“Exciting”: The Björk album that inspired Warpaint to start a band
Whilst synonymous with indie rock of the 2010s, Warpaint have since displayed their ability to evolve together as one unit, despite their individual and wide-ranging span of influences. It’s this susceptibility to learn from others and each other that ushers in growth and development, and in 2022 it was their fourth album, Radiate Like This – six years on from its predecessor – that introduced the band’s revamped sound.
With trip-hop sensibilities throughout, the album placed emphasis on low-end and atmospheric electronics – a side-step, or rather a step up on the ladder of progression, from the downtempo rock and pop-leaning Heads Up, released in 2016.
Displaying such a varied palette of sonic shades, it’s no wonder Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa collectively bring an eclectic mix of tastes to the table, spanning almost every genre, from rock and folk to R&B and pop.
For bassist Lee Lindberg, it was a dark wave that caught her attention, citing the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘Umbrella’ in her admiration: “The guitars are creepy and eerie but also beautiful, and the vox are primal and amazing as per usual,” Lindberg told The Week. It’s easy to see how these influences would find their way into the work of Warpaint.
For lead vocalist Kokal, she recalls the “calming angelic feeling” Enya evoked, pinpointing ‘Orinoco Flow’ as one of the Irish singer’s best works. Alongside Joni Mitchell’s Blue and The Cure’s Disintegration, she happily admits that her more “uncool” favourites included the likes of U2, and specifically 1987’s ‘With or Without You’.
Drummer Stella Mozgawa spotlights the vocal prowess of Nina Simone whilst also declaring that “no playlist is complete without” ‘Pastoral’ by Moondog. It’s a track that reeks of the sensibilities of the band and speaks keenly to Mozgawa’s own delivery. “[It’s] one of my all-time favourite pieces of recorded music,” the musician told Hero.
Guitarist and vocalist Theresa Wayman pushes the envelope even further, however, citing the profound impact Björk’s Debut had on both her personal and artistic development at the impressionable age of 18, telling Another, “I started listening to Debut when I was around 18. I felt, as probably many girls did, that she was speaking directly to me.”
It’s not unusual for certain artists to feel that way about Björk, as she not only delivered work that musicians could luxuriate in but a lifeline to the artists who had spent their lives feeling like outsiders. She added: “She was expressing all the things that I wanted to say while also creating really deep, yet exciting music. I just loved that she was almost a full spectrum of emotion and experience and that she was such an unlikely pop star.”
Co-produced by Björk and Nellee Hooper – at the time, known for his work with the likes of Sinead O’Connor and Soul II Soul – Debut was released in 1993 and marked the Icelandic artist’s first recording following the dissolution of her previous band, The Sugarcubes. Redefining the singer-songwriter, Björk fused elements of techno, trip-hop, jazz and pop throughout the album’s eleven tracks. Clearly, Theresa Wayman and Warpaint haven taken a leaf out of that book.
