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Post is the third studio album, and second major-label release by Björk, released on June 13, 1995.
Post is considered an important exponent of art pop. It features an eclectic mixture of electronic and dance styles such as techno, trip hop, IDM, and house, but also ambient, jazz, industrial, and experimental music. Björk wrote most of the songs after moving to London, and intended Post to convey the city's pace, urban culture, and underground club culture.
Background[]
Björk contacted Nellee Hooper, who previously worked on Debut, to produce the album.[1] He refused initially, encouraging her to produce the album herself, but agreed when she insisted. However, Björk agreed to co-produce along with other enlisted producers; "to make it stay fresh, she had to think about other people being involved". With Hooper's confirmation, Björk commenced work on the album almost immediately at the Bahamas' legendary Compass Point Studios. The picturesque locale inspired Björk to meld the recording process with the exotic natural environment.
For this record, Björk incorporated shelved songs she wrote in Manchester with 808 State's Graham Massey, which had preceded the recording sessions for Debut. These included "Army of Me" and "The Modern Things", which had become live staples over the summer, and did not need to undergo extensive transformations at Compass Point.
Although the album was supposed to be delivered the day after she returned from the Bahamas, Björk felt it was not yet complete and decided to continue its production back in London. She enlisted a new team of engineers and programmers, and spent the next months "tweaking, rearranging, and sometimes completely rerecording her pre-existing tracks". Ultimately, it was the inclusion of more "real" instruments that "resuscitated Post for Björk".
Björk continued to compose songs such as "Isobel", which was created while she was visiting Reykjavík for Christmas, before bringing it back to Hooper's studio. The song's lyrics were written in collaboration with Icelandic poet Sjón, which was his first songwriting experience.[2]
Brazilian composer Eumir Deodato immediately agreed to participate on the album at Björk's request.[1] Björk decided to contact him after being impressed by his arrangements of a rare Milton Nascimento song called "Travessia". Deodato's presence as composer and conductor "immediately bolstered" "Hyperballad", "You've Been Flirting Again" and "Isobel". This addition of strings, brass and percussion elements gave Post the balance Björk felt her original recordings had lacked. By the time the album was finished in April 1995, the list of co-producers included: Björk, Hooper, Bernstein, Massey, and Tricky.[1] Björk has said: "The people I collaborated with were all people I was hanging out with in clubs in London. I had known them all for a while before we ended up working together."[3]
When asked about the album title, she said:
"It was a combination of things. I felt the album was the other half of Debut, so it made sense to call it Post -- before and after kinda thing. Also, my friend Hussein Chalayan had made a whole [clothing] collection on Belgian envelope paper (I wear a jacket from it on the cover), so it sort of was in the air at the time. This word was waiting to be used."[3]
Singles[]
Track list and release history[]
- Main article: List of international editions of Post.
First edition (1995)[]
- This version was released in the United Kingdom in July 1995.
First edition | ||||||||||
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No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
1. | "Army of Me" | 3:54 | ||||||||
2. | "Hyperballad" | 5:21 | ||||||||
3. | "The Modern Things" | 4:10 | ||||||||
4. | "It's Oh So Quiet" | 3:38 | ||||||||
5. | "Enjoy" | 3:57 | ||||||||
6. | "You've Been Flirting Again" | 2:29 | ||||||||
7. | "Isobel" | 5:47 | ||||||||
8. | "Possibly Maybe" | 5:06 | ||||||||
9. | "I Miss You" | 4:03 | ||||||||
10. | "Cover Me" | 2:06 | ||||||||
11. | "Headphones" | 5:40 |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pytlik, Mark (2003). "Björk: Wow and Flutter". ECW Press.
- ↑ "GH&FT special : Isobel". bjork.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Enjoyed: Björk: The Stereogum Interview". Stereogum. 2008.