Substrata (released, oddly, on the new age-heavy All Saints label) was the first full-length solo work released by Biosphere's Geir Jenssen following a three-year period of silence.
The album was the first of three to appear almost simultaneously, however -- the other two being the soundtrack to the psychological thriller Insomnia, on the Norwegian Origo Sound label, as well as his third Apollo album -- proving he'd hardly been in hibernation.
Interestingly, while many ambient artists have moved increasingly toward the integration of percussion and rhythmic sequencing, Substrata finds Jenssen almost completely abandoning the rhythmic elements of earlier works such as Patashnik and "Novelty Waves," focusing on dark, subtly melodic, often piercingly melancholic soundscapes that flow seamlessly from one to the next.
The album recalls the more abstract moments of Global Communication's ambient works, as well as the glacial expanses of Jenssen's 1996 collaboration with Higher Intelligence Agency, Polar Sequences, and is quite easily among his most accomplished, satisfying works to date.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As the Sun Kissed the HorizonGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 01:47 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Poa AlpinaGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | ChukhungGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 07:34 | 17 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | The Things I Tell YouGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 06:28 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Times When I Know You'll Be SadGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | HyperboreaGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 05:45 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | KobresiaGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 07:12 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | AntennariaGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Uva-UrsiGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Sphere of No-FormGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 05:47 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | SileneGeir Jenssen | Biosphere | Play | 07:54 | 18 MB | 0 MB |
| 58 mins | 133 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biosphere | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Geir Jenssen | Composer, Producer |
| 3 | Audun Strype | Editing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |