Blogarhythms

Late last week fibre artist m. Cody (with help from myself, DJ 12XU and a Home Depot rent-a-van) finally moved the remainder of her accoutrements from her old workspace into our shared space. I tweaked my back a little in the process, but it was worth it because that means her eclectic collection of music is now no more than a few paces away from me and mine.

Her change in scenery also signals a change here on Blogarhythms because it gives me the opportunity to switch up my Friday ritual a little bit and throw a treat from her collection into Records at Random contention. That’s something new for her, something new for me, and something new for you too! And I already told you a while back that I was gonna try something new here every once in a while.

The first curiosity to emerge from her stacks of audio ephemera is a CD-reissue of Björk Guðmundsdóttir’s eponymously-titled 1977 debut. And before you ask, yes, Björk Guðmundsdóttir is the Björk. But Björk before The Sugarcubes, before the Trip-Hop beats, before Michel Gondry, before Dancer In the Dark, before the infamous “swan suit,” and before she (literally) declared independence.

The disc was recorded by the then eleven-year-old Björk who was offered a record contract after a recording of her singing sent in by one of her music instructors was played on Icelandic radio. As might be expected it’s a stark contrast to her later output. A number of songs on the platinum-selling album are covers of tunes by the likes of Syreeta (co-written by Stevie Wonder), The Beatles, Edgar Winter and Melanie. But there are a few originals (including an instrumental written by Björk herself) and being a product of the ’70s there are a few progressive touches that foreshadow her future discography.

The album surprises right out the gate as the nature-sounds and mystical sitar of album-opener “Arabdrengurrin” (penned by her stepfather Sævar Arnison) melt into a thumping ’70s Disco groove with a snappy bassline and chicken-scratch guitars. Her Icelandic cover of Syreeta’s “Your Kiss is Sweet” is pretty straightforward, but her youthful innocence is a departure from Ms. Wright’s more sensuous original. But by track three, a remake of Edgar Winters’ “Alta Mira,” it’s not exactly a shock to hear her sounding like Iceland’s answer to the Jackson 5 as she frolics and “la-la-la’s” over the song’s playful, cowbell-prescribed soundscape.

To my ear though the standout tracks are those that meld the then-contemporary sounds of Prog-Rock, Power-Pop, and Soft-Rock, replete with tempo changes and near-orchestral layers of synthesizer. “Fúsi Hreindýr,” which sounds fresh from a collaborative recording sessions between Toto and Styx (orchestrated by Vangelis maybe), and the instrumental “Músastiginn” (featuring Björk on flute) are especially dope in all their weirdly syrupy Prog-Pop glory.

I’m not sure how ears familiar only with her ever-experimental late-era work will react to hearing an unseasoned, elementary-school-aged Björk bravely belting her way through a cover-heavy kiddie-Pop record. I mean sure, the album is weird. Especially to contemporary American tastes since it is after all a product of late-1970’s Iceland. And even kiddie Björk is still Björk in her own youthfully nonthreatening way. But I think heads looking for an obvious indication of her future brilliance might be less enthused than I am by this early document of a contemporary genius.