Search - Biosphere :: Substrata

Among the deepest music ever created

shape | 09/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What truly makes music timeless - any music, any genre or style - is feeling. This album (minus track 5, that is, which falls short of the quality level of the rest of the album) is pure feeling/ pure deepness, free of ego. It is so amazingly organic, thick, warm, and analog, speaking the voice of nature, and furthermore the voice of the universe. It takes one's open mind/heart thru the fractal, the schematic of time and space, thru the sacred geometrical structures that create the universe, into the void - primordial emptiness, nothingness and yet at the same time complete fullness. It is utterly spine chilling, and so powerful that it brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to it.Some people may confuse the pure feelings of universal balance, truth, and beauty channeled thru this music, as being cold, distant, or empty. This is because its power is so stark and profound, that it goes beyond what many people can grasp. This can often happen with music that is repetitive and hypnotic, because of the mind's resistance to let go, and allow the spirit to feel purely. Therefore it's completely missed. There is no darkness (as related to ego) in this album - only balance.This album is incredibly hypnotic, bringing you into a tranquil, meditative state, perceiving the moment and the oneness of all that is. The music takes you thru many different aspects of the natural world - murky depths of the Arctic's frozen waters, dark caverns and bottomless crevasses, serene lakes, clear blue skies, across mountaintops, cloud formations, and a bird's eye view of the terrain below, as echoes of ancient chants, bells, and instrumental drones morph into an ever distant future of perfect experience - birth, death, transformation, growth, and ultimately, love - resonating eternity. In turn, these compositions open you to the cosmos and other dimensions.If you are having trouble understanding this album, a visual counterpart often helps it sink in. In this case, and also for an ultimate audiovisual awakening experience, rent the movie Koyaanisquatsi (from the director of Baraka), and play Substrata as the soundtrack instead of the soulless Philip Glass soundtrack which takes away from the powerful, transformative inner eye-opening messages within the visuals, that will be reinforced tenfold with the aid of Substrata. This album is so perfect for the movie, you'd think it really was the soundtrack for it.Of all of Biosphere's albums, although many are great, this is definitely the 'deepest' all the way thru. I would also recommend Nordheim Transformed (with Deathprod), Polar Sequences (with HIA), Man With a Movie Camera (Substrata 2), Cirque, and the Insomnia soundtrack. And for those looking for music with similar hypnotic feelings, I would recommend the Chain Reaction and Basic Channel labels from Germany, Thomas Koner, Pole, and Arovane to name a few - some of this is more on the rhythmic tip.This album continues to blow me away more and more every time I listen to it, as I receive a more perceptive message thru it every time. It is amazing how intensely Geir Jenssen tapped in here. Substrata is truly among the deepest, most beautiful music ever created on this planet. These words I write cannot do it justice. It must be *felt* thru the ears."

Easily the best ambient cd of 1997.

Steven Yates | Greenville, South Carolina USA | 05/20/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Biosphere is Geir Jenssen, former keyboardist for the Norwegian band Bel Canto. Since leaving that group to pursue solo projects, he's just kept getting better and better. _Substrata_ is his best effort to date, and easily the finest ambient recording of 1997--even better than Brian Eno's (whose voice, I would swear, appears on a couple of tracks even though his name isn't in the credits). The techno beat which characterized many tracks on earlier Biosphere offerings (the hard-to-find imports _Patashkin_ and _Microgravity_) is gone in favor of a smooth, clean blending of electronics and spare, delicate guitar lines. One also hears sampled voices, bells, and indeterminate environmental sounds suggesting the high-latitude cold of Jenssen's home town of Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle. If you like ambient music, don't miss this! A veritable cascade of sound. The absence of anything harsh, abrasive, or distracting makes this a good meditation cd, too. Very highly recommended."

Ambient, minimal, psychoacoustic, experimental; beautiful

Stephen Smith | 08/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit, Im a skeptical when it comes to highly praised music, so I was very critical of this album as soon as I got a hold of it. Praised as one of the best ambient compilations of the 20th century, I was sure I would be disappointed having my expectations so high. Well, for once, I was wrong. Substrata deserves all the worship it's received and more. This is a soundscape like no other, merging organic, psychoacoustic, and drone minimalist together into one, incredible journey. When I played track 1 for the first time, I thought there was a distant jet flying past my house, only to realize it was actually a ploy of the cd.
The cuts from Lynch's Twin Peaks series feature the "giant's" visitation to Cooper in his sleep, along with the Major's discussion with Bobby at the RR. I was amazed to hear clips from this (also mind-blowing) early-90's masterpiece, and they fit perfectly.
While I cant praise some of Jenssen's other more techno-ish albums, this single piece makes up for them and more. If you're an electronic music lover, than you had better purchase Substrata."