See dropsonde

Dropsonde

A dropsonde is a weather reconnaissance device created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research , designed to be dropped from an aircraft at altitude to more accurately measure tropical storm conditions as the device falls to the surface...

 for the weather reconnaissance device
Dropsonde is an ambient

Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

 album by musician Biosphere

Biosphere (musician)

Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...

 (alias Geir Jenssen). Unlike his previous output, there is a notable jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 influence present on this album.

Overview

The title refers to a dropsonde

Dropsonde

A dropsonde is a weather reconnaissance device created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research , designed to be dropped from an aircraft at altitude to more accurately measure tropical storm conditions as the device falls to the surface...

, a device designed to be dropped at altitude by parachute to collect data as the device falls to the ground (on Earth or sent to another planet.)

A Dropsonde sampler was pre-released on vinyl as a mini album on September 27, 2005, and the full album released on compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in January 2006 (though the track "In the Shape of a Flute" remained exclusive to the vinyl sampler).

Unlike Jenssen's previous output, there is a notable jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 influence present on this album (such as on the tracks "Birds Fly By Flapping Their Wings" and "In Triple Time"), evocative of Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

's 1970s jazz fusion works. Some tracks also integrates material Jenssen recorded in late 2001 during his climbing of the 8201 meters mount Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...

 in Himalaya. (The raw material itself was released some months later as Cho Oyu 8201m – Field Recordings from Tibet

Cho Oyu 8201m – Field Recordings from Tibet

Cho Oyu 8201m – Field Recordings From Tibet is an ambient album released by artist Biosphere under his real name Geir Jenssen. Recorded in 2001, it was released in 2006.- Overview :...

.)

Side A

1. "Birds Fly by Flapping Their Wings" - 6:24
2. "Fall In, Fall Out" - 7:13
3. "Daphnis 26" - 6:44

CD release

1. "Dissolving Clouds" – 4:28
2. "Birds Fly by Flapping Their Wings" – 6:35
3. "Warmed by the Drift" – 6:50
4. "In Triple Time" – 5:50
5. "From a Solid to a Liquid" – 5:19
6. "Arafura" – 5:10
7. "Fall In, Fall Out" – 7:10
8. "Daphnis 26" – 6:45
9. "Altostratus" – 5:11
10. "Sherbrooke" – 5:55
11. "People Are Friends" – 10:39

Credits

All tracks written and performed by Geir Jenssen. Photography by Jon Wozencroft. Mastered by Denis Blackham.