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Homogenic, Björk's third international solo album was released on September 22nd, 1997, preceded by the single Joga on September 15th.
As her first self-produced album, since the much more collaborative productions of Debut and Post, Homogenic marks a dramatic turning point in Björk's 20 year career.
This is Björk's most uncompromising album, featuring some of her most ambitious vocal performances. It has a deeply cinematic quality, and an emotionally charged resonance that makes it one of her most personal musical statements to date. It is also an album of complex structures and arrangements; luscious string arrangements wrap around distorted, submerged electronic beats belying a serene and contemplative mood. It's a more mature album than Post, a confident album that sees Björk developing a style of production that is almost as distinctive and original as her vocal style
Homogenic was recorded at a residential studio in El Madroñal, Southern Spain. Mark Bell from LFO, who first worked with Björk in 1991, developed the beats and the album's sonic signature. The Icelandic String Octet's sweeping orchestrations, scored by Björk with help from Eumir Deodato, were then laid over the top. Deodato had previously worked on string arrangements for Post's, "HyperBallad", "You've Been Flirting Again" and "Isobel". Björk's vocals were recorded live, along with the Octet's and Mark Bell's near-to-live instrumentation. The album was engineered by Marcus Dravs and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent who both also worked on Post.
An important musical influence in Björk's life since she was 14 has been Ásmundur Jónsson, an Icelandic radio DJ and musicologist who compiled a comprehensive history of Icelandic music for Björk's research on Homogenic.
