Composed and designed by Boris Lelong
This is the first act of a trilogy dedicated to the vegetal world.
It narrates how solar-powered plants spread across our planet
and shaped it as the green garden in which we live.
1 • PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Our planet used to be orange. A micro-organism called purple bacteria proliferated right below the surface of the oceans by feeding on solar energy, through the process we call photosynthesis. Its reddish color made the Earth to look orange from space.
2 • CHLOROPHYLL
Another micro-organism started to flourish right below the purple bacteria : cyanobacteria. Its possession of chlorophyll made it much more efficient in harvesting energy from the sun and it soon became the dominant species in the oceanic world, until now. Its green-blue color changed the appearance of our planet from orange to blue, and it is the ancestor of all plants.
3 • OXYGEN
A characteristic of cyanobacteria is that its photosynthesis consumes carbon and rejects oxygen. As a result, Earth’s atmosphere was soon transformed into the one we experience nowadays : rich in oxygen and suitable for vegetal and animal life. An ozone layer appeared, protecting the surface from ultra-violet rays. The planet cooled down specularly, its temperature going below 100° C and ice covering parts of it. Our planet was ready to be transformed into a unique garden.
4 • MOSS, ROOTS, FERN
The new conditions on the surface let algae to come out from the water. They learned how to settle on mineral ground and evolved into moss. Some developped roots, which would allow them to dig for water and nutriments. These early plants produced sugar by feeding on carbon and as a result, this resource became scarce. The invention of leaves allowed plants to tap carbon more efficiently : they evolved into fern and soon colonized the surface of the planet.
5 • GIANT LIZARDS
Animal life expanded rapidly in this new, green environment. Reptiles started to multiply and to grow ever bigger in size. Soon, gigantic dinosaurs roamed the continents, most of them feeding on plants. Vegetal species resisted by inventing various weapons to ward off their predators, such as needles, thorns or neurotoxic gaz.
6 • GIANT TREES
Ultimately, plants invented wood and equipped themselves with trunks and branches that would allow them to elevate their body, thus protecting their vital parts from herbivores.
7 • EXPANSION
Tall pine trees became very successful. They relied on the wind to carry their seeds, and nothing would stop their expansion. The surface of the planet, all the way to the poles, became the undisputed realm of conifers and dinosaurs.
8 • ANOTHER SEED
At the feet of these giants, though, another type of plant started to evolve, waiting for its turn
Composed and designed by
Boris Lelong
Electronic sounds and textures, flute, percussion and sound processors.
No field recordings were used in the making of this album.
The challenge was to produce all the sounds in the studio
with electronic and acoustic instruments.
Contact
contact@borislelong.com
Review by Hypnagogue
