Felix NEill

For the first time ever on Castles in Space, I present to you a guest post. Robjn is a musician and artist who runs a netlabel, Fruit Tree Records and can be contacted via Twitter.

On April 1st 1998 Bjork entertained the BBC Radio 1 audience with a mixset for The Breezeblock. For me, this DJ set is very interesting for the reason that you can see the ideas forming for her albums "Homogenic" and "Vespertine" as she takes inspiration from these other artists. I think it's fair to say that she is undoubtedly a genius but in many ways she uses the same formula as that for which Madonna is hated - she seeks out a producer with a desired 'sound' and works with them to get that sound, then moves on to the next big thing.

This is where I feel mean, I feel like I am pulling apart a work of art. Naturally (in her defence) if you can afford a producer with the sound you desire, you should be allowed to do that rather than knocking it off yourself; but as you will hear, she has subsequently "borrowed" a few ideas that appear in this mixset.

The first example is – 'Oval – Shop In Store', it's nothing more than the intro to 'Hidden Place', you would have to be insane not to hear it in there (though Marcus Pop of Oval gets no credit on the album as I'm sure it was only an inspiration). Cocoon features beats as in Sähko – Track 7. Matmos were the last moment producers of Vespentine so they too affected the album. As already stated, this is a better move than mimicry. Why not go for authenticity? It takes the ideas of micro-beats used on Homogenic and gives it to the masters of sampling this laptop music leaving them to make one of the best albums of modern times in my opinion (if only for the song Unison).

Also featured are Black Dog who remixed tracks from "Début" with such perfection and Aphex Twin who under the name DJ Smojphace opened for Bjork at her Hammersmith Apollo show, and was 'booed' off for playing non stop feedback / needle-on-the-record-player-with-no-record-on-it style music.

Needless to say of my opinions on the motivations of Bjork this is a very good mixset. It's obviously heartfelt and you would be hard pressed to hear something of similar adventurousness on BBC Radio 1 these days. Or anywhere else for that matter.

Intro
Nico - Le Petit Chevalier
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy
Nico – My Only Child
Black Dog – Chesh
Aphex Twin – Afx 6/B
Amar - Tu Hai Mera Sanam / I Will Always Love You
Oval – Shop In Store
Matmos - Three Guitar Lessons
Meredith Monk – Gotham Lullaby
Adham Shaikh – Tail
Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsalm
Oval – Do While
Track 7 – Sähko
Michael Jackson – We're Almost There
Aphex Twin – Afx 6/B
Space Age Pop – Track 11
Aphex Twin – Logan Rock Witch
Arvo Pärt – Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Public Enemy – Don't Believe the Hype