Bjork is promoting a new album, Vulnicura. She’s truly one of a kind and following no one else’s example. I love Bjork’s creativity but can only handle her music in small doses (that’s my problem, not hers). Bjork says this new album is very confessional and “like a diary.” She can barely listen to a few of the songs because they’re so intimate. I have no idea how she’ll perform them onstage.

Bjork spoke with Pitchfork about how men have always received credit for her music. She’s seen as a fantastical, flamboyant sprite who plays in a kingdom created by her male producers and bandmates. She’s frustrated at herself for letting it happen. Bjork takes great care to talk about the amazing men she’s worked with, but she’s taking credit now. With Vulnicura, media outlets have already reported that it was 100% produced by a man (Arca). In reality, Bjork produced about 80% of the final product. The journo pays tribute to the famous Joni Mitchell quote about how “whichever man was in the room with her got credit for her genius.” Bjork uses Kanye West’s “genius” as an example of how men are treated differently:

“The world has a difficult time with the female auteur”: “I have nothing against Kanye West. I’m not dissing him–this is about how people talk about him. With the last album he did, he got all the best beatmakers on the planet at the time to make beats for him. A lot of the time, he wasn’t even there. Yet no one would question his authorship for a second. If whatever I’m saying to you now helps women, I’m up for saying it. For example, I did 80% of the beats on Vespertine and it took me three years to work on that album, because it was all microbeats–it was like doing a huge embroidery piece. Matmos came in the last two weeks and added percussion on top of the songs, but they didn’t do any of the main parts, and they are credited everywhere as having done the whole album. [Matmos’] Drew [Daniel] is a close friend of mine, and in every single interview he did, he corrected it. And they don’t even listen to him. It really is strange.”

On taking credit:“When people don’t credit me for the stuff I’ve done, it’s for several reasons. One! I learned what a lot of women have to do is make the guys in the room think it was their idea, and then you back them up. Two! I spend 80% of the writing process of my albums on my own. I write the melodies. I’m by the computer. I edit a lot. That for me is very solitary. I don’t want to be photographed when I’m doing that. I don’t invite people around. The 20% of the album process when I bring in the string orchestras, the extras, that’s documented more. That’s the side people see. When I met M.I.A., she was moaning about this, and I told her, ‘Just photograph yourself in front of the mixing desk in the studio, and people will go, ‘Oh, OK! A woman with a tool, like a man with a guitar.’ I remember seeing a photo of Missy Elliott at the mixing desk in the studio and being like, a-ha! It’s an ongoing battle. I hope it doesn’t come across as too defensive, but it is the truth. I definitely can feel the third or fourth feminist wave in the air, so maybe this is a good time to open that Pandora’s box a little bit and air it out.”

[From Pitchfork]

She makes some excellent points about women in the music industry. Note that Bjork is not trashing Kanye (although he may see it that way). She’s simply fed up with how he’s treated as a genius, but women with his level of talent (or greater) aren’t treated the same way. The whole interview is worth reading, and she talks about how “Women are the glue. It’s invisible, what women do. It’s not rewarded as much.” Bjork speaks the truth.

Is Bjork correct about the coming “fourth wave” of feminism?

Photos courtesy of WENN