Ambient techno is an offshoot of techno that united the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno and house. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Geir Jenssen is a Norwegian electronic musician and composer who records as Biosphere. A resident of Tromsø within the Arctic Circle, Jenssen is well known for ambient and ambient house pieces, often inspired by Arctic or mountain settings, and his use of loops and peculiar samples from science fiction and natural sources. His 1997 album Substrata was voted by the users of the Hyperreal.org website in 2001 as the best all-time classic ambient album. He has also composed several film scores.
Pete Namlook was an ambient and electronic music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversaw. He was inspired by the music of Eberhard Weber, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chopin, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd, and most importantly Klaus Schulze.
Geir is a masculine name commonly given in Norway and Iceland. It is derived from Old Norse geirr "spear", a common name element in Germanic names in general, from Proto-Germanic *gaizaz.
Life... But How to Live It? was a Norwegian band, formed in Oslo in 1988. They played their first show at UFFA, Trondheim October 22, 1988, and their final show at Kampen Verksted, Oslo, April 2, 1994.
Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by vocalist Anneli Drecker, and signed originally to Crammed Discs.
Higher Intelligence Agency (HIA) is the main electronic music project of Birmingham, UK based Bobby Bird. They were featured on Warp's 1994 Artificial Intelligence II compilation.
Substrata is the third studio album by Norwegian electronic musician Geir Jenssen under the stage name Biosphere, released in 1997 by All Saints Records.
Patashnik is the second album by ambient house musician Biosphere. It was originally released in 1994 by Origo Sound in Norway and by Apollo in the rest of the world. Its track "Novelty Waves" was used for a 1995 Levi's ad campaign.
Shenzhou is an album by ambient musician Biosphere released on 3 June 2002. The structure and sound of this album are drastically minimalistic in comparison with Geir Jenssen's previous work, a concept that would be further elaborated upon in the next album. Samples are taken from several of Claude Debussy's orchestral works, particularly La Mer and Rondes de printemps. The album's name, "Shenzhou", aside from meaning "magical boat" (神舟) and being the name of the Chinese manned-spaceflight vehicles, means divine vessel. However, it could also mean "the world" (神州).
Dropsonde is an ambient album by musician Biosphere. Unlike his previous output, there is a notable jazz influence present on this album.
The North Pole by Submarine is the only album released by ambient techno artist Bleep. Bleep was the one-time moniker of Geir Jenssen, who is more widely known as Biosphere. Shortly after North Pole was released, Jenssen moved in a far more ambient direction with his music, and changed the name under which he released his new music to avoid any comparison with "bleep house".
Insomnia is the soundtrack album for the 1997 Norwegian film Insomnia, which was composed by ambient artist Biosphere. The tone of the album is much darker in places than Geir Jenssen's earlier work, such as in the tracks "Field" and "Quay".
Cho Oyu 8201m – Field Recordings From Tibet is an ambient album released by artist Biosphere under his real name Geir Jenssen. Recorded in 2001, it was released in 2006.
Jenssen is a Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Jens". The prefix "Jens-" is a Danish and Frisian derivative of Johannes. There are alternate spellings, including the Danish Jensen, the English language Jenson, and the Belgian/Dutch language Janson. Jenssen is uncommon as a given name. People with the name Jenssen include:
Origo Sound is a Norwegian independent record label formed in 1990 in Norway by Harald Lervik. The initiative to start the label was taken after Tormod Opedal, an employee in Lervik's software company, in 1989 had decided to close his own label Cicada which had released two albums by the Norwegian composer Erik Wøllo. Wøllo had a new album ready to be released, and Origo Sound was formed the year after, with two albums launched in the autumn 1990, of which one was the new Wøllo album
Birds of Passage is the second album by the Norwegian band Bel Canto.
The Tromsø techno scene is the origin of many of Norway's most important artists within electronic music. The internationally best-known names are Röyksopp, Biosphere and Bel Canto.
N-Plants is an ambient album by Norwegian producer Geir Jenssen, a.k.a. Biosphere. For this album, Jenssen found inspiration in the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Each track title is named after a Japanese nuclear plant.
Wireless: Live at the Arnolfini, Bristol is an ambient live album by Biosphere. It was recorded on 27 October 2007 at Bristol, United Kingdom. Biosphere performed tracks from some his previous albums and also three new pieces.
