Björk Guðmundsdóttir is one of the key recording artists of the 21st century. Moving effortlessly between disciplines and genres so fluidly it would shame David Bowie, Björk has tackled neo-classical, showtunes, house, pop, indie as well as acting (winning best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her turn in Dancer In The Dark) and creating a visual template for her work that is staggeringly rich. Björk has used collaboration as a key part of her work and her work available in sheet music is perhaps her most radical example of this. In her own words “I wanted to question how I felt about musical documentation, when CDs were slowly becoming obsolete, I was curious about the difference of midi (digital notation) and classical notation and enthusiastic in blurring the lines and at which occasions and how one would share music in these new times. What is the difference of karaoke and the lyrical recitals of the 19th century? Can one meet at bonfires and sing techno songs? (well icelanders do obvs) Maybe I should share digital notation that people could connect to their synths or do harpsichord versions of electronic beats to enjoy in the living rooms and hopefully families singalong to”.
