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The one-and-only Emperor of Ambient has returned! Hail to Biosphere! Why? Because Shenzou is yet another masterpiece from our Norwegian wizard. His albums Substrata and Patashnik are among the very best ambient albums that ever saw the light of day, in the entire galaxy. Especially the near-beatless Substrata was an overwhelming display of cold and atmospheric ambient, where ice sculptures were given a majestic sonic statue.
And now there's Shenzou. After Cirque,. which was released in 2000, I was a bit afraid. Not that Cirque was a bad album — absolutely not — but it also told us that the real progression was kind of gone. Luckily for me, and for everybody else, Geir Jensen, aka Biosphere, found new inspiration in the works of classical composer Debussy. He sampled a variety of Debussy's orchestral works and used them to build completely new and original pieces of his own. No beat in sight for more than 50 minutes. Classical melodies, but not in a classical way. Icy and desolate, yet warm and cozy. Melody and drone go hand in hand. Shenzou sounds like one big trip into the depths of Biosphere's extremely carefully assembled archives, where he gives you an intimate insight into his personal existence. Intimate yes, because no matter how cold or tough the soundscapes seem, after a couple of listens, they let you in. And you don't wanna get out.
The conclusion? Biosphere has done it again. Shenzou is a superb piece of work that is almost as good as Substrata. It's not likely he's ever going to top that album, but Shenzou is a close second. Go buy it. Now.
http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/biosphere/shenzou/1988/
Meer Biosphere op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/biosphere
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