Geir Aule Jenssen (born 30 May 1962) 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.
History
Prior to Biosphere (1962–1991)
Jenssen was born on 30 May 1962 in Tromsø, a city within the Arctic Circle in the northernmost portion of Norway. He was inspired by the music of artists such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Wire, and Brian Eno, which he described as "like discovering a new universe—a universe which I wanted to be a part of". In 1983, he bought his first synthesizer and composed his first piece of music, taking inspiration from his archaeological studies, later stating "Studying the Ice Age and Stone Age has definitely influenced my music." and Jeux.
Released in 2004, Autour de la Lune stands as the most minimal and austere Biosphere album to date. The drones employed on this album are comparable to Coil's 1998 album Time Machines in their timbre and slow rate of change. The bulk of this work was originally commissioned and broadcast in September 2003 by Radio France Culture for a musical evocation of Jules Verne.
In 2006, Jenssen released Dropsonde, a half beatless, half rhythmic album composed of jazz rhythms evocative of Miles Davis' 1970s jazz fusion works. A partial vinyl sampler was released a few months earlier in 2005.
In 2009, Biosphere issued Wireless: Live at the Arnolfini, Bristol, his first live album, containing new tracks such as "Pneuma" and "Pneuma II".
Jenssen has scored a number of films, including Eternal Stars (1993) and Insomnia (1997).
In 2016, Jenssen released Departed Glories as Biosphere. The thematic focus of the album draws inspiration from the defence of Kraków from Nazi invasion during the Second World War. Jenssen conceived of the album while living in the city.
On 5 February 2021, Jenssen released the electronic-classical album Angel's Flight which features twelve tracks based on Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14.
In January 2022, Jenssen released Shortwave Memories as Biosphere. The album marked a sonic departure from Jenssen's previous work – using manually-programmed analogue synthesizers from the late 70s and early 80s to create a more vintage sound.
On 14 October 2022, Jenssen released Substrata (Alternative Versions) on Biophon Records, featuring ten alternative versions picked from the Substrata recording sessions that took place between 1995 and 1996.
On June 30, 2025, Jenssen released The Way Of Time on AD 93. According to the artist's Bandcamp, this album takes loose inspiration from Elizabeth Madox Roberts’ novel The Time Of Man, sampling Joan Lorring’s voice from the 1951 radio play adaptation of the novel.
Live
Biosphere regularly performs live during electronic music festivals and in clubs throughout Europe and various other locales around the world. Live performances usually consist of Jenssen performing improvisations or variations on newer tracks on a laptop while video art is projected behind him; for example, full-screen video art was projected in his Picturehouse cinema tour in April 2006. Although these performances are rarely tied specifically to a recent album release, the uptempo material from the Bleep and Microgravity/Patashnik era is occasionally featured in Biosphere performances.
In May 2004, Biosphere's first United States performance took place in Detroit.
In 2008 Jenssen announced a year-long break from touring due to his reported hatred of "airports, security checks, unhealthy food, air conditioning, hotels, etc.". However he resumed concert activity in 2009 and 2011.
Other interests
Jenssen is also an active climber and mountaineer. This hobby is an inspiration on his work, as well as a source of natural sound samples.