Tracklist
| 1 | Cimmerian Shaft | 13:16 | |
| 2 | Snapshot Survey | 8:22 | |
| 3 | White Lightning | 10:12 | |
| 4 | Countdown To Darkness | 6:21 | |
| 5 | Corona | 9:56 | |
| 6 | Meltwater | 9:19 |
Companies, etc.
- Glass Mastered At – Nimbus – C2371
- Distributed By – Pinnacle (3)
- Distributed By – PIAS
- Distributed By – EFA – 00917-2
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Beyond Records Ltd.
- Copyright © – Beyond Records Ltd.
Credits
- Photography By [Sami Tents Above Tromsø] – Zero Design
- Written-By, Performer – Geir Jenssen
Notes
Recorded live in Tromsø, Northern Norway, October 95.
(Geir Jenssen appears courtesy of R&S Records)
'Tromsø, 70 degrees north, in the Arctic region, in the middle of the most active northern lights zone. In summer time, land of the midnight sun. In winter, total darkness.
In October 1995, as part of the annual Polar Music Festival, Geir Jenssen of Biosphere and Bobby Bird of The Higher Intelligence Agency, were commissioned by Nor Concerts to collaborate together on a musical project to take place in Geir's home town of Tromsø, Norway. The brief was for them to perform three concerts, using sounds sourced from the area as the basis of the music - the machinery of the local mountain cable lift, the snow, the ice etc…
The performances from which this recording is taken, took place on top of a mountain above Tromsø, in a cabin reached by the cable car, in which the audience were transported up the mountain in turn.'
Catalog number on spine: RBADCD17
Catalog number on disc: rbadcd17
Released in a jewel case with frosted transparent tray, with a sealing sticker over the top of the case.
Main artists are credited as "hia | biosphere" on the sticker and "Higher Intelligence Agency | Biosphere" on the spine.
[From back sleeve portion of sticker:]
℗ and ©
1996 Beyond Records Ltd. BCM box 8098, London WC1N 3XX. Beyond email to [email protected]
Special edition. One of five thousand. Made in the UK. All rights reserved. Distributed by Pinnacle in the UK by arrangement with China Records. Distributed by PIAS in Benelux. Distributed by EFA in . (EFA Cat No. 00917-2)
(Geir Jenssen appears courtesy of R&S Records)
'Tromsø, 70 degrees north, in the Arctic region, in the middle of the most active northern lights zone. In summer time, land of the midnight sun. In winter, total darkness.
In October 1995, as part of the annual Polar Music Festival, Geir Jenssen of Biosphere and Bobby Bird of The Higher Intelligence Agency, were commissioned by Nor Concerts to collaborate together on a musical project to take place in Geir's home town of Tromsø, Norway. The brief was for them to perform three concerts, using sounds sourced from the area as the basis of the music - the machinery of the local mountain cable lift, the snow, the ice etc…
The performances from which this recording is taken, took place on top of a mountain above Tromsø, in a cabin reached by the cable car, in which the audience were transported up the mountain in turn.'
Catalog number on spine: RBADCD17
Catalog number on disc: rbadcd17
Released in a jewel case with frosted transparent tray, with a sealing sticker over the top of the case.
Main artists are credited as "hia | biosphere" on the sticker and "Higher Intelligence Agency | Biosphere" on the spine.
[From back sleeve portion of sticker:]
℗ and ©
1996 Beyond Records Ltd. BCM box 8098, London WC1N 3XX. Beyond email to [email protected]
Special edition. One of five thousand. Made in the UK. All rights reserved. Distributed by Pinnacle in the UK by arrangement with China Records. Distributed by PIAS in Benelux. Distributed by EFA in . (EFA Cat No. 00917-2)
Barcode and Other Identifiers
- Barcode (Text - Sticker): 5 021732 300928
- Barcode (Scanned - Sticker): 5021732300928
- Matrix / Runout (Variants 1 & 2, mirrored): C2371 RBADCD 17 • 1:0 MASTERED BY NIMBUS
- Mastering SID Code (Variants 1 & 2): IFPI L122
- Mould SID Code (Variant 1): IFPI 2322
- Mould SID Code (Variant 2): ifpi 2307
Other Versions (5 of 10)
View All| Title (Format) | Label | Cat# | Country | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polar Sequences (CD, Album, Reissue) | Headphone | H004 | UK | 2003 | |||
|
New Submission
|
Polar Sequences (6×File, WAV, Album, Reissue) | Headphone | H004 | UK | 2016 | ||
| Polar Sequences (7×File, WAV, Album, Reissue, Remastered) | Biophon Records | BIO32D | Norway | 2018 | |||
|
New Submission
|
Polar Sequences (7×File, FLAC, Album, Reissue, Remastered) | Biophon Records | BIO32D | Norway | 2018 | ||
|
Recently Edited
|
Polar Sequences (CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered) | Biophon Records | BIO32CD | Norway | 2019 |
Recommendations
Reviews
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Sometimes you take the best parts of two artists and they create something even more impressive! Polar Sequences still sounds great today. It's as much as you could hope when two artists come together and bring their separate styles to combine this effectively. -
The only thing that prevents icicles forming from Biosphere's polar soundscapes on your earlobes are the perfectly crafted syncopated beats by Higher Intelligence Agency. The perfect fusion. -
Absolutely stunning live recording with a beautiful story behind it. Take a bath, turn your stereo up and float transport.
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Edited 11 years agoI don't usually post reviews, but I had to say something about my favourite ambient album of all time. Polar Sequences is simply the most complete and beautiful evocation of a particular landscape that I have ever heard. When I listen, I could almost swear that my body temperature lowers and I am transported to a location that is a mysterious superposition between cold isolation and blissful freefloating in space.
What does this album do better than all the others? Maybe it is the variety of techniques and approaches being employed to elicit the mountainous soundscape; this range is demonstrated, for example, by the transition from the lulling, glowing ambience of _White Lightning_ to the spooky percussion of _Countdown To Darkness_.
My favourite ambient track of all time though is _Corona_. This pulsating, abstract piece is the most effective symbol of the blend of moods of this album and it just becomes overwhelmingly, spine-tinglingly expressive. As others have noted, the use of 'real' intellectual field samples greatly adds to the authenticity of the atmosphere, whilst the reverb, the fading away of all the aural elements in many directions, gives the feeling that you are immersed in an enormous space. -
This is less ambient music but space music, indeed. Very driving yet sober and clean like a deep space/sea trip. The filter work is fantastic and comes to real life on a good speaker system (I own a pair of Tannoy 638 guided by a straight-ahead NAD amp). I have no idea whether the guys used analogue machines but this sounds fresh as a new production and is so comfortably wise in a synchronous way. Very good album. -
Limited to 5000. This is one of my favourite ambient albums of all time, I love the fact that they've taken sounds from their natural surroundings to make a lot of the tracks. An incredible album.
Release
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