Tiny Blue Biosphere
by Rhian Sheehan / 2004
Release Notes
"We are made up of the same basic elements that inhabit the universe's most distant corners, however, we observe the universe from far deeper within. We are the universe witnessing itself - contemplating and questioning from the inside. If “intelligent” life is defined by consciousness, then we are a part of the universe’s very own consciousness observing itself from within the sanctuary of a fragile life support system - a tiny blue biosphere. How we treat this celestial gift will be the biggest verification as to whether we are truly intelligent or not.” -Rhian Sheehan
With the follow up to his critically acclaimed Paradigm Shift album, Rhian returns with Tiny Blue Biosphere. Tiny Blue Biosphere is an expansion on Rhian's debut, which sees him incorporate a sixteen piece string section, collaborate with the likes of Gramsci and Anika Moa, and create two vocal tracks with Jess Chambers. Her tracks ‘Hiding Place’ and ‘Sunshine’ mark two of the central moments on Tiny Blue Biosphere.
As he did on Paradigm Shift Rhian blends the acoustic with the electronic to create a rich musical journey, except this time his vision was more expanded, and the music far more assured: able to create broad emotive sweeps of real strings, to marshal a world of sound from both machines and acoustic instruments, and create a unique sense of his own musical geography. Then come those fragments of location recordings, the birds and a stream in ‘Phobos’, anchoring the lush landscape of ‘Tiny Blue Biosphere’ in a place we can all recognize. For those from Aotearoa, it is the sound of our place on this planet, beaming to us before we follow Rhian into a pseudo organic hip-hop break.