Customer Reviews

Microgravity

5 star:		(6)
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I am not the biggest fan of ambient music--it often gets too drowsy for me--but Geir Jenssen's Biosphere-project is a must. It's also one of only a few of such bands from the early 90s I keep returning to, even though, at the time, bands like the Orb and even KLF seemed much more lasting.

"Microgravity" is the first Biosphere CD and it's awesome. The blend between atmospherics and beat is perfect in just about every single track. "Baby Satellite" is danceable and dreamy, and even tracks without much of a beat, like the opening title track, have a movement to them that few other artists can emulate.

Most outstanding is "The Fairy Tale." The opening sample--where does this come from? A radio-voice describing a square full of burning tourists: "Look at them out there, all those little figures dissolving in light. Rather like fairyland, isn't it--except for the smell of gasoline and burning flesh." Chilling! And the song is great, wonderful beat, minimalist melody, beautiful ending.

I had the pleasure to see him perform in a club in Amsterdam, the year after the album came out, and with the help of a programmer/keyboard player he put together a great show. I had never seen such an act live before and was quite sceptical, but he quickly made me change my mind and really delivered. These are not just dance beats: they are songs.

Jenssen delivered a masterpiece with this album, one that I'm afraid he couldn't top with the sequel, "Patashnik." This is the ideal music for kicking back and doing some serious thinking, or flying, or biking, or writing--and that pretty much covers my life.

Mixing ambient textures with driving beats, techno rhythms and swirling atmospherics, Jennsen creates a beautiful album. This is the early part of his career before he decided to dispense with the beats and concentrate on total ambient music. If you're unsure of buying a completely ambient album then get this first, but trust me all of his albums, beats or not, are brilliant.

Deleted in many countries, get it now while you can.

Amazing visual landscapes generates from aural frequencies to transport you to an unknown but enjoyable territory.

Excellent.

Biosphere's "Microgravity" is essentially ambient music with a slight beat behind it, but overall it's just an incredibly dreamy and creative album. It's definitely something you could have on in the background when you're working on a paper or any other artistic endeavor - this is a thinking man's music (you could fall asleep to it, too). The songs sound relatively similar, but they're all unique and fun in their own way - it's pretty hard to describe what the electronic bits sound like, but they're always catchy and interesting. He uses samples in a lot of the songs, and they're always very good and memorable ones (see "The Fairy Tale" and "Tranquilizer" for some cool ones). The only complaint one could give about this album is that it's out of print! If you don't mind paying for a digital download (it's the best and probably only way of getting it nowadays) then you can buy this for about $11.00 from www.shopsonic.com. If you liked this album then you'd probably like The Orb's "U.F.Orb" and "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" as well as Global Communication's "76:14". Most people will love this album! Absolutely recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!

This is a very good listening-album. The music is excellent and addictive. In the background it's full of sounds I remember from the small places in the north of Norway, but it also have other surprises, like "Fairyland". A definitive must-have if you like this kind of ambient. If you like this, be sure to buy "Patashnik" as well.

Geir Jenssen's debut album under his critically acclaimed Biosphere alias has managed to always strike a different chord when it comes to ambient. Whilst the later works of Substrata and afterwards have managed to utilize a more minimalist, ambient schematic, Microgravity has managed to be relatively upbeat and submersed in darkness.

Every track is phenomenal on its own, and whilst the beginning track "Microgravity" is far more laid back than what would follow, it only prepares for what is to come, utilizing atmospheric loops layered properly to set its dreamlike nature. While the tempo may be a bit more upbeat, by no means does it distract the dark, overwhelming atmosphere provided throughout this album.

This is a completely entrancing experience that must be witnessed and can never be duplicated.