When you hear Björk's name it should activate a voice in your head that reaches far and wide, like someone's calling your name across a mountainous landscape. After you reach the source, there's this tiny woman standing there with a grin. She's much smaller than her voice and looks like she appeared from out of a fairy tale. Björk has played in numerous bands and released several solo albums - landing on many best-of lists over the last decade. Here's a retrospective of the Icelandic artist.

(Read all about it right here.)

In The Beginning

Björk was born November 21 in Reykjavík, Iceland. She is most often known as an emotional and expressive vocalist, sometimes her outfits make headlines too. Many like to remember the enigmatic singer as ex-front woman for the '80s pop band The Sugarcubes. They experienced some success in the U.S. with their singles "Birthday" and "Motorcrash."

At a young age music became a permanent focus in Björk's life. Her music career began at 11, when she studied classical piano in elementary school. Three years later she formed an all-girl punk band called Spit and Snot (where are those demos?), followed by the jazz-fusion group Exodus shortly thereafter. In 1980 she graduated from music school and went on to help form Tappi Tíkarrass (meaning "Cork the Bitch's Arse" in Icelandic). In 1983 they released the single "Bítið Fast í Vítið" in the same year as their full-length, Miranda.

By 1986, Björk and several members of an earlier band called KUKL, co-created the arts collective Smekkleysa (Bad Taste). They split and she formed another band, again called KUKL, but soon changed the name to The Sugarcubes. In retrospect, this turns out to be an excellent move.

The Sugarcubes

The Sugarcubes' first single, "Ammæli" ("Birthday"), became a big hit in the UK after being declared single of the week by Melody Maker. The Sugarcubes then signed to One Little Indian in the U.K. (Björk still releases solo records on the same label today). On October 15, 1988, The Sugarcubes were the musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" - a huge deal for a band from Iceland. The group signed to Elektra Records in the U.S. and recorded their debut album, 1988's Life's Too Good.

In 1992 The Sugarcubes broke up, Björk moved to London to pursue a solo career, and her first single, the buoyant "Human Behaviour," was released in June, 1993. It was named "album of the year" by NME and went platinum in the United States. Next, the Icelandic singer released Debut, her first solo album post-Sugarcubes.

From that point on, Björk would gain more notoriety, success, and record some of the best pop music of the '90s.

Post, 1995

Post was Björk's second solo album, and my personal favorite. Released in June 1995, the album was produced with artists Tricky and Graham Massey of 808 State. She explored different sounds and fused elements of techno, dance and pop. Producer Howie B. also provided trip-hop/electronica-like sounds on the single "Possibly Maybe." Other album tracks like "Army of Me" and "Enjoy" continued the experimentation. Post has been certified platinum in the U.S. and was ranked #26 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005," and came in at #373 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."

Homogenic, 1997

In 1997, Homogenic was released. Björk's sound developed even further, with futuristic, cold beats and sweeping samples. Björk worked with producers Mark Bell of LFO and, again, Howie B. on the album. While Post is regarded as the most consistent and balanced album, Homogenic is far more conceptual and regarded by fans as experimental and very beat-driven.

The album also contains some incredible music videos. For instance, the video for "Bachelorette" was directed by Michel Gondry, while "All Is Full of Love" exposes the dark mind of director Chris Cunningham. The single, "All is Full of Love," was the first DVD single ever to be released in the U.S. This trend escalates as groups everywhere begin to include more DVD content in their releases.

In an interview with Spin magazine, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke called the "Unravel" his favorite song ever. "I'm trying to get Radiohead to do a cover because I think it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard," he said In November 2007, the Oxford quintet covered the track as part of a live Web cast. In 2001, Homogenic hit gold in the U.S. and platinum in 2006.

Dancer in the Dark, 2000

Björk ventured into the world of independent film in 2000 to play the role of Selma, a blind factory worker, in Lars Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark." She recorded the original soundtrack titled Selmasongs. At the 53rd annual Cannes Film Festival she took home the award for Best Actress.

Vespertine, 2001

In 2001, Björk returned with Vespertine. The album is characterized by lush orchestral layering, choirs, and soft vocals. She also collaborated with sound crafters Matmos, who still release music today. Vespertine was Björk's quickest-selling album ever, having sold 2 million copies by the end of 2001. The Eiko Ishioka-directed video for "Pagan Poetry" brought Björk controversy with MTV. The song's video shows her nipple piercings and images of sexual acts. In 2002, the clip was re-released unedited as part of MTV2's "Most Controversial Music Videos."
 
Family Tree and Greatest Hits, 2002

2002 marks the release of the CD box set Family Tree. The retrospective gathers previously unreleased versions of album tracks, including her work with the Brodsky Quartet. Also released in conjunction with Family Tree was the album Greatest Hits. It collects 10 years of Björk's solo career. The songs on the album were chosen by a fan poll on her Web site. The new single from the collection, "It's In Our Hands," charted in the UK at #37.

Medúlla, 2004

In August 2004, Björk released Medúlla. During production, Björk decided that the album would work best as an entirely vocal-based collection of songs. However, this initial plan didn't work out that way: the majority of the sounds on the album are created by other vocalists. Björk used the skills of throat singer Tagaq, beat-boxer Rahzel, Japanese beat-boxer Dokaka, avant-rocker Mike Patton, Soft Machine drummer/singer Robert Wyatt, and several choirs. At the time, Medúlla became her highest-charting album in the U.S., debuting at #14.

2004 Summer Olympics: Björk Sings "Oceania"

Björk performed "Oceania" at the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Athens, Greece. The song was written especially for the occasion and features Shlomo, a Leeds-based beat-boxer. It originally appeared on the promotional "Oceania" single that was released to radio stations and later became available to the public as a B-side of the "Who Is It" single. That track charted at #26 in the UK.

Björk's sixth, and most recent album, Volta, was released last May. It was written and produced by Björk herself and includes beat work from acclaimed hip-hop producer Timbaland. The first single, "Earth Intruders", was released digitally on April 9 and became her second-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry in the U.S.

Volta debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming her first Top 10 album in the U.S., netting sales of 43,000 in its first week. The second single, "Innocence," was also released digitally on July 23, 2007, with an accompanying music video chosen from a contest conducted through the official website.

Declaring Independence - Present

Later on in Tokyo, Björk dedicated the single "Declare Independence" to the new and independently declared Kosovo. She was then dropped from the Exit Festival, which is held in Serbia. The festival organizers denied that they have ever dropped any artist for political self-expression, and contend that doing so is against their principles. However, Björk's representatives revealed an e-mail from the chief organizer, warning the singer not to dedicate the song to Kosovo during upcoming concerts in Europe or "relate to Kosovo" in interviews.

In recent news she dedicated the single "Declare Independence" to Tibetan freedom at the end of her performance in Shanghai, China  -causing more controversy. During her headlining tour with the Big Day Out festival she dedicated the song to "the indigenous people of Australia." At last year's Coachella festival there were no dedications.

Björk has been actively touring since the release of Volta. The eighteen-month world tour has passed through massive festivals like Glastonbury and Austin City Limits. Björk also performed in destinations like Chile, Colombia, and New Zealand. Her current tour schedule promises shows in the U.K. this spring.

As of Wednesday, Björk is scheduled to release a visually striking, three-dimensional video for the single "Wanderlust."



(Now that you've gotten to know Björk, don't forget to go to Stereogum.com on Monday to download their exclusive Enjoyed tribute album.)