SUBSTRATA

In that not so distant "Ambient Music" planet, Geir Jenssen a.k.a. BIOSPHERE, is quiet known and respected. And as far as they tell "Substrata" (the 1997 release, which will later be added entirely to the "Sustrata2/Man With a Movie Camera" 2001, 2 cd album), was Biosphere's turning point. It even caught the attention of electronic/ambient pioneer Brian Eno, which of course made everyone else turn their heads and listen.

It takes no genius to figure out this is "game". The music itself, although confined in the "ambient" tagging, offers a taste of this musician's "trade", up to that point in his career and shows him as a mature "clean thought" electronic music experimentalist.

Now, all of this would be senseless, if it lacked song writing to match things up. "Substrata" is completely inspired in that regard. The music blends many ways of expression into single songs, unconnected with each other. With brushes of dark symphonics, plenty of attractive electronic environments, down to earth tape recordings, hypnotic lo-fi acoustic guitar melodies (Shoegaze-like), with intense and deep choirs and unintelligible voices here and there. All lightly threaded into huge musical structures in contrast to the minimal ones. But above all it is a great Prog/Electronic album, which offers to this genre a "new" OWN language musician, which we all know are so scarce.

****4 + my review, PA stars. Welcome to this machine!

Share this BIOSPHERE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to admireArt
• Report this review (#1153562)
• Buy BIOSPHERE music online with PA partners
• Show all BIOSPHERE MP3/Stream
• Go to BIOSPHERE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Substrata page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for BIOSPHERE related discussions