Rhian Sheehan - Tiny Blue Biosphere

"We are all travellers. As we move through our daily lives distracted by the rhythm of the world around us, most of us remain unaware we are hurtling through the unfathomable emptiness of space, passengers on a minuscule cosmic cell. We inhabit a delicately balanced biosphere, seemingly perfected for life to exist beneath its protective blanket of air & its oceans of water. Our cell the earth, rides a curent of space & time around a star we call the Sun, which in turn provides a celestial regularity to our day-to-day lives as we ebb & flow to the pulse of its gravitational tide.
As we humans advance technically and progress toward unpredictable realms of technology at ever increasing speed, we have acquired the ability to peer deep into the fabric of nature, and we now comprehend more about our surroundings than ever before. This is the epoch of understanding. Yet the majority of us are unaware of our unique place within the universe. Ignorant to the mystifying reality that our world resides within, we have detached ourselves from nature and seek deeper answers.
Naïve and perhaps complacent, the majority of us are unaware that our very existence is cosmically interwoven into the very beginning of everything, that we view the universe from a very intimate and spiritual place indeed.
We are made up of the same basic elements that inhabit the universes 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

Rhian Sheehan, come in for landing. With the follow up to his critically acclaimed 'Paradigm Shift' album, Rhian returns with 'Tiny Blue Biosphere'. 'Tiny Blue Biosphere' is nothing short of an expansion on what Rhian has already delivered, extending himself to a sixteen piece string section, collaborating with the likes of Gramsci and Anika Moa, and creating two vocal tracks with Jess Chambers, recently heard on The Upbeats album, and destined for even greater things. Her tracks 'Hiding Place' and 'Sunshine' mark two of the central moments on "Tiny Blue Biosphere".
Also contributing their musical skills are TrinityRoots bassist Rio Hemopo, London based Wellington electronic musician Hummel, Flute and koauau player Kirsten Johnstone and The Phoenix Foundation drummer Richard Singleton.
Between and around them Rhian creates pictures from sound, encouraging the listener to fill in their own visual accompaniment, evoking the sublime. From the opening moments of 'traveller', utilizing location recordings Rhian has made in Germany, London and Hong Kong, the scope of this music soon becomes clear: it is a reaction to all that surrounds Rhian. A voice asks, "How did the universe arise?" and the response is a vast field of sound, breaking into oceanic sweeps of rhythm. High concept perhaps, but Rhian keeps his feet on the ground and blankets the listener in warm fields of tone, bleeps and pulses. Once again, as he did on "Paradigm Shift" Rhian blends the acoustic with the electronic to create a rich musical journey, except this time his vision has expanded, and the music is 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.
Rhian introduces further collaborations in 'Miles Away' with Bevan Smith (Signer/Aspen) and Matthew Mitchell, adding the unique vocal of Gramsci's Paul McLaney to create a unique fusion of elements with the yearning warmth of McLaneys voice set against Signers techno dub textures. The best though, is saved for last with the stunning 'Te Karanga' building from a simple melody played by Rhians live flautist, Kirsten Johnstone on koauau (Maori flute). 'Te Karanga' then expands to encompass a delicate vocal from Anika Moa. 'Te Karanga' is also Rhian's latest contribution to the highly successful Café del Mar compilation series, appearing on the latest addition Volume 11. To conclude 'Tiny Blue Biosphere' Rhian offers a demonstration of how far he has traveled beyond his earlier 'Paradigm Shit' in 'The Farthest Place', utilizing the musical palette available in a sixteen piece string orchestra, evoking the sublime in a conscious, deliberate musical expression. This track once again demonstrates a level of composition which exists well beyond mere programming of electronic beats. Rhian truly has a world of sound, both organic and digital at his disposal and has developed the compositional skills to articulate limitless musical possibilities.
These are the connections Rhian Sheehan has made on his musical journey in the studio and on his travels around this 'Tiny Blue Biosphere'.
Rhian Sheehan's debut album 'Paradigm Shift' (2001) is regarded as a landmark in NZ electronica and was named New Zealand album of the year by music critic Colin Morris. It has since attracted huge interest from overseas labels. Tracks from Paradigm Shift have been included on seven international compilations including Café del Mar volume 10. Te Karanga from Tiny Blue Biosphere has already been snapped up for Café del Mar Vol.11. Rhian Sheehan also features on the 'Barramundi Vol.4' compilation alongside international artists including Jose Padilla, Tosca and Horace Andy. 'Tiny Blue Biosphere' elevates Rhian further into the international domain. Rhian Sheehan has also recently secured international licenses to MTV Europe and the UK's BBC Channel 4.

To celebrate the release of Tiny Blue Biosphere Rhian will be touring nationwide as a four piece with flute & koauau player Kirsten Johnstone, vocalist Jess Chambers & samples & loop creator Jeremiah Ross aka Module. The four team up to create what is essentially a live organic electronic band.
This will be further supplemented by a four piece string section and guests including Paddy Free (Pitch Black), Module (live), Gramcsi, Antix, Max Maxwell & the LOOP soundsystem.

Tiny Blue Biosphere is supported by two outstanding music videos Hiding place & Sunshine made by Weta Digital maverick Ollie Coleman, winner of the supreme award in 2002's 'Handle the Jandal' competition, for 'Waiting' from "Paradigm Shift".

TINY BLUE BIOSPHERE (TRACK LISTING)
01. Traveller
02. Boundries
03. Hiding Place (feat. Jess Chambers)
04. Phobos
05. Anon
06. Somewhere Within
07. Cosmology
08. Sunshine (feat. Jess Chambers)
09. Degrees of Freedom
10. Miles Away (feat. Gramsci, Bevan Smith & Matthew Mitchell
11. Patterns In Time
12. System
13. Te Karanga (feat. Kirsten Johnstone & Anika Moa)
14. The Futherest Place

Please contact interviews@loop.co.nz or
rosie@loop.co.nz. Tel: +64 4 8033 055

WGTN RELEASE DATE: APRIL 23
NZ RELEASE DATE: APRIL 26

Catalogue Number: LP021
Distributed in New Zealand by Border Music