Jarre will present the most spartan and yet the most ambitious show of his entire career to date. It will be a sort of artistic bridge between two centuries, on the anniversary of the Revolution.
It will celebrate freedom, and particularly the freedom to create a brand-new space in sound and vision, since this so-called "electronic night", unfolding amidst 25 giant screens set up around the Champ de Mars, will belong to the new brands of music following in the wake of the global phenomenon that electronic music has now become.
Today, only Jean Michel Jarre, whom the Chinese called "the Great Master of Electricity", could be interested in gathering together as many people as possible around these new tempos; ever since "Oxygene" came out, he has been one of their precursors and since a certain "Rendez-vous a Houston", he has been the person best placed to give them popular appeal.
A star-studded night of entertainment
As this resolutely untypical "Rendez-vous '98", it was Jean Michel Jarre's wish to share the stage with some of the best-known artists on the worldwide electronic scene.
Each artist or group will take turns to mix live alongside the French musician. Top billing goes to TK the special guest of this "Rendez-vous 98".
Tetsuya "TK" Komuro
With almost 120 million records already sold, today TK is an absolute star in Japan (and in China, where he has just been on tour). An extremely prolific composer, performer and producer, he is at the origin of the new Japanese sound.
Currently he is Number One in the Japanese Top 100 with Jean Michel Jarre, performing "Together now" the title chosen to represent Japan at the World Cup in France. Through his presence here, a message of friendship is being sent to Japan, a future footballing great power, and (in association with South Korea) the organiser of the next World Cup, scheduled for 2002.
DJ Cam
One of the major figures in hip hop, epitomising the French sound that has gone down so well in Britain and America.
Stands out from the crowd with a big sound and accomplished artistry in scratch music.
Latest album : the beat assassinated (Columbia).
Claude Monnet
For ten years now, Claude Monnet has been one of the most influential and creative DJs, a guru of Penso Positivo, and a flourishing label responsible for opening the doors to a new generation of DJs.
Apollofourforty
Based in Liverpool and regarded as "the Beatles of dance" ever since they burst onto the scene in 1990.
They worked on Jean Michel Jarre's album "Odyssey Through O2" and remixed two titles from this, including Rendez-vous 98.
They have just contributed to the original soundtrack of the Hollywood blockbuster "Lost in Space", a film starring Matt Le Blanc and Gary Oldman.
Resistance D
One of the most influential groups on the new German music scene.
Dadou - KDD & Trigga Tha Gambler
Two figures that epitomise French rap and New York rap.
A free festival that is all about sharing
A cosmopolitan crowd will flock to the Champ de Mars, where they will watch an equally varied collection of artists performing together live on stage, Japanese, German, English and French stars will all share the experience.
Images created live : an artistic and technological world first
For the first time ever, based on music, all the graphics and visual effects will be created and interpreted live (by Jean Michel Jarre in particular) from the stage.
There will be a variety of surreal distortions of images of Paris (faces, signs, buildings, etc...) the city to which the show will naturally pay tribute.
An attempt is thus being made to create a totally new relationship between visual effects and music. The only nod in the direction of floodlighting projected onto public buildings in times past is the work on the Eiffel Tower : Jean Michel Jarre has designed a lighting spectacular that will transform the edifice into a multicoloured structure : bathed in stripes of yellow and green through to the purest... patchwork of candy-pink!
Since 1979 and the first rendez-vous at la Concorde, every one of Jean Michel Jarre's new shows has been all about innovation and sharing. This Electronic Night will be no exception.
It can immediately be seen in an original light : a festive and free gathering. The players involved will be both the tens of thousands of Parisians present there on the night and the artists invited to come and create a space in sound and vision that is without precedent.
(Quoted from the "RENDEZ-VOUS '98 ELECTRONIC NIGHT" press release delivered Jun. 22, 1998 at Hotel de Ville.)
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