Carbon Based Lifeforms
„Hydroponic Garden“
Electro, Downbeat, Acid, Ambient. CD, Remaster 2016 (2003)

• CD, Digibook, Reissue, Remaster. 2016 (2003).
• Blood Music
• BLOOD150
• new

Carbon Based Lifeforms (CBL) was founded in 1996 by Johannes Hedberg and Daniel Segerstad in Gothenburg, Sweden. Their focus is on ambient, downbeat, acid, and psybient music. They use, among other things, the Roland TB-303 analog synthesizer.

I'll start this review with my own thoughts. Sometimes it's difficult to describe music objectively and emotionally. The sensuality, the tranquility, the spacey atmosphere, and the sound of the Roland TB-303 make me forget all objectivity. Therefore, in short: the CD and the production are sonically superb.

Essentially, we're dealing with synthetic, technical, old-school ambient music here. CBL manages to combine techno-inspired soundscapes with "biological, organic" sounds across eleven sonic landscapes, transporting the listener on their own sonic journey. While I find myself on a journey to our utopian future, where technology and nature exist in harmony, another listener is in outer space, and yet another imagines themselves in an AI-generated water garden. There's no right or wrong here. And so CBL creates groovy landscapes of sound and atmosphere (I know, it's a cliché, but it applies here). I can't single out any highlights.

Of course, the sound is created by many different devices and not just by the characteristic sound of the TB-303. However, for me, the device brings a "human" connection to CBL's music. No two original TB-303s sound exactly alike, and technically they are far from perfect. This particularly underscores the biological component of "Hydroponic Garden" for me. But even without knowing about the TB-303, the album works. This knowledge opens up another layer for me and gives me the feeling that CBL constructs his music very carefully. Ambient music was long just boring music to me, and CBL isn't the only one who has fundamentally changed that.

1. Central Plains (8:12)
2. Tensor (6:08)
3. MOS 6581 (7:08)
4. Silent Running (7:28)
5. Neurotransmitter (7:22)
6. Hydroponic Garden (8:22)
7. Exosphere (8:28)
8. Comsat (7:40)
9. Epicentre (6:00)
10. Artificial Island (4:58)
11. Refraction 1.33 (8:04)

Vocals, Lyrics By – Anna Andersson (Epicentre), Yoji Ishida (Hydroponic Garden)
Written and Produced by Carbon Based Lifeforms

Carbon Based Lifeforms' "Hydroponic Garden" can be played in the background during any game night, while eating, or simply for relaxation. But it also works wonderfully for focused listening, and I recommend turning off the lights and embarking on this "journey." The real art lies in crafting ambient music in such a way that it becomes a standalone work that rewards concentrated listening. Carbon Based Lifeforms has achieved this. Whether through speakers or headphones, both have their own appeal.

The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.

TheProgThief
©28.12.2025
Mk 2