Substrata (album)

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Substrata
Studio album by Biosphere
Released	1997
Genre	Ambient
Length	58:33
Label	All Saints Records
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Biosphere chronology
Insomnia (1997) Substrata (1997) Cirque (2000)

Substrata is an ambient music album by Biosphere, released in 1997 by All Saints Records. It is considered to be a classic ambient album, consistently in the top 5 in surveys on the Hyperreal ambient mailing list [1] [2] [3].

Biosphere's first truly ambient album, it has a theme of cold, of mountains and glaciers and running water. Sounds of howling wind and creaking wood, although infrequently employed, create a chilling soundscape interrupted by sonorous but quietly suspenseful music.

In 2001 the album was re-released in a digitally-remastered format with a second disc featuring a soundtrack for Dziga Vertov's 1929 film Man with a Movie Camera. See Substrata 2.

[edit] Track listing

1. "As The Sun Kissed The Horizon" – 1:47
2. "Poa Alpina" – 4:10
3. "Chukhung" – 7:34
4. "The Things I Tell You" – 6:28
5. "Times When I Know You'll Be Sad" – 3:44
6. "Hyperborea" – 5:45
7. "Kobresia" – 7:12
8. "Antennaria" – 5:05
9. "Uva-Ursi" – 3:00
10. "Sphere Of No-Form" – 5:47
11. "Silene" – 7:54

[edit] Sample sources

Many of the vocal samples employed are taken from the TV series "Twin Peaks" by David Lynch.

The Twin Peaks sample on 'The Things I Tell You' is from the Giant waking agent Cooper in his hotel room:

"Sorry to wake you... I forgot to tell you something... The things I tell you will not be wrong..."

The Twin Peaks sample from 'Hyperborea' is from Major Briggs explaining his dream to his son, Bobby. The whole text is as follows:

"A vision I had in my sleep last night, as distinguished from a dream, which is mere sorting and cataloguing of the day's events by the subconscious. This was a vision, fresh and clear as a mountain stream, the mind revealing itself to itself. In my vision, I was on the veranda of a vast estate, a palazzo of some fantastic proportion. There seemed to emanate from it a light from within, this gleaming, radiant marble. I'd known this place. I had in fact been born and raised there. This was my first return. A reunion with the deepest well-springs of my being. Wandering about, I noticed happily that the house had been immaculately maintained. There'd been added a number of additional rooms, but in a way that blended so seamlessly with the original construction, one would never detect any difference. Returning to the house's grand foyer, there came a knock at the door. My son was standing there. He was happy and carefree, clearly living a life of deep harmony and joy. We embraced, a warm and loving embrace, nothing withheld. We were, in this moment, one. My vision ended and I awoke with a tremendous feeling of optimism and confidence in you and your future. That was my vision of you. I'm so glad to have had this opportunity to share it with you. I wish you nothing but the very best in all things."