Released: October 17th 2008, By Groove Unlimited
This is my second album and it is called 'AtmoSphere'. My inspiration for this album came from the atmosphere around our beloved planet Earth. The songs are inspired by the different layers of air around our world, the different cloud formations that are encountered in these layers and the sounds of different weather phenomena. While listening to this album you will travel through these layers of air starting on the surface of the Earth and ending up in space :) I sampled a lot of sounds myself actually from thunder storms, rain and wind. I used these sounds as an inspiration for many of the songs that you will hear. The album was released on the 11th of October 2008 by Groove Unlimited.
These samples are just low quality mp3 demos. The quality on the CD is much better! The whole is over 70 minutes long and holds 12 tracks!
For sale at:
Groove Unlimited (CD + Download)
Bandcamp (CD + Download)
Tracklist:
| Nr | Name | Length | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troposphere | 05:54 | The Troposphere is the first layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It holds 70% of all the air mass and also most of the weather phenomena we experience. This layer is very much alive and that is what provided the inspiration for this track. The Troposphere is, on average, 11 km high ranging from 20 km at the tropical regions to 7 km at the poles. One of the main characteristics of the Troposphere is that temperature decreases as height increases. |
| 2 | Cumulonimbus | 05:30 | The Cumulonimbus is a cloud type that grows vertically instead of horizontally. It gives a bit of a mushroom shape that can have a characteristic anvil shaped flat top. Cumulonimbus can produce heavy thunderstorms with lots of rain and that was what inspired me for this track. These clouds are normally formed about 3-4 km above the Earth. Often they reach up to 5 km, but they can reach up to 23 km in extreme cases. |
| 3 | Stratosphere | 05:50 | The Stratosphere is the second layer of the Atmosphere. Together with the Troposphere it holds 99% of the air mass. A French meteorologist found out that at a certain height temperature suddenly remained stable (it didn't decrease). This layer reaches up to 50 km above the Earth. Commercial airliners fly at the bottom of the Stratosphere because the air is thinner and that reduces the resistance against the aircraft. This is what inspired me for this track. |
| 4 | Stratocumulus | 05:42 | Inspired by Stratocumulus which is a cloud that belongs to a class characterized by large dark, rounded masses (usually in groups, lines, or waves) the individual elements being larger than the Altocumulus, and the whole being at a lower altitude. This formation usually occurs below 2.4 km. Vast areas of subtropical and polar oceans are covered with massive sheets of these clouds. When these drift over land the summer heat or winter cold is reduced. |
| 5 | Altocumulus | 05:38 | Inspired by the Altocumulus, usually white, or gray, and often occur in sheets, or patches, with wavy rounded masses or rolls. Altocumulus are often seen preceding a cold front and their presence on a warm, humid, summer morning frequently signals the development of thunderstorms later in the day. One form of this cloud is called Altocumulus Lenticularis and is frequently reported as 'UFO'. The approach of these clouds can sometimes be frightening since they have a dark and scary appearance. These clouds are approximately 2-5 km above the ground. |
| 6 | Atmosphere | 07:22 | This is the title track for this album which was inspired by our Atmosphere itself. The Atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding our beloved planet Earth which is kept together by the Earth's gravity. The Atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, small amounts of other gases, and around 1% of water vapor. Besides holding the oxygen we need to breath the atmosphere also protects us by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation. It also reduces temperature extremes between day and night. |
| 7 | Mesosphere | 06:34 | The Mesosphere is the third layer of the Earths Atmosphere. From this layer on the temperature starts to decrease the higher you get. It exists from approximately 50 km up to 80-90 km above the earth. Temperatures in the upper regions of this layer drop to -100 degrees Celsius. It is also possible to see the visible path of meteoroids that enter the Earth's Atmosphere in this layer. This path is called a 'meteor', commonly referred to as a 'falling star'. This phenomenon is what inspired me for this track. |
| 8 | Nimbostratus | 06:21 | Nimbostratus is a cloud type which can produce a lot of continuous rain or snow. Nimbo actually comes from the Latin word 'nimbus' meaning rain. Sometimes they cover the entire sky and there are no visible edges. These clouds block a great amount of sunlight as a result of its characteristic dense structure. Usually they develop around 2 km above the earth and have a thickness of about 2-3 km. We experience a lot of this type of weather in The Netherlands and one of those rainy days is what inspired me for this track. |
| 9 | Altostratus | 04:37 | Altostratus is a cloud type which is usually also a shapeless uniform gray, or blue-gray, layer but in color it is a bit lighter than Nimbostratus. The sun or moon can shine through them but quite often these clouds cover the entire sky. They form up to 2-7 km and they are made of little ice crystals. Altostratus clouds are potentially dangerous because they can cause ice to form on the wings of aircraft that fly trough them. This dangerous phenomenon is what inspired me for this track. |
| 10 | Thermosphere | 06:33 | The Thermosphere is the fourth layer of the Earth's Atmosphere. It starts at approximately 90 km above the earth and continues up to 500 km. This layer also holds very special phenomenon called 'aurora', which make the skies light up, like the famous 'Northern Lights'. Radiation from the Sun causes the particles in this layer to become electrically charged which can enable radio waves to bounce off and be received beyond the horizon. Radio amateurs use this phenomenon to communicate across the globe. This is also what inspired me for this track. |
| 11 | Cirrostratus | 04:37 | The cloud type Cirrostratus is a thin layer made of ice-crystals capable of forming halos. A halo is a visible phenomenon caused by the dispersion of the sunlight in those ice-crystals. It is somewhat similar to a rainbow and is beautiful to see. It was this phenomenon that inspired me for this track. These clouds are whitish without a distinguished shape. They can cover the whole sky but are sometimes so thin that they can hardly be seen. This type of cloud is located above 6 km. |
| 12 | Exosphere | 06:07 | The Exosphere is the uppermost layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It starts at about 500-1000 km above the earth and continues up to 10000 km. The exosphere forms the final frontier before space. Many satellites orbit the Earth within this layer. We are depending on a lot of things from our satellites nowadays like communication, navigation and spying. Beyond this layer there is no more gravity. I have always been fascinated by space missions leaving this outer ring of our known world. It was these thoughts and ideas that inspired me for this track. |