Biosphere

Geir Jenssen (Tromsø, May 30, 1962) began his musical career in 1984, releasing the album "Linkvader" under the pseudonym E-man. Having joined Bel Canto as a keyboardist, in 1990 he left the synth-pop band — after contributing to two albums — and resumed his solo career under the moniker Bleep, under which he released "The North Pole by Submarine" that same year.

1991 marks another change of direction: he adopts the stage name Biosphere and shifts his output from acid house to an atmospheric blend of Detroit techno and ambient that would become his trademark. His debut effort "Microgravity" is one of the earliest examples of the potential of this combination and can rightfully be considered a forerunner of what would come to be called ambient-techno. "Patashnik" (1994) explores and deepens the same territory, while the following "Substrata" — regarded as his finest work — focuses on building evocative soundscapes devoid of the sharp rhythmic imprint of its predecessors. The alternation between these two different facets of his electronic universe would define his output up until the release of "N-Plants" (2011), an ambient journey — sadly prophetic — inspired by the unsettling architecture of Japanese nuclear power plants.

The following decade sees Jenssen mostly occupied with minor productions centred on the use of sampling and software, a research process that culminated in the release of "Angel's Flight" (2021), based on a reworking of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14. "Shortwave Memories", conceived as a multifaceted yet seamless flow, marks a return to synthetic sound and is based entirely on the use of analogue modular systems dating back to the turn of the Seventies and Eighties.