A most perfect album inspired by the 1936 film classic
Geir Jenssen's work as Biosphere is legendary within the realm of ambient electronic music. His serene, dreamlike sound, often combined with cryptic samples (and sometimes field recordings) creates a sonic aura unlike any other. I could easily point you toward his splendid 1994 album Patashnik, or 2001's Substrata. These are, each on their own, some of the finest albums I've ever listened to -- but 2017's The Petrified Forest is just one of those albums that is now a part of my heart. It is part of who I am. And so I must share it with you.
The album is entirely based around the 1936 film The Petrified Forest, incorporating repeated samples from the film and also echoing something of its themes and settings. So I should probably start there. Based on the 1935 play by Robert E. Sherwood, it stared British superstar of the day Leslie Howard as Alan Squier, a failed writer making his way across the United States in the midst of the Great Depression. He is brooding, but charming, and eventually ventures into the small town of Black Mesa at the edge of Arizona's Petrified Forest. Here, he meets Gabrielle (Bettie Davis) and, in time, contends with the threat posed by another wanderer: the criminal Duke Mantee, played by none other than Humphrey Bogart in an early role.
The film was a major release at the time and is still quite available to rent, though I don't think it has remained much on the radar for most modern film fans. However, the film is quite watchable and really quite relatable to modern viewers. It broods on a period of post-war malaise, environmental degradation and our continual search for meaning. Howard's charm transcends the passage of time and Davis is quite good as well. The film's Arizona never feels anywhere close to the splendor of that state's natural environment. It was, after all, shot mostly on a sound stage and the location shots are not as evocative as they could have been.
I do not know if Geir Jenssen himself has traveled to Arizona, but I certainly feel its landscape come through in his music. There is space there -- space that we feel compelled to pour our spirit into. This alone is a fascinating aspect of human contemplation of the desert, which is covered in the excellent Ideas podcast episode The Desert: a well-spring of the imagination. I've listened to this Biopshere album many times while driving across or hiking around the Arizona wilderness and -- I realize this is entirely subjective -- but it simple feels like a perfect triangulation of sound, mind and natural environment. The dreamlike quality of the music is nothing short of transformative.
The entire release is amazing, but the key track here is Black Mesa, with key refrains of Davis' "Here in this desert, it's just the same thing over and over again" as well as Howard's monologue about his wandering:
"I suppose I was looking for something to believe in. Worth living for and dying for. And I've come this far on my journey. Black Mesa…"
Biophon Records put together an excellent music video for the track, featuring visuals from the film, so I include that for you now:
You can listen to The Petrified Forest on the Biopshere Bandcamp page, Spotify or wherever you get your music. And I do hope the album is leading others to rediscover the 1936 film as well, which you can view it on Amazon or other digital rental places.
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