biosphere
One more new arrival of note today hearkens back to a sound that I talked a little bit about earlier on this week: Biosphere’s Substrata is a classic ambient record that sounds as though it was recorded 20,000 leagues under the sea.
Substrata was made in the mid-’90s and, sometimes, you can hear it. But I find that it holds up much better than a lot of ambient stuff that was being created around that time. I think the reason for this is simply down to the fact that Geir Jenssen – the man behind the project – has successfully isolated himself from almost everything. Living in Northern Norway will do that for you.
The tracks here are largely beatless; they take their rhythm from pulsing bass hits and meandering synth lines. Field recordings of rain and wind also factor in at various times, giving the album a lived-in feel that something like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Vol. II lacked. It also makes it more New Agey than I’d care to admit, so tread lightly… Also of note: there are a number of Twin Peaks samples used to increase the creepy factor. (Read more about those here.) Where to start? I’d go with “Kobresia,” which runs the gamut from steely minimalism to heartbreaking swells of orchestral music. And intercepted Russian radio transmissions. For that alone, thumbs up.
“Substrata was made in the mid-’90s and, sometimes, you can hear it.”
How? That is, what in the music tells you that it was made in the mid-90s? I’m always curious about stuff like this. Sometimes it’s obvious. Sixties psych rock had an obvious sonic thumbprint. A lot of 80s rock had that over-the-top, irony-free, top-of-the-register, overproduced, hollowed-out drum sound. Indie rock in the 00s has that clean production and mannered style. But it’s much harder for me to go through this exercise with dance and/or electronic music.
maybe it’s just my abject, intense love of substrata, but i don’t hear the mid-90′s factor. also because i’ve been listening to it since it came out in 1997. it is an absolutely stunning album though, regularly voted best ambient album of all time by the ambient mailing list.
Without a doubt [to me], one of the greatest ambient albums ever. It’s amazing how Jenssen can create such rich sonic environments out of so few moving parts — “Antennaria” here is a prime example of that kind of alchemy.
I don’t think this sounds dated at all, although I know what you mean about ’90s ambient-techno music in general. None of the sounds on this album sound clichéd.