Biosphere (musician)

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".

[2] In 1985, Jenssen was part of the newly created Norwegian moody synth trio Bel Canto with Nils Johansen and singer Anneli Drecker.

In 1994, the second Biosphere album, Patashnik was released, through which Jenssen continued to explore his ambient-house stylings to an even greater extent, employing the theme of a lost cosmonaut drifting aimlessly through space.

Unlike the first album, Patashnik was quickly picked up by a comparatively large international audience, which brought Biosphere greater recognition.

[2] In 1995, Levi Strauss & Co. was searching for a new angle to add to their television advertisement campaign (which up to that point had never featured electronic music), and they decided to use the uptempo track "Novelty Waves" from Patashnik.

Shortly thereafter, "Novelty Waves" was released as a single (featuring remixes by various other artists), and managed to chart in several countries, reaching #51 in the United Kingdom.

[2] Although Jenssen never regretted his approval for use of the track, he also never sought this kind of fame and subsequently turned down various requests by his record company and peers to collaborate with well-known techno and drum 'n bass artists or to create a follow-up album in the same style.

In 2000, Jenssen released Cirque on his new home Touch, an ambient album driven by muffled beats, samples, and minimal atmospherics.

The bulk of this work was originally commissioned and broadcast in September 2003 by Radio France Culture for a musical evocation of Jules Verne.

[2] He collaborated with German ambient composer Pete Namlook on Fires of Ork, and has also worked with Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart and with Bobby Bird of Higher Intelligence Agency.

[6] On 5 February 2021, Jenssen released the electronic-classical album Angel's Flight which features twelve tracks based on Beethoven's String Quartet No.

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.

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.".