Quotes

“For a person as obsessed with music as I am, I always hear a song in the back of my head, all the time, and that usually is my own tune. I've done that all my life.” Bjork

“I do love one-upmanship sometimes, like when you see kids breakdancing and who can do the best tricks. It's common, it's in our nature as animals, like the birds of paradise who've got the best feathers and that sort of stuff. But it's fun when it's impulsive and it's about fun.” Bjork

“Come on, I'm from Iceland; I don't do hip-hop.” Bjork

“Part of me is probably more conservative than people realise. I like my old string quartets, I don't like music that's trippy for trippy's sake.” Bjork

“While you're setting something up that's educational for yourself, you have an opportunity to teach others at the same time.” Bjork

“I think religion is a mistake - I'm exhausted by its self-righteousness. I think atheists should start screaming for attention like religious folks do.” Bjork

“My first album didn't come out until I was 27, which in pop years is late, you know. But when it came time to arrange it, I became a kid in a toy shop. I had a harp and a saxophone quartet and a symphony orchestra. I went berserk for a time.” Bjork

“I've always appreciated working with people I have chemistry with, who are friends, and where you feel that the work is growing while you are getting to know each other better.” Bjork

“Since I was a kid, I always wanted to figure out how to make a bass line that was a pendulum - like, gravity would control it, and then you could make it play different notes.” Bjork

“Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I get so much grounding from Iceland because I know it's always going to be there. I have a very happy, healthy relationship with the country, so it's really easy to go everywhere because I always have Iceland to go back to.” Bjork

“I am one of the most idiosyncratic people around.” Bjork

“I always wanted to be a farmer. There is a tradition of that in my family.” Bjork

“The English eat all sorts of birds - pigeons, ducks, sparrows - but if you tell them you eat puffin, you might as well come from Mars.” Bjork

“Nature hasn't gone anywhere. It is all around us, all the planets, galaxies and so on. We are nothing in comparison.” Bjork

“In Reykjavik, Iceland, where I was born, you are in the middle of nature surrounded by mountains and ocean. But you are still in a capital in Europe. So I have never understood why I have to choose between nature or urban.” Bjork

“I am a grateful... grapefruit.” Bjork

“I love England. It's no coincidence it's the first place I moved to for a more cosmopolitan life, which is the only thing Iceland lacks.” Bjork

“I feel the 21st century is another new age. Not only can we collaborate again with nature, but we have to. It's an emergency.” Bjork

“Being a musician is very easy. My house is full of musical instruments. There's a lot of music, always.” Bjork

“Believe it or not, I'm a bit clumsy with technology. It's probably why I'm so excited about the touchscreen - even an idiot can use it!” Bjork

“I'd done three solo albums in a row, and that's quite narcissistic.” Bjork

“It's funny how the hippies and the punks tried to get rid of the conservatives, but they always seem to get the upper hand in the end.” Bjork

“The English can be a very critical, unforgiving people, but criticism can be good. And this is a country that loves comedy.” Bjork

“I bought a laptop in 1999, and it was quite liberating, because I could make a lot of my own decisions.” Bjork

“I went to music school, and I guess I was a difficult, know-it-all type of student.” Bjork

“Maybe I'll be a feminist in my old age.” Bjork

“Nature is our chapel.” Bjork

“What probably confuses people is they know a lot about me, but it quite pleases me that there's more they don't know.” Bjork

“When I was a punk teenager, I rebelled because lots of people in Iceland think that foreigners are evil and that if you don't wear woolen hats and eat sheep, you're betraying your heritage.” Bjork

“I have written most of my melodies walking and I feel it is definitely one of the most helpful ways of sewing all of the different things in your life together and seeing the whole picture.” Bjork