This list could use some content, so here goes. Hope the umlauts turn out...
Bj?rk Gudmundsdottir. As Butthead once noted, she's one of those weird
chicks. Love her voice; hate the musicians she chooses to make albums with.
That's right, I don't buy Bj?rk albums. To me, it sounds like they're _trying_
to do techno, but it comes off sounding like a _pastiche_ of techno. Big
difference. Lucky for me, she chooses much better remixers, many of which are
very familiar to IDMers. Unfortunately the remixes are scattered over dozens of
singles - some are good, and some suck lots & lots. Here is an attempt to rate
some of them, grouped by artist:
808STATE / GRAHAM MASSEY
Oops - This is the original ID-Bj?rk, what got me into her in the first place,
and still one of the very best. At one point Massey was planning on doing an
album with her, but 808State got in the way. In light of 808State's output
since, it's a real shame that they didn't do that album.
The LP version is pretty cool. "I'll come right over & pour myself over
you"..."dog, I own you"..."I'll make you forget". Yeah! Remind me to visit
Gonzi's webpage while listening to this...
Oops - Utsula Head Mix - Breakbeat oriented with a new bassline & melodic
elements. Vocals are reduced to "Oops...alright" & "I'm the sun...I'll shine
all over you". Sucky guitar samples.
Oops - Mellow Birds Mix - Many of the elements of Ursula Head, with a nice
square wave lead synth, and no guitars. The best remix.
Oops - Eric's Hysteria Mix - 4otF with minimal vocals. Nice transforming on the
vocals, superlame breakdown. 2nd best remix.
Oops - Eric's Hysteria Edit - Very similar to the above. Why bother?
QMart - One of 808's jazzier tunes, it features Bj?rk scatting over some
typically tough 808State beats and one of their finer melodic efforts. Aces.
Army Of Me - Astro Bj?rk flies out of Astro Bj?rk City to lay waste to any man
dumb enough to give her back-talk. My lips are sealed, baby. Originally from
the Tank Girl soundtrack, I thought this worked really well in the movie. Dirge
rock done with synths, this track is ominous - crank it up.
Army Of Me - Masseymix - Very different take on the original. Tough like the
original, but that's where the similiarities end. Hard hip hop beats with lots
of distortion on everything else. The vocals have been stripped down to almost
nothing. Weird breakdown. Soundtrack for a psychotic episode.
Violently Happy - Massey Mix (Long) - Somewhere between Ex:El & this,
something, somehow has gone terribly wrong in Mr. Massey's mind. So very,
very sad. This track is a mess, based on a really bad loop of what sounds
like a synthetic jew's harp. In fact, it seems like a lot of what I've heard
from him since Gorgeous has been based on really bad sample loops. Just fucking
awful.
Violently Happy - Massey (Other Mix) - This is a bit better, for the first 3
minutes. Things are a little more focused. Then that damn sample loop comes in
and ruins it. Then it gets good again. Then it sucks lots & lots again. Cut &
paste time in Soundforge, I guess.
OUTCAST PRODUCTIONS (Beau Hannant & Richard Brown)
Hyberballad - Subtle Abuse Mix - 4OTF techno from guys who should know better.
Still, the FX on the vocals are pretty cool. A must for Hannant 'spotters.
Hyperballad - Over The Edge Mix - This is perhaps my favorite Bj?rk track.
Super-distorted vocals over super-crunchy beats. I laugh every time I picture
your average Bj?rk fan listening to this.
Hyperballad - Over The Edge Mix (Live) - Ya gotta love a women who would
subject her audience to this at a concert. Not too different than the above,
just Bj?rk singing into an FX box over a backing DAT.
Hyperballad - Girls Blouse Mix - a very subtle ambient take, in marked contrast
to the Over The Edge mix. I wouldn't consider it essential, just average.
Enjoy - Further Over The Edge Mix - More distorto-vox over super-crunchy beats.
AFX fans should love this one.
PLAID / BLACK DOG PRODUCTIONS (pre-split, though I suspect it's just Ed & Andy)
Sweet Intuition - Repetitive pizzicato synths with depraved organ chords and
Bj?rk harmonizing with her own bad self. 10/10.
Come To Me - Tablas & Indian film music strings make a lush backdrop for
Bj?rk's voice. A beaut.
The Anchor Song - A simple loop makes a sinister setting for Bj?rk's
haunting vocals.
Charlene - this one is more of a collaboration than a remix - I suspect that
whatever BDP turned in was too weird, so it was tarted up a bit by Marius De
Vries ex post facto. Even so, the track is distinctively Black Dog. Sweet &
oblique.
Cover Me - Plaid Mix - Ambience with crunchy beats & Bj?rk's ever seductive
voice. Brilliant. Bj?rk should fire her usual collaborators & hire Ed & Andy.
Big Time Sensuality - Plaid Remix - Forsakes the giddy anthemic nature
of the original for complexification of beats, but uh, where's the sensuality in
this song? I really wish Bj?rk would just sing nonsense or Islandic or
something incomprehensible. People on crack may say this track is D&B, but it's
really no more D&B than your typical speedmetal track; it just has a fast tempo.
LFO
I Go Humble - a very LFOish lead synth melody & a jazzy break. One of the best
things I've heard from LFO since Frequencies.
Hyberballad - Stomp Mix - This shows no sympathy for the original. Stomp
stomp stomp w/ Bj?rk's singing tacked on. Yawn.
Possibly Maybe - Lucy Mix - slow narcotic sludgey beats with helium
pitch-shifted vocals. Wonderful.
MISCELLANEOUS REMIXERS
I Miss You - Photek Mix (Photek) - This is the perfect melding of Rupert
Parkes' Kung Fu Soundtrack sensibility with Bj?rk's Weird Chick pathos. Bj?rk
utters gutteral sounds & occasionally belts out "I miss you" over eery strings
and pinched trumpet blasts. Zenlike.
Hyperballad - Robin Hood Riding Through The Glen Mix (Howie B) - Wow. It's hard
to believe this is a remix. This is what the song should have been originally.
Trip-hop with weird synth noizes and a laid back vibe that serves as a perfect
backdrop for the pathos in Bj?rk's voice. Highly recommended, and coupled w/
Howie's collaboration w/ EBTG, a motivation to go buy one of his albums.
Possibly Maybe - Calcutta Cyber Cafe Mix (Talvin Singh) - Laid back yet
uptempo tabla beats with distorto-vox. Yummy.
Possibly Maybe - Calcutta Cyber Cafe Dub Mix (Talvin Singh) - Another take by
Mr. Singh. Just as yummy.
Cover Me - Dillinja Mix (Dillinja) - Minimalist Techstep with Bj?rk's vocals
used sparingly and to good effect.
Isobel - Isobel's Lonely Heart (Goldie) - I was expecting more from Goldie's
first musical encounter with his paramour, but alas, we get a minimalist jungle
treatment which isn't as good as the original.
Violently Happy - Even Tempered (Fluke) - A pleasantly trancey little morsel.
Violently Happy - Well Tempered (Fluke) - Ditto.
Big Time Sensuality - The Fluke Minimix (Fluke) - A progressive house version.
Better than the original.
Hyperballad - Fluke Mix (Fluke) - Slow, sludgelike symphonic techno.
Competent.
Possibly Maybe - Dallas Austin Mix (Dallas Austin) - Downtempo beat with weird
synthtones. Would sound better if it weren't on the same disc w/ LFO & Talvin
Singh.
One Day - Trevor Morais Mix (Trevor Morais) - Trancey.
Human Behavior - The Underworld Mix (Underworld) - generic 4otF beat which plods
along interminably for 12 minutes. Big yawn.
One Day - Endorphin Mix (Sabres Of Paradise) - Slo-mo ambient mix. Nice.
One Day - Springs Eternal Mix (Sabres Of Paradise) - A resonant kick drum
that's a little flat ruins this one for me.
Come To Me - (Sabres Of Paradise) - Effectively spooky.
Mika Vainio - Headphones - Minimalist ambience from the tundra with haunting
isolated vocals from the original Icegirl.
That's all the Bj?rk I got. Here are a few IDM-type mixes that I ain't got:
Hyperballad (04:16) 3am Mix (by Mark Bell of LFO)
Hyperballad (04:24) Disco Sync Mix (LFO)
I Miss You - Howie B. (04.00)
Karvel - Graham Massey (04.28)
Human Behaviour (06:22) Speedy J. Close To Human Mix
Human Behaviour (10:42) The Underworld Dub
I Miss You - Darren Emerson (09:29) Underwater Mix
Big Time Sensuality (05:51) The Fluke Magimix - 125BPM
Big Time Sensuality (05:43) The Fluke Moulimix - 117BPM
Play Dead (03:57) Tim Simenon 7" Remix
Play Dead (04:01) Tim Simenon Orchestral Mix
Play Dead (05:26) Tim Simenon 12" Remix
Play Dead (03:57) Tim Simenon Instrumental
I think there's an album that's got several duets w/ Tricky as well.
If there are any I've missed, I'd love to hear about them...
Has anyone got the Speedy J mix? Please tell us about it...
If you're wondering where to find a particular track, check out the
excellent Bj?rk discography at
http://bjork.mmedia.is/77island/index.htm.
There are so many different Bj?rk CDs that it's just about a full time job
to keep track of which ones are interesting. Which is why I compiled
this. Hope it helps.
I think I'm going to have to dig up a few more mixes and compile 2 or 3 CDRs
with the highlights. Maybe a D&B/Triphop CD, a Black Dog/Outcast/LFO CD, and a
misc. CD. HMmmm....
Che