Wonder Woman of the Week: Bjork

The spotlight for this week is one of the biggest names in international music. Bjork is a staple of the Icelandic music community abroad, but has made a name for herself among experimental music enthusiasts beyond the Nordic World. Her music blends Icelandic traditions with experimental sounds and pop culture laying the foundation for a unique set that defines the musician and her audience.

Bjork grew up in Iceland where from a young age she studied music- specifically classical piano and flute. When she became a teenager though, Bjork hit the femme rock band scene hard with an all-girl feminist punk rock band called Spit and Snot. After playing with several bands in her teens, Bjork eventually left Iceland behind when she joined up with her first international band The Sugarcubes.

The Sugarcubes toured across Europe, Asia, and North America with great success; but Bjork dreamed of solo success. After six years of touring, recording, and racking in money from her first international band, Bjork embarked on a solo career in the music industry. While The Sugarcubes receives praise among their die hard fans, the band was still reaching a niche market that wanted to hear punk music of the 80's. Bjork's next move was to reach the larger world audience, so in 1992 she moved to London to draft a new style of music.

The resulting music was a haunting pop sound with punk elements and homage to Bjork's past work- and it was a hit. The musician receives praise not only for her music, but for the accompanying music videos that went along with them. Her albums sold at the top of the charts in the 90's and Bjork became a household name for her music styling. But Bjork's unintended fame began taking its toll. In one incident, reporters swarmed Bjork and her son at an airport in Bangkok which led to the artists assaulting a reporter to keep them away from her son. In another incident, an crazed fan sent the musician an acid-laden package in the mail (which was intercepted by police in London). Worst of all however was when longtime collaborator and filmmaker Lars von Trier sexually assaulted Bjork during the filming of a movie called Dancer in the Dark.

Between 2001 and 2003, Bjork produced the bulk of her greatest hits including the songs "Cocoon," "Pagan Poetry," and "Gollum's Song" the latter of which would be included in The Lord of the Rings soundtrack. In 2004, Bjork performed at the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games where her dress slowly unfurled into a massive map of the world- cementing herself in the center of the international music scene. But Bjork never lost touch with her Icelandic routes. Between 2004 and 2006, she collaborated with more artists and filmmakers from Iceland and even playing in a one-night only reunion concert with her old band The Sugarcubes.

In 2007, Bjork deepened her involvement with her Icelandic roots by helping more Icelandic musicians expand into the international market. The move did not stifle her own career however, as she embarked on an 18-month tour around the globe. The tour also helped Bjork write new songs including "Nattura" inspired by the preservation of Iceland's natural resources. She also worked on experimentation with new ways to reach fans with her music. In 2011, Bjork produced the first ever app-driven album Biophilia which was released through interactive mobile and tablet apps.

In 2015, Bjork produced her nineth studio album Vulnicura which included music inspired by Bjork's breakup with longtime partner and collaborator Matthew Barney. Bjork herself referred the the album as a "divorce" while speaking in 2017 about her next album in the works. But the album did not stop Bjorks innovative approach to music. In 2017, Bjork began work on a new album that included the first ever augmented reality music video which played live on Youtube allowing fans to enter into the 3D world of her music.