Debut (1993)

Debut is the international debut studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 5 July 1993 by One Little Indian and Elektra Entertainment. It was produced by Björk and Nellee Hooper and was Björk's first recording following the dissolution of her previous band, the Sugarcubes. The album departed from the rock style of her previous work and drew from an eclectic variety of styles, including electronic pop, house music, jazz and trip hop.

Debut received critical acclaim from British music critics, though American reviews were mixed. It exceeded sales expectations, charting at number two in Iceland, three in the United Kingdom, and 61 in the United States. Debut was certified gold in Canada and platinum in the US, where it remains Björk's best-selling album. Five singles were released from Debut: "Human Behaviour", "Venus as a Boy", "Play Dead", "Big Time Sensuality" and "Violently Happy". All charted in the UK, with only "Human Behaviour", "Violently Happy" and "Big Time Sensuality" charting on dance and modern rock charts in the US.

Background and production

While performing as the vocalist of Icelandic alternative rock group the Sugarcubes, Björk approached Ásmundur Jónsson of Bad Taste and producer Derek Birkett of One Little Indian Records with a demo cassette of her own songs. The demo included versions of songs that appeared on Debut, including "The Anchor Song" and "Aeroplane". After the Sugarcubes went on hiatus, Björk moved to London, England, where she and Birkett worked on the details of what would become Debut. The Sugarcubes' music did not fit Björk's taste, and her contact with London's underground club culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s helped her find her own musical identity. Björk said in a 1993 interview that the guitar-driven rock in her previous work felt outdated, and that house music was "the only pop music that [was] truly modern… where anything creative [was] happening [at the time]." She said that "Kate Bush has really influenced [her]" as well as Brian Eno, acid house, "electronic beats" and "labels like Warp."

Björk had already written half the songs for Debut, but had nothing recorded. She had written many of them years before moving to London, including "Human Behaviour", which she wrote as a teenager when she was in the Sugarcubes. She had put aside the songs as "I was in punk bands and [the songs] weren't punk". With no producer, she composed songs with 808 State member Graham Massey in a friend's home in Manchester, where she also wrote songs included on later albums, including "Army of Me" and "The Modern Things".

While creating electronic tracks with Massey, Björk developed a desire to work with a jazz producer. Paul Fox, who had worked with the Sugarcubes, introduced her to jazz harpist Corky Hale. Hale had planned to decline to work with Björk until her stepson, a Sugarcubes fan, insisted that she take the job. Björk recorded a handful of jazz standards with Hale in 1991, including "I Remember You" and an early version of "Like Someone in Love"; the latter song was included in Debut's track listing. Fox also introduced Björk to Oliver Lake, with whom Björk recorded another jazz standard, "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries", with Lake's jazz group for the John Hughes film Curly Sue. Hughes turned down the recording, but it led to Debut being produced by Fox and arranged by Oliver Lake. Björk contracted Lake to work with session saxophonists in London for Debut; Lake's contributions are heard on tracks including "Aeroplane" and "The Anchor Song".

Björk intended to have several producers work on the album. She planned to have the album produced with Fox until she was introduced to producer Nellee Hooper by her boyfriend Dominic Thrupp. Hooper had produced albums by Soul II Soul and Sinéad O'Connor which made Björk skeptical about working with him, stating: "I thought Nellee was too 'good taste' for my liking. But then I met him, got to know him, [and] got to hear about his fabulous ideas." Björk and Hooper's recording ideas were similar, which led to her decision to end production with Massey and Fox. Hooper introduced Björk to studio technology and studio programmer Marius de Vries, who gave Debut a modern style with keyboards and synthesizers. He produced the first ten tracks on the album, while Björk co-produced "Like Someone in Love" with Hooper and produced "The Anchor Song" alone. Björk and Hooper spent many sessions in the studio working on Debut until the album was finished in early 1993.