Those supporting the thesis that an artist’s origin is mirrored in the sound of his music will find lots of material for proof in Geir Jenssen’s music – he was born in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, one of the most Northern cities in the world. The tracks that he’s been releasing under the pseudonym of Biosphere since 1984 evoke images of his white, snow-covered, raw, ever-dawning yet stunningly beautiful country. The fact that Geir Janssen is also a photographer seems to fuel the visual side of his music even more. Under his own name, he has always released field recordings from places somewhere other than his home. »Cho Oyu 8201m« from 2006 gives us an insight into what the turquoise mountain-world of Himalaya sounds like. For his latest release, the Norwegian has taken his Fostex FR-2LE Field Memory Recorder to the crater rim of the Stromboli, an active volcano. The record’s structure was designed by the volcano’s soft eruptions. The a-side leaves them unprocessed, the b-side presents them as dub. The differences are only marginal. That way, »Stromboli« becomes a lesson in listening. The magma is floating, the rocks are melting, and you’ll be able to hear how the mountain of 924 meters is alive. As a musician, Geir Jenssen becomes more like the photographer he is: He doesn’t try to reproduce the beauty of nature (like he does as Biosphere), but instead recreates it. Hence, »Stromboli« belongs more in a library than a museum.
Stromboli
