Fred (laruellef@yahoo.com)
Reviewed 2002-10-19
BIOSPHERE - Substrata/man with a movie camera
Touch, 2001

AMBIENT INDUSTRIAL

Although many bands could be slammed in the same category of slow minimalist music made with industrial machinery sounds, Biosphere does manage to create its own unique sound. The artist successfully delivers meaningful atmospheres that take you beyond the machine room into the mountains, the ocean, the arctic desert, etc...

This particular album is unfortunately special, as it was commissioned for a new soundtrack of a 1929 Russian Silent movie, and very few songs manage to stand out on their own (without the movie).

Fred's picks: CD1: 2, 8 - CD2: 4, 7, 8

CD1
01 - 00:19 - Telly show with scratch-scratch sounds
02 - 07:53 - Atmosphere of a futuristic religious gathering in a machinery room. Recurring big gong sound over metal bells, with a big industrial hum in the background.
03 - 05:59 - Fluty synth lead over a slow beat that surfaces after 3 minutes
04 - 06:46 - Mid-speed low industrial beat with all kinds of intermittent noises (voices, seagulls, ocean, boats, ...)
05 - 04:44 - water sounds, funky Russian guitar sounds in the style of 'Kalinka', Whoosh synth lead.
06 - 01:57 - old piano/jazz samples
07 - 07:50 - midspeed beat, jazz/accordion samples, cloudy synth, watery bell sounds. Beat ends after 5 minutes.
08 - 07:23 - the Jungle mid-speed beat, the creepy industrial hum and the electronic bell sounds all give this song a rather unique atmosphere that almost evolves into a dance tune.
09 - 10:47 - conventional midspeed electronica

CD2
01 - 01:47 - highway noises
02 - 04:11 - Beatless procession with hums, bell sounds and samples
03 - 07:34 - similar feel with different instruments and samples (ie Russian guitar)
04 - 06:28 - beatless dreamy tune with synth strings lead and other keyboard sounds
05 - 03:45 - guitar lead, no beat, singing in the background.
06 - 05:45 - more beatless ambient electronics..
07 - 07:13 - Graceful ending atmosphere rendered with strings and sampled voices
08 - 05:05 - Cool religious touch given by sampled choirs and electronics background
09 - 03:01 - slow guitar lead without beat
10 - 05:48 - wind, bells, processed tibetan wind instruments, boat horn
11 - 07:53 - sampled wind instruments, etc...