It is often said that the seminal Substrata is the pinnacle of the Norwegian Geir Jenssen's career, also known as Biosphere. The truth is that the master of "glacial" ambient, with the high value of every published work, has done even better.

This is the case with "Patashnik," a 1994 album and Jenssen's second work, in my opinion his masterpiece. It’s recommended for anyone who wants to get closer not only to Biosphere as an artist, but to the very concept that animates his sound, never so clear as on Patashnik. The haunting and rarefied atmosphere, the suffocating bass and that cold and surreal sound that makes a Biosphere record recognizable among 100 others can be said to originate from this album. Listening to the amazing tracks like "Startoucher" or the menacing "Phantasm", the sensation will not be too distant from finding oneself in the midst of desolate snowy landscapes, out of this world, prey to one’s emotions; the echo of these strange childish samples ('We had a dream last night..We had the same dream' says a little girl) pronouncing on hellish drones in a beautiful good/evil contrast is the manifestation of these. Glacial music, "arctic" ambient. It's been said, indeed. A thousand times. It's the power of Biosphere's music; it’s the whole concept underlying the very existence of this project. Without it, it would not have a reason to exist.

It’s important to remember this. The Biosphere world was inspired by the infamous Biosphere 2 Space Station Project, the enormous glass ecosystem located in the Arizona desert, that aimed to study and create a new biosphere (hence the 2) with the intent of building self-sufficient and habitable space colonies in an isolated environment. Geir sets the same goal, projecting it onto the musical world. The creation of a sound world to enter through his records, or rather his "sound biospheres."


In Patashnik, as in the previous Microgravity, the space for rhythms (almost absent in more organic works like the celebrated Substrata) is still very ample, so much so that the album, like all his early productions, leans more towards techno territories rather than other ambient. Alongside these are peculiar cinematic samples, and sounds recorded live in his hometown Tromsø, his operational base. When speaking of "Ambient Techno," besides the various Orb, Sharp, Global Communication, and company, one cannot help but think of Biosphere, who more than anyone has embodied the canons of the genre.

If the two tracks mentioned (which are the explosive start of the album) might deceive, it's "Decryption" that drives home its pulsating and repetitive tam-tam marking a slow funeral march. "Novelty Waves" presents an even more pronounced rhythmic part with a classic dry old-school kick; in the background organic sounds, mechanical samples, and wavering effects built on a nebulous bassline that forge an anxious and leaden sound. Faster but in the same vein is "Seti Project", obsessive basslines, techno rhythms, and the continuous "fading" modulation of the synths are elements that will reappear throughout Patashnik. "Mir" and the primitivism of "Caboose" are hypnotic episodes almost on dark-ambient territory, practically the opposite of the title track, the only radiant moment following what was already done on Microgravity (a decidedly less dark and cerebral work).

But it is an out-of-place piece, a moment of clarity before the maximum expression of the Biosphere Sound, because it is with the next track that you encounter the highest and most representative moment of the album: the unsettling "The Shield", Jenssen's masterpiece, 9 extremely intense minutes. The ambient intro on the classic icy background complete with essential wind effects really sampled (present several times as also seen in "Botanical Dimensions") that then give way to beeps and interference announcing the pivotal point of the trip through biosphere 3: a cadenced spirit march of cymbals and wisely placed Russian vocals in strategic points, to create again that subdued and oppressive sound, more typical of dark ambient by Lustmord than of practitioners of the less pessimistic and "natural" side. Dark resonances, filtered synths, and barely perceptible harrowing screams enrich the scenario of what is a theatrical rather than musical production. Biosphere only guides the listener towards his "dome," a "detached" sound universe. Amazing.

If the infamous Biosphere 2 project miserably failed, the same cannot be said about Biosphere, his world perfectly fits inside the listener’s mind, and this is why every work of the Norwegian is an unrepeatable experience. Mapping new horizons, new universes, inspired by the Eno philosophy, initially Geir's main inspiration. Only the Future Sound Of London have managed to manipulate their music in such a "scenic" way (particularly Dead Cities), curiously with completely opposite intentions to the world that births (rather than dies) created by this man from Norway to rewrite the rules of ambient. And perhaps even of the world.

Tracklist Samples and Videos

01   Phantasm (04:50)

02   Startoucher (05:02)

03   Decryption (06:04)

04   Novelty Waves (06:27)

05   Patashnik (06:13)

06   Mir (05:18)

07   The Shield (08:54)

08   Seti Project (05:58)

09   Mestigoth (01:43)

10   Botanical Dimensions (05:43)

11   Caboose (05:12)

12   En-trance (04:40)

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