Björk : Hello !
Björk : *
Question : lc says : Do you dig into the internet much ?
Björk : A little bit.
Björk : Not every day...but a little bit.
Björk : I like sites that sort of “monkey about” with music.
Björk : *
Question : mdfmk says : You’ve been composing music for years now, but as an actress who are your influences ?
Björk : I never thought of myself as an actress,
Björk : and still don’t.
Björk : I don’t think I approached the role I played technically.
Björk : I approached it more from a human point of view
Björk : because of my love for the character I played.
Björk : I “became” her.
Björk : *
Question : USAJester-guest says : I’m a huge fan of your videos. How much control do you retain in their creativity ?
Björk : I would to look at them as collaborations.
Björk : I would prefer the word “protection” to “control.”
Björk : So, because I know the songs from inside-out,
Björk : it is my role to describe them to the directors I work with.
Björk : So they get to know their true personality.
Björk : I think I could be a communicator between the songs and the directors...
Björk : like a link.
Björk : *
Question : rhonda-guest says : Do you have any subjects you enjoy reading about ; ie sci-fi ?
Björk : I tend to read either very scholarly books, very dry
Björk : like about musicology.
Björk : ...which is probably self-education !@
Björk : I read poetry.
Björk : Quite a lot of poetry.
Björk : It differs !
Björk : *
Question : highcole says : Since you are seen as a role model to so many women, I was curious to know who your role
model may be ?
Björk : Last book I read was Nijinski’s diary.
Björk : highcole, I guess my friends.
Björk : my family.
Björk : But, I’ve never had an “idol”...it hasn’t really happened to me.
Björk : *
Question : mishimanostra5000-gu says : What will your new album be called ?
Björk : I guess a working title for it is “Domestica”
Björk : but it hasn’t got a final title yet.
Björk : *
Question : mishimanostra5000-gu says : Is the “Good the Bad and the Ugly” album a real project or an internet rumor ?
Björk : I’ve never heard it before ! : )
Björk : *
Question : Mikki-guest says : Björk, you are a faboulus artist ! Have you ever wanted to work with symphonic orchestras ?
Björk : I was lucky enough on the soundtrack I just did...I co-arranged for an 80-piece orchestra...which
was very challenging and exciting.
Björk : *
Question : Mikki-guest says : Has this film opened a new field of music for you ? And will you continue in that direction ?
Björk : I think it taught me a lot about craftsmanship.
Björk : It’s probably the most challenging thing I’ve done
Björk : with the 80 piece orchestra,
Björk : and just to give an example...
Björk : most of my songs on my previous albums have had 20 tracks
Björk : on each song. The film soundtrack had 110 tracks on each song.
Björk : It really helped me to mature...
Björk : and “discipline” me.
Björk : It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since childhood.
Björk : To sit down for so many months and be so detail-y...and specific musically.
Björk : I think that’s where my true love is.
Björk : I’m more of a craftsman.
Björk : *
Question : Memerzatz1 says : When will you be on tour ?
Björk : Next spring !
Björk : When my next album comes out.
Björk : *
Question : Duncan-guest says : Hi Björk.. hows the new album coming along, can you tell us any song titles yet ?
Björk : I think it would be misleading if I gave you song titles
Björk : since the songs change so much
Björk : it’s gone really well.
Björk : It feels very exciting...it’s definitely a place I’ve never been in before.
Björk : It seems like an actual continuity of all the places I’ve been !
Björk : *
Question : Igor_S-guest says : Hi Björk ! When you write music, what generally comes first : the melody, the beat, the
words ? What I mean is : do you follow a regular pattern (consciously or unconsciously), or do you allow yourself to be
taken by the flow, wherever it may lead you ?
Björk : The flow thing : )
Björk : *
Question : kymbeee says : Was that your first time at the Cannes Film Festival and what was it like receiving an award
at such a prestigious event ?
Björk : Because I spent three years working on the film,
Björk : and I put everything else aside
Björk : my own projects,
Björk : friends,
Björk : family,
Björk : all the things I love,
Björk : and went to Denmark.
Björk : It was very pleasant to receive this award.
Björk : LOL
Björk : I’m not exactly sure of it’s content, but I know for sure what it meant to me personally.
Björk : For me, it was a happy ending to three very difficult but very rewarding years.
Björk : *
Question : maxs-guest says : You’ve said that Dancer... is your first and last film. But wasn’t Juniper Tree your first
film ?
Björk : When I did Juniper Tree, my child was two months old,
Björk : and I was breastfeeding him between takes.
Björk : The whole thing felt like a dream.
Björk : I don’t think I was conscious of what was happening.
Björk : So that’s why I never counted that, really.
Björk : It’s important for me that I give “all of me”
Björk : to things I do.
Björk : Which I certainly did with “Dancer In the Dark.”
Björk : *
Question : doughtyrI-guest says : Catherine Deneuve’s skin as dreamy-creamy in reall life as it is on the big screen ? I
love you Björk !
Björk : Yes !
Björk : She’s wonderful.
Björk : I had several moments when we were shooting...
Björk : we were working sometimes 16 hours a day every day
Björk : for months.
Björk : Including weekends.
Björk : Spending so much time with the actors and everyone.
Björk : I still managed to have several moments when I would
Björk : look into Catherine’s eyes, and get wobbly knees...
Björk : because of how beautiful she is !
Björk : I’m definitely heterosexual, and she still has that effect on me.
Björk : *
Question : Dolphins-Dream says : When did you get your start ?
Björk : I can’t remember NOT doing music.
Björk : I’ve always been on my private mission ...
Björk : the attention and the traveling have been sort of a bonus.
Björk : I would be doing the same songs as passionately
Björk : with or without it.
Björk : I can’t remember a point when it has not been that way.
Björk : *
Question : ambere77-guest says : What is your driving force to be continually different from other artists ?
Björk : I can only be this way !
Björk : I have tried to compromise sometimes, but it doesn’t work.
Björk : I think my talent to compromise is appallingly small !
Björk : I wish I could sometimes.
Björk : I remember being in a cover band as a teenager.
Björk : and it ended up being a problem, because I couldn’t make the songs sound like the covers we were
trying to cover.
Björk : they would always become my tunes...and the other band members would tell me off.
Björk : I don’t think I have a choice.
Björk : *
Question : Danielloy says : If you weren’t a musician, what else do you think you’d like to be ?
Björk : I could run a record shop !
Björk : A real “Trainspotty” one
Björk : I could have a radio program about music...
Björk : I could run a music school for children.
Björk : I WILL do that when I am 40 or 50.
Björk : I’ve always known that...I have ideas on how to teach children music...
Björk : very personally, and with small groups of children,
Björk : that’s definitely part of my mission in life.
Björk : *
Question : the_greec_god says : What was the inspiration behind the song “All is full of love” ? The composition is a
work of art !
Björk : Oh thank you !
Björk : I guess waking up after having been in Spain for six months
Björk : in the mountains...with few people.
Björk : It was kind of solitary.
Björk : And it was April, and I had to walk in the morning...around the mountains.
Björk : And spring just kicked in.
Björk : It was definitely nature-inspired.
Björk : On a more personal level.
Björk : its about when you have been too stubborn about giving love to
Björk : one particular direction...you expect it back...
Björk : like it’s a bank or something.
Björk : And kind of realizing that it’s up to you what you give,
Björk : but it’s not up to you what you are given and where from.
Björk : *
Question : guest guest-Conners says : Do you play any instruments ?
Björk : I learned the flute.
Björk : I play keyboards.
Björk : and I’ve been trying to learn the harp.
Björk : I think I have a potential to become a good harp player.
Björk : Give me forty years, and I might succeed to be a harp-playing granny ; )
Björk : *
Question : guest-Summer_Lynn says : Do you have an official website ? Can we find all your info on there ?
Björk : It’s http://www.bjork.com
Björk : *
Question : kymbeee says : The video for “It’s Oh So Quiet” looks like it was loads of fun to make, everybody looks so
happy in it... can you tell us about the making of it ?
Björk : It was amazing !
Björk : It was me and my friends and Spike Jonze.
Björk : and his friends !
Björk : In the summer in L.A. and the whole atmosphere around it was fun !
Björk : It was in 1995.
Björk : *
Question : valerie-guest says : Your voice changes over the years. Have you lost the highest notes or gained more vocal
control ?
Björk : I think I have gained more vocal control, but at the same time
Björk : I think that’s one of the advantages of getting older.
Björk : You will always have the emotion
Björk : and the rawness.
Björk : I guess there won’t ever be a day when you’ve woken up and your feelings are “finished”
Björk : You gain more empathy and emotion as you get older
Björk : but at the same time, because now I train my voice my voice in the mornings when I wake up.
Björk : It grows, emotionally but also technically.
Björk : It’s one of the most exciting things for me.
Björk : I think actually it’s where discipline and instinct meet.
Björk : ...in the most intense way !
Björk : in me.
Björk : I think it mirrors everything I do.
Björk : I may get a new favorite album, make new friends, be happy.
Björk : get drunk
Björk : gain respect for taxidrivers LOL
Björk : I could go on forever, but it will all turn up in my voice.
Björk : *
Question : vic says : Being of ‘Genius’ Status—would you consider yourself to be a mad genius ?
Björk : LOL
Björk : Thanks for the compliment !
Björk : You’ve got me there.
Björk : *
Question : sallybelly-guest says : What are the current influences on your new music ?
Björk : It’s always hard for me to say while I’m doing it.
Björk : While I’m doing it I’m staring at some details
Björk : and it usually isn’t til a few years later that I can look at it,
Björk : and it become obvious what was the main drive.
Björk : Because I’m in the middle of it, it’s hard to pin it down.
Björk : I guess the only thing I can say...
Björk : is that because I held my breath...
Björk : the selfish side of me, for three years.
Björk : A lot of things are gushing out that are the opposite of the film.
Björk : The film was very harsh.
Björk : quite dark,
Björk : emotionally brutal,
Björk : so I guess what I’m doing now has got a tendency to be the opposite,
Björk : which I guess is gentle,
Björk : humorous,
Björk : happy,
Björk : and kind.
Björk : *
Question : guest-emery9 says : What is your favourite place in the world ?
Björk : Iceland !
Björk : *
Question : beryl-guest says : What’s in your cd player right now ?
Björk : emery, right now I have a lot of people I love very much in London.
Björk : That city has been very kind to me, I guess maybe because I’m in Manhattan now...
Björk : but part of my heart belongs to Manhattan.
Björk : ...
Björk : Beryl,
Björk : I have about 100 cds I take with me everywhere.
Björk : It’s very hard for me to pick out one !
Björk : One by Chris Watson called “Outside the Circle of Fire”
Björk : anything by Oval.
Björk : *
Question : twochimps-guest says : I know you sang a duet with Polly Harvey once, any plans for another collaboration ?
Björk : I sang a duet with Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
Björk : It’s on the soundtrack album for the film
Björk : It was a gorgeous experience...we spent four days in Spain, singing a few hours a day.
Björk : It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to blend my voice with his.
Björk : That was lovely !
Björk : *
Question : zeppo-guest says : What made you decide to take on a film role ?
Björk : I guess I have a obsession to want to finish things properly.
Björk : And not leave them until they’re perfect.
Björk : I guess there’s no such thing as perfect, but the side of me that believes in fantasy definitely believes
there is.
Björk : When I had completed music for the film.
Björk : Lars, the director,
Björk : convinced me that the only way to completely complete the music, was if the person
Björk : who wrote the songs would also be the main character in the film.
Björk : He convinced me that it was an extension of my songs.
Björk : *
Question : Montreal-fan-guest says : How do you feel when other artists praise your work ?
Björk : I don’t read a lot of press...I’m terrible with praise.
Björk : You are very good at it in the US and Canada : )
Björk : In Iceland, if you like someone, you sort of hint that they are okay
Björk : after you’ve known them for ten years.
Björk : So I’m sorry to say I’m not very receptive when it comes to praise.
Björk : or criticism.
Björk : I guess it’s a weakness, because I think I have a fear that it will put me off my path.
Björk : to get lazy.
Björk : Since I feel I have only started and have so far to go, I shy away from
Björk : distractions.
Björk : *
Question : Mathias-guest says : your music always heads in new and exciting directions. do you think there is endless
number of roads to take ?
Björk : Yes ! Yes I do.
Björk : I think if you believe in nature, it’s obvious
Björk : If you look at yourself as an extension of nature,
Björk : nature has been doing its thing for billions of years.
Björk : So a few years is nothing to nature...
Björk : if you look at it from the right angle, there are endless ways. : )
Björk : In closing...I’m just curious and flattered by your interest today !
