Bjork is Iceland’s best knows musician and for a good reason too.
I’ve got great respect for her for preserving her own style of music and not
selling out to some of the great record labels. If she had sold her music to
the big companies she would have lost some if not most of her artistic liberty
of expression.
Bjork is probably the most famous Icelander – ever!
When I work as a tour
guide I love telling people about Bjork because she is often the only person
foreign visitors in Iceland know prior to their visit. For better or worse.
What many people do not know is that Bjork has tried her hand in many different
styles of music ranging from raw rock to jazz. Who would have thought?
Bjork’s jazz album Gling Glo sells steadily in spite of the fact
it came out perhaps 15 years ago. Bjork wasn’t all that serious about the album
at the time but it produced an unforgettable song – Oh So Quiet.
If you’re in town and want to get the best advice on what music
to buy, go to the store 12 Tonar (12 Tones) on Skolavordustigur street. The
shop is in an old corrugated iron building ( you go up some steps) which stands
on the left hand side of the street, about half way up, as you walk up towards
the landmark memorial church in Reykjavik – Hallgrimskirkja – which looks like
a space shuttle about to lift off.
