While Björk's latest LP Utopia has officially arrived today (November 24), 2017 also marks the 20 year anniversary of her seminal Homogenic album. In a new interview, the Icelandic icon has revealed the latter record nearly yielded a collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan.
Speaking with FACT, Björk explained she had sought out RZA's beatmaking skills for Homogenic back in 1997. When they failed to meet up in Spain to make the collaboration happen, Björk met the group in their native New York.
"We wrote a couple of songs together," she told the publication. "Sometimes when you do things and you don't plan them it's magic. And I really think what we made was magic. But I think because it wasn't part of the whole Homogenic thing and it wasn't part of what Wu-Tang were doing at the time, it was better as an idea, if that makes any sense?"
Though the music never saw the light of day, Björk ran into the Wu on other occasions, including a time where the crew sent a number of members to an in-store event she was hosting at Tower Records.
"I'd never done anything like that before. I turned up — and seven of the Wu-Tang Clan turned up to, like, protect me! I was signing books for an hour, and they sent some of their team, standing there with me," she recalled. "That was one of my all-time favourite moments: I had been on my own, so when they turned up I felt very protected. It was magic. In my eyes, they're punk. We are definitely [similar] – we do things in, like, a ritual way. The good thing was that I got to hang out with them. I got to see Wu-Tang's version of New York. Which was pretty cool. A very specific angle on that city that I feel very blessed to have experienced."
Björk's ties to hip-hop also include working with producer Timbaland on her 2007 LP Volta. You can stream her new LP Utopia here, as well as read Exclaim!'s review of the album here.
Speaking with FACT, Björk explained she had sought out RZA's beatmaking skills for Homogenic back in 1997. When they failed to meet up in Spain to make the collaboration happen, Björk met the group in their native New York.
"We wrote a couple of songs together," she told the publication. "Sometimes when you do things and you don't plan them it's magic. And I really think what we made was magic. But I think because it wasn't part of the whole Homogenic thing and it wasn't part of what Wu-Tang were doing at the time, it was better as an idea, if that makes any sense?"
Though the music never saw the light of day, Björk ran into the Wu on other occasions, including a time where the crew sent a number of members to an in-store event she was hosting at Tower Records.
"I'd never done anything like that before. I turned up — and seven of the Wu-Tang Clan turned up to, like, protect me! I was signing books for an hour, and they sent some of their team, standing there with me," she recalled. "That was one of my all-time favourite moments: I had been on my own, so when they turned up I felt very protected. It was magic. In my eyes, they're punk. We are definitely [similar] – we do things in, like, a ritual way. The good thing was that I got to hang out with them. I got to see Wu-Tang's version of New York. Which was pretty cool. A very specific angle on that city that I feel very blessed to have experienced."
Björk's ties to hip-hop also include working with producer Timbaland on her 2007 LP Volta. You can stream her new LP Utopia here, as well as read Exclaim!'s review of the album here.
