How Geir Jenssen aka Biosphere became such a superstar in the genre of ambient techno really is a mistery to me. In said genre, Biosphere seems to enjoy a similar status as Autechre do in the so called IDM genre. While no Biosphere track contains any offensive elements, they?re also often missing any high points. Jenssen works a lot with loops and repetition. His sound is usually referred to as ?glacial? or ?arctic? and obviously, you would not hear a Biosphere track in a club in Ibiza, probably not even in the afterhour.

?Cirque? is a reissue of a much sought after album that was originally released on Touch in 2000. For all the Biosphere collectors, the reissue will be a disappointment though since it does not contain any bonus material or different mixing. All that?s new is a reliably good artwork by Jon Wozencroft. Some tracks really do have some obvious appeal, like the detailed ?Iberia Eterea?. On tracks like that it?s easier to understand the cult status of Biosphere because all the repetition is nicely disturbed by various non-linear elements. Also quite good is the drum?n?bassy two part suite ?Algae & Funghi? which reminds of Logical Progression LTJ Bukem. The best tune of ?Cirque? is hidden at the very end though. ?Too Fragile to Walk On? is the only tune with some emotional potential. Most of ?Cirque?, especially its first half really lives up to the label of ?glacial? though. And as seeing a white desert might have some appeal for a few minutes, days or even weeks, after a while it gets really boring. 3/10 -- Stephan Bauer (3 April, 2007)