Biosphere, aka Geir Jenssen, says he wanted to create “something reflecting psychological trauma.”

Norwegian ambient legend Biosphere is releasing his first solo album in five years.

Departed Glories is out September 23 on Oslo’s Smalltown Supersound label. It was inspired by Jenssen’s time living near Krakow’s Wolski forest and specifically the story of a Polish medieval queen called Bronislawa, who in the 13th century fled to the forest to escape the invading Tartars.

The label says Jenssen went in search of local folk music, from Poland and Ukraine, and began to work with that material to transform it into something reflecting psychological trauma.

The 17-track album employs samples from East European and Russian folk music recordings while also presenting a visual homage to photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, who pioneered a form of colour photography using three sheets of glass. The album artwork uses a Prokudin-Gorsky photograph of an Armenian woman in a forest in what is now Turkey. “The crystal clear yet haunting atmosphere fascinated me,” writes Jenssen on the Smalltown Supersound site.

Hear the first taste of the album below and pre-order a copy.

Departed Glories follows 2011’s N-Plants and last month’s reissue of Biosphere’s second album, the 1994 ambient classic Patashnik, which he released on his own Biophon label.

Tracklist:

01. Out Of The Cradle
02. Well And Purpose
03. Down On Ropes
04. Free From The Bondage You Are In
05. With Their Paddles In A Puddle
06. Than Is The Mater
07. Sweet Dreams Form A Shade
08. Aura In The Kitchen With The Candlesticks
09. Departed Glories
10. Whole Forests Of Them Appearing
11. Invariable Cowhandler
12. Behind The Stove
13. You Want To See It Too
14. In Good Case And Rest
15. Tomorrow Then We Will Attend
16. With Precious Benefits To Both
17. Fall Asleep For Me