one of the youngest countries
geograph cally, it's still in the making. So the sounds would be
still in the making. (Raygun, September
1997)
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►less
toys
I've definitely become more mature, yeah. And when you grow
up, you need less toys. You also notice that as a musician. Debut
and Post were full of little toys; it was very simple to draw the
attention with that for 45 minutes. Every minute new gadgets were
introduced. Later I thought: that's actually a bit too easy. It
would be a far greater challenge to record a double album with
only one teaspoon and keep it exciting for two hours as well. So I
figured, Homogenic should be made with less tools. Come as you
are. Beats, violins and vocals, and trying to cover the entire
emotional spectrum with that. Preferably the same spectrum as on
Debut and Post. Look, those records showed the different sides of
Björk, but it was also like: Björk goes on a journey and meets all
kinds of exciting, inspiring people. That were all those
musicians, mixers and producers who worked with me. Homogenic is:
Björk stays home. (Oor, September 1997)
►pleasing
herself
With Homogenic I just decided not to please anybody except
myself, and I'm really touched by the fact that people still seem
to be interested. (Mojo, november 1997)
►the
song order on her albums
the order is extremely important to me . in homogenic i
wanted to do a narrative journey since the album is extrovert
-eye-contacty in yer face , but with vespertine i wanted a
introvert absent minded effect , daydreaming . it took me a month
to sort out the order , i made many many cdr-s and didn´t give up
until it was right . i was stubborn .
(bjork.com messageboard, 04-12-2001 - 08:31 GMT)
►the
sound of Homogenic
I'm just trying to be truthful about what 1997 is. I'm
talking about all the noises that most people call ugly in some
instances because they're too familiar. I've tried to reorganize
them and put a bit of magic there.
(Seventeen, august 1997)
►the
title
I called this album Homogenic because all the dots are
pink-no green or blue-just one flavor.
(Paper, September 1997)
►the
title "Homogenic"
It all has one flavour, that's why it's called Homogenic!
(...says Björk, who confesses that she didn't know this was a
word not found in the Oxford English Dictionary.) Don't blame
me, I'm just an idiot foreigner.
(Dotmusic.com, 15 September 1997)
►what
Homogenic is about
My album is really just about that. How to sit in a chair.
Before I came here, I was just a lazy cunt. If I had some craving
inside for some drama, I would just put a record on, or read a
book or watch a film. And so the hardest thing then was to be
hyperactive. But later, it became just as hard to sit down.
'Björk, sit down! No, sit down!' It got to the stage that I would
go clubbing and I would manage to get to ten clubs in one night
and only hear one tune in each dub - that's just stupid.
(Mixmag, september 1997)
►what
Homogenic is like
I'm really seeking after something that's Icelandic. And I
want it to be more me, this album. Debut and Post (her first two
efforts) are a bit like the Tin Tin books. Sort of "Tin Tin goes
to Congo". "Tin Tin goes to Tibet". So it's all these different
flavors, me sort of trying all these different things on, which is
very exciting, but now I think it's a bit more "Björk goes home".
(JANE STEVENSON, January 18, 1997)
►who
Homogenic is
Homogenic is a woman who was put in an impossible situation
with a lot and lot of restrictions, so she had to become a
warrior, but she fought back not with weapons but with love.
(Music News & Reviews May 22, 1998)
►Homogenic's
emotion
Emotionally, this album is about hitting rock bottom and
earning your way up. So it's the darkest album I've done
emotionally, but it's got a lot of hope.
(Raygun, september 1997)
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