The essential Jean-Michel Jarre in 10 tracks

Despite having sold in excess of 80 million albums, being a four time Guinness world record holder and having an asteroid named after him, Jean-Michel Jarre has never quite received the critical respect he deserves. Patrick Ryder introduces 10 tracks from across a visionary career that has singularly helped shape modern electronic music.

Words: Patrick Ryder

While contemporaries like Moroder and Vangelis have been embraced by a new generation, remembered as pushing their genres forward whilst delivering a series of classics, Jarre hasn’t had a sniff at a tour with any robots or a lavish reissue. Maybe his chart success and fondness for the extravagant is too populist and proggy for the hive mind of music journalists, still romanticising the underground ‘realism’ of punk and post-punk. But as a household name for thirty years, should that matter?

In fact, unusually for an artist who’s shipped such a staggering number of units, Jarre has spent a career in step with the beat of his own drum, ignoring trends, pushing the envelope (and every other function invented for a synthesiser) and living entirely out front, on his own terms. And what’s keeping it real if not staying true to exactly who you are? What’s more, he’s produced some of the most sublime electronic music ever recorded, covering new age, ambient, white funk and techno, all with the same trademark symphonic genius. Off the back of a series of collaborative releases featuring Massive Attack’s 3D, Tangerine Dream and Gesaffelstein, here’s a primer into the beguiling world of Jean-Michel Jarre.

You can listen to all ten tracks in this playlist or individually as you scroll.

     

‘Wind Swept Canyon’ from Deserted Palace


(Sam Fox Productions, 1972)

Listen / Buy


A modest start to the grandiose career which would follow, Jarre’s debut LP garnered limited exposure and still remains one for the die-hards to this day. Even in the context of library music Deserted Palace makes for a challenging listen, compromising mostly of strange synth experiments, discordant tones and skewed fx. However, amid those fragments of detuned synthesis and musique concrète, this seven minute piece offered a glimpse of the shimmering, symphonic compositions ahead.

‘Les Granges Brûlées’ from Les Granges Brûlées (Bande Originale Du Film)

(Eden Roc, 1973)

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1973 saw a twenty five year old Jarre following in his father’s footsteps, applying his innate understanding of tone, timbre and texture to his first cinematic score. This instrumental arrangement of the main theme for Jean Chapot’s film of the same name recontextualizes the baroque flourishes and gothic mood of classical orchestration within an eerie, disconnected modernity. Underpinned by a buzzing rhythm and unruly sequences, Jarre’s gloomy organ motif perfectly mirrors the disquiet of the drama unfolding on screen.

‘Oxygene Part IV’ from Oxygene 

(Les Disques Motors, 1976)

Listen / Buy


Undoubtedly the Frenchman’s most famous composition, this pulsating beauty floated off the B1 of his 1976 LP and gently took the world under its spell, quickly becoming an established part of our cultural consciousness. Emerging from within the gossamer haze of some seriously celestial frequencies that irresistible melody tugs at your heartstrings and refuses to let go – not that you want it to. It’s simply perfect from whichever way you look at it.

‘Equinoxe Part 5′ from Equinoxe 

(Disques Dreyfus, 1978)

Listen / Buy


Jarre followed up the breakthrough success of Oxygen with his second classic LP, Equinoxe two years later. Working to the same framework of recurring motifs, symphonic structure and segued movements, the composer guides us on a space age journey through nebulous textures and rhythmic sequences, peaking with this iridescent and dynamic number, which dismayed UK critics but delighted a global audience.

‘Les Chants Magnétiques Part III’ from Les Chants Magnétiques 

(Disques Dreyfus, 1981)

Listen / Buy


As a new decade got underway, Jarre hit upon a new sound, utilising the revolutionary Fairlight CMI to introduce sampling and a whole new sound palette into his sonic universe. More diverse than his previous releases, Les Chants Magnétiques sees the producer dip into synth pop, exotica and new age with far more emphasis on the beat than ever before. On ‘Les Chants Magnétiques Part III’, Jarre takes a minimalist approach to deliver a blissed-out fusion of dreamy synthscape and organic, diasporic melody.

Souvenir De Chine’ from Les Concerts En Chine 

(Disques Dreyfus, 1982)

Listen / Buy


By 1981, Oxygen and Equinoxe had made their way across the globe to China, proving so popular that Jarre became the first Westerner invited to perform in the Republic. Alongside many of his classic pieces Jarre included material specially composed for the occasion in his setlist. Chief among these pieces is ‘Souvenir De Chine’, a sublime arrangement of ambient pads, lithe bass and programmed drums, punctuated by a masterful selection of found sounds and samples. The emotional resonance and unique sound of the track saw it become an end of night staple for both Bepe Loda and Daniele Baldelli, as well as a sunset anthem for José Padilla at Café del Mar.

‘Diva’ from Zoolook

(Disques Dreyfus, 1984)

Listen / Buy


The first of two inclusions from Jarre’s kaleidoscopic pop masterpiece Zoolook, ‘Diva’ saw the French musician team up with avant-garde champion Laurie Anderson for a head nodding, sometimes head scratching, vocal cut. The American’s polylingual vocals are reversed, re-pitched, looped and replayed as the track evolves from a noir-ish prelude into a defiantly weird and warped groove, worthy of the most left-field dancefloors.

‘Blah-Blah Cafe’ from Zoolook

(Disques Dreyfus, 1984)

Listen / Buy

If I were given the chance to induct one fantasy genre to the Music Hall of Fame, it would undoubtedly be Fairlight funk, and this little beauty would soundtrack the ceremony. Tucked away neatly in the middle of the B-side of Zoolook, ‘Blah-Blah Cafe’ is deranged dance music at its best. Boasting a beat that sounds like a party in a balloon factory, a sequence which sounds a lot like an FM synth talking about vegetables, imitation brass and the occasional spinback, this wonky wonder sounds a million miles away from Jarre’s earlier work and rivals the best moments of Yello, YMO and Material.

Dernier Rendez-Vous (Ron’s Piece)’ from Rendez-Vous

(Disques Dreyfus, 1986)

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While Jarre was working on his seventh studio album in 1986, he was invited to perform a concert in Houston to commemorate both the 150th anniversary of Texas and the 25th anniversary of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Seizing the opportunity to do something truly groundbreaking, Jarre reached out to astronaut and jazz saxophonist Ron McNair for a collaboration, composing this synth and sax duet, with McNair set to record his part from outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Sadly, McNair was killed in the Challenger disaster, and this beautifully mournful piece served as an epitaph instead of a celebration.

‘Révolutions’ from Revolutions

(Disques Dreyfus, 1988)

Listen / Buy


After the soothing new age leanings of Rendez-Vous, Revolutions saw Jarre taking his music to the shadows of the big city, soundtracking the gritty dystopia of the urban sprawl through a series of sombre compositions. This thumping dancefloor cut stood head and shoulders above the industrial tone poems and dislocated synthscapes, hinting at the experiments with trance which were to follow. Although this original version saw him play fast and loose with copyright law, re-appropriating Kudsi Erguner’s ney composition, mind-blowing combination of Middle Eastern flute and rampant bass sequence delivers a total knockout. Still sounding years ahead of its time, I’d imagine it won’t be long before we hear this one reworked for an Acid Arab 12”.

Jean-Michel Jarre’s new collaborations will be released on vinyl by The Vinyl Factory on 30th June. While the Massive Attack 12″ has already sold out, you can still grab limited copies of the Tangerine Dream and Gesaffelstein collaborations from our online shop. 

Source:

thevinylfactory.com

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygène In The Ghetto (1998)

Oxygène In The Ghetto (CD, Single)
 Disques Dreyfus,  1998

        

Jean Michel Jarre Performs Oxygene Live...

Jean Michel Jarre discussions sur les préparatifs de "Oxygene 'Live In Your Living Room"

          

This video captures a live studio performance by Jean Michel Jarre and his band of his 1976 synth classic, Oxygène.

In the full-length performance, Jarre and his band play a massive collection of classic synths, set up in a bare warehouse-like room. The focus is on the music and the performers, not on fancy lighting or visuals.

The Oxygene Live In Your Living Room performance was released in 2007 in several different editions, including CD, DVD & 3D DVD.

          

Moscú celebra sus 850 años con macroespectáculos en la plaza Roja

6 de septiembre de 1997

La nueva Rusia se viste estos días de gala en Moscú para celebrar el 850º aniversario de su capital con un mastodóntico programa de actividades, algunas de las cuales pueden terminar en el libro Guinness de los récords. El director de cine Andréi Konchalovski montó anoche un macroespectáculo en la plaza Roja; Luciano Pavarotti cantará mañana ante una multitud en el mismo escenario; los artistas del Bolshoi representaron ayer escenas de óperas rusas en la plaza de las catedrales del Kremlin, y Jean Michel Jarre ofrece esta noche un tecno-concierto masivo frente al rascacielos estalinista de la Universidad Lomonosov. Se trata de crear una imagen de modernidad y grandeza, a la mayor gloria del alcalde y presidenciable Yuri Luzhkov.

Oleg Belikov, director ejecutivo de los fastos, asegura que los fuegos artificiales se verán desde todos los barrios de la capital; que Jarre contará con su tradicional derroche de rayos láser y otras técnicas ultramodernas y con dos enormes pantallas sobre el edificio de la universidad, y que la ceremonia de clausura convertirá mañana toda una tribuna del estadio de Luzhniki en un gigantesco escenano.Luzhkov ha querido que todo se haga a lo grande. Durante cerca de año y medio, se han gastado para preparar la fiesta más de 10.000 millones de pesetas, la quinta parte procedente de patrocinios privados. Hasta el tiempo tiene que acompañar, si no falla el dispositivo especial, con ocho aviones y dos helicópteros, que permitirá el bombardeo de las nubes con productos químicos especiales para que suelten su carga fuera de Moscú y no puedan aguar la fiesta.

Sólo 6.000 privilegiados provistos de invitación tuvieron anoche ocasión de presenciar con comodidad el espectáculo de Konchalovski en la plaza Roja, con el fondo de los muros y torres, del Kremlin y del mausoleo que alberga la tumba de Lenin. Para ellos ideó un peculiar montaje Andréi Konchalovski.

El cineasta afirma que su obra se sitúa, en cuanto a la forma, "entre la escenificación de Aida ante la pirámide de Keops y un superconcierto de rock", pero que, en lo que respecta al contenido, tiene más que ver "con la música clásica rusa, la historia y la mitología". Ha contado para ello con la ayuda de Mark Fisher, diseñador de giras de los Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John y Tina Tumer.

Desmesura

Coros, bailarines, bandas militares, una orquesta sinfónica e incluso un elefante participaron en el espectáculo titulado Nuestra antigua capital, igual que un libro escrito por la madre de Konchalovski, Natalia, con ocasión del 800º aniversario de Moscú, en 1947, y con Stalin, el hombre de hierro, en el poder. Entre tanta desmesura, lo que más llamó la atención fue un enorme dragón de 35 metros de largo con una cabeza de 3,5 metros de alto y 2 de ancho.

La base del concierto de Jean Michel Jarre será está noche su archiconocido tema Oxigene, pero con inclusiones de coros y música rusa y toques relativos a la historia de Rusia. Unos 100.000 policías intentarán que la fiesta no degenere en tumulto, y centenares de perros especialmente adiestrados filtrarán a los asistentes para evitar el paso de droga. El espectáculo se podrá ver desde diferentes puntos de Moscú, ya que el propio cielo será uno de sus escenarios.

El programa de festejos es casi interminable, con la música de protagonista indiscutible. El elenco del Bolshoi ofreció ayer a un público muy restringido, entre el bosque de cúpulas doradas de la plaza de las catedrales del Kremlin, una selección de las más famosas óperas rusas para ilustrar la historia del país y de su actual capital.

Unos 2.000 cantores de toda Rusia participarán en un festival de coros ante la recién inaugurada catedral de Cristo Salvador, una copia exacta (por fuera) de la que Stalin convirtió en solar, y levantada en el mismo lugar que su precedente, allí donde, durante décadas, hubo una gran piscina al aire libre.

Grupos artísticos de Ucrania, Bielorrusia, Polonia y otros países actuarán mañana en la plaza Roja en una especie de maratón titulado El mundo eslavo saluda a Moscú.

Todo un superfestival a la mayor gloria de la ciudad que se presenta como escaparate de la nueva Rusia, llena de luces y sombras, aunque durante la fiesta nadie quiera hablar de estas últimas. Y, por supuesto, a la mayor gloria de Yuri Luzhkov.

          

"El 'tecno' es el gran movimiento musical de los noventa", afirma Jean Michel Jarre

14 de marzo de 1997

El músico francés coincide en Madrid con Jackson Browne y Art Garfunkel

          

Los dos nacieron en 1948, uno en Lyón y otro en Heidelberg. Ambos son músicos con una larga carrera que empezó en los años setenta y conservan un envidiable aspecto juvenil. Pero ahí acaban las similitudes entre Jean Michel Jarre y Jackson Browne, dos creadores con caminos divergentes. El primero atado a la música electrónica; el segundo, a su guitarra acústica. El primero, absolutamente abstracto; el segundo, perdidamente narrativo. Sin embargo, hay una cosa más que tienen en común: Jarre y Browne sienten que la música es parecida a la pintura. Ayer coincidieron en Madrid, con Art Garfunkel (que se puso enfermo y suspendió sus encuentros con la prensa). Jarre, que acaba de publicar Oxygene 7-13, después de 20 años de su primer Oxygene, considera que el tecno "es el gran movimiento musical de los noventa".

Los pintores suelen decir que cada cuadro que pintan es una especie de búsqueda de la imagen ideal, la que tienen en la mente e intentan plasmar. Jean Michel Jarre siente de la misma forma. Acaba de publicar Oxygene 7-13, después de 20 anos de su primer Oxygene. "Yo soy también pintor y es exactamente así como me siento", afirma. "Cezanne decía que no hacía más que pintar una y otra vez la misma naturaleza muerta esperando conseguir algún día hacerla tal como lo deseaba. Yo considero mi trabajo en música muy cercano al de un pintor".Como era de suponer por lo dicho, la pintura de Jean Michel Jarre es abstracta. "No tiene nada que ver con ninguna intención narrativa", explica. "He estado envuelto en lo que se llama abstracción lírica, como lo que hizo Soulages, Hartung o Jackson Pollock. La primera exposición que vi de Soulages en París tuvo más influencia en mi música a nivel emocional que otras músicas que he escuchado".

La relación entre música y pintura es para él muy estrecha. "Mi aproximación a la música tiene mucho que ver con la parte artesanal de la pintura. Me interesa cada vez más la densidad de las texturas, la perspectiva, la composición coherente y equilibrada. Oxygene sólo tiene sentido si lo enmarcamos en esta relación". Un buen día Jarre decidió ir en busca de sus viejos sintetizadores arrumbados en el desván y descubrió las posibilidades que aún tenían. "He utilizado el Mocig, el Arp 2600 y el Melotron. Este álbum es una continuación de 0xygene, no en términos de melodías o ternas sino en texturas y sonidos. Un regreso al origen de mi propio trabajo. No niego el pasado, intento mirarlo en perspectiva", dice.

"Estoy convencido de que este corto periodo en el que los sintetizadores analógicos fueron creados por verdaderos artesanos fue muy importante. En su época eran mirados como frías máquinas. Pero pienso que entonces éramos como pigmeos ante un gran piano de cola. A principios de los 80 la industria japonesa empezó a manufacturar sintetizadores que buscaban la perfección en la reproducción del sonido, con la tonta idea de buscar posibilidades ilimitadas. Yehudi Menuhim decía que el violín es un instrumento artesanal muy limitado, ésa es la razón por la que con él puede dar rienda suelta a su imaginación".

En opinión de Jarre, Ios ochenta fueron un periodo muy cínico". "Todo tenía que estar bajo control", comenta, "reluciente y frío, como fueron los yuppies. Predicaban la supremacía del mito digital. En los 90 nos hemos dado cuenta de que no somos animales digitales, somos más analógicos, más subjetivos, somos personas con lados oscuros. El futuro de la música tomará lo mejor de ambos mundos".

Este compositor ve también con optimismo el auge de la música tecno entre los más jóvenes. "Tengo muchas cosas en común con ellos", afirma. "Estoy de acuerdo en que el tecno es el gran movimiento de los 90. Tengo mucho respeto por los DJ (disc jockeys), que están desarrollando su propio virtuosismo. La habitación de un DJ es como una cocina. Puedes cocinar tus propios platos con especies e ingredientes improvisados. Es la actitud más física y orgánica que se puede tener hacia la música. Es así como veo mi trabajo. Para mí el patrón melódico es un pretexto y pretendo que la armonía sea tan minimalista como la melodía. Son sólo soportes para explorar las texturas y capas de sonido que entran en evolución. Es algo físico, como lo es la piedra para el escultor".

       
       

       

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 8 (Official Video)

Oxygene 8 (from Oxygene 7-13) 1997

        

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 5 Live - 05/22/2009 @ Wembley

► Music from the official website of Jean Michel Jarre 
 

       

The Press Conference for Jean Michel Jarre's 1997 album Oxygene 7-13 (31 January 1997)

        

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygène - 1976 (Oxygène I & VI)

Oxygene Part I

  

Oxygene Part VI 

  

Jarre's 1976 solo album Oxygène was responsible for his rise to international stardom. Oxygène comprises six numbered synthesiser tracks that make strong use of melody, rather than rhythm or dissonance. Oxygène makes use of the Dutch Eminent 310, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser on the Eminent's string pads, the Korg Minipops drum machine and liberal use of echo on various sound effects generated by the VCS3 synthesiser.

All those ethereal sounds on Oxygène IV come from the VCS3 ...It was the first European synthesizer, made in England by a guy called Peter Zinovieff. I got one of the first ones. I had to go to London in 1967 to get it, and it's the one I still have onstage 40 years later
—Jean Michel Jarre,

A minimalist concept album recorded at his home studio, on a small budget, Oxygène initially proved difficult to sell. Jarre was turned down by several companies, until Schaeffer's fellow student, Hélène Dreyfus (at the time her husband Francis's artistic director), persuaded her husband to publish the album on his label Disques Motors. The first pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted through hi-fi shops, clubs, and discos.

I just had three or four synthesizers and was using a Scully eight-track and a mixture of Ampex 256 and 3M tape. The whole album was done on just one eight-track and you can hear that in the piece — it's quite minimalist and I think that contributes to its timelessness
—Jean Michel Jarre,

By April 1977 Oxygène had sold 70,000 copies in France. Interviewed in Billboard magazine, Dreyfus director Stanislas Witold said "In a sense we're putting most of our bets on Jean Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional and we're sure that by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide. Oxygène has since sold an estimated 12 million copies—the best-selling French record of all time. It reached number 2 in the UK album charts, number 65 in Canada, and broke the top 100 in the US. The album contains his most recognisable single, "Oxygène IV"'which reached number 4 in the UK single charts.

Oxygène 7--13 - (Oxygène VII & X)

       

      

Oxygène 7--13
...is a 1997 album of instrumental electronic music by Jean Michel Jarre, his ninth overall studio album. It is the sequel to his 1976 album Oxygène, and is dedicated to Jarre's former mentor, experimental musician Pierre Schaeffer. While the album was recorded using many of the same synthesizers as Oxygène, and the titling suggests a continuation from where the first album ends, many tracks have a more uptempo, trance-like character. The album is not as widely acclaimed as the original Oxygène, but has been quite successful nonetheless, especially among fans. Released approximately twenty years after the worldwide release of the first Oxygène, it is Jarre's final album in his traditional style (exclusive of Oxygène: New Master Recording), and thus comes full circle. It was also the last album by Jarre featuring Michel Geiss as collaborator.

"Oxygène 7", "Oxygène 8" and "Oxygène 10" have been released as singles. A number of remixes of Oxygène 7--13 tracks have been made, including those comprising most of the album Odyssey Through O2. The Orb's single "Toxygene" was originally intended for release as a remix for the single release of "Oxygène 8", but was rejected by Jarre for being too distant from the original.

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene Part III

    

                

Oxygène - 1976

Jarre's 1976 solo album Oxygène was responsible for his rise to international stardom. Oxygène comprises six numbered synthesiser tracks that make strong use of melody, rather than rhythm or dissonance. Oxygène makes use of the Dutch Eminent 310, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser on the Eminent's string pads, the Korg Minipops drum machine and liberal use of echo on various sound effects generated by the VCS3 synthesiser.

All those ethereal sounds on Oxygène IV come from the VCS3 ...It was the first European synthesizer, made in England by a guy called Peter Zinovieff. I got one of the first ones. I had to go to London in 1967 to get it, and it's the one I still have onstage 40 years later
—Jean Michel Jarre,

A minimalist concept album recorded at his home studio, on a small budget, Oxygène initially proved difficult to sell. Jarre was turned down by several companies, until Schaeffer's fellow student, Hélène Dreyfus (at the time her husband Francis's artistic director), persuaded her husband to publish the album on his label Disques Motors. The first pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted through hi-fi shops, clubs, and discos.

I just had three or four synthesizers and was using a Scully eight-track and a mixture of Ampex 256 and 3M tape. The whole album was done on just one eight-track and you can hear that in the piece — it's quite minimalist and I think that contributes to its timelessness
—Jean Michel Jarre,

By April 1977 Oxygène had sold 70,000 copies in France. Interviewed in Billboard magazine, Dreyfus director Stanislas Witold said "In a sense we're putting most of our bets on Jean Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional and we're sure that by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide. Oxygène has since sold an estimated 12 million copies—the best-selling French record of all time. It reached number 2 in the UK album charts, number 65 in Canada, and broke the top 100 in the US. The album contains his most recognisable single, "Oxygène IV"'which reached number 4 in the UK single charts.

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 8 (Istvan Banyai) Promo Video

Istvan Banyai

The creator of the animated Oxygene 8 video - which was used as the television commercial for Oxygene 7-13 - is Istvan Banyai. Istvan was born and educated in Budapest, Hungary and currently resides in New York City with his wife and son. He is a commercial illustrator and animator whose work appears regularly in magazies and newspapers. 

"My work," explains Istvan, "is an organic combination of turn-of-the-century Viennese retro interjected with American pop, some European absurdity added for flavor, served on cartoon-style color, and garnished with miniature details - but absolutely no social realism added."

Istvan has published three illustrated books with Viking Press:

              

Jean Michel Jarre - exclusive interview with Jean Michel about his new album 'Oxygene 7-13' ( 1997)

Q.1 What inspired you to write and record Oxygene 7-13?

JMJ: 'The idea behind Oxygene 7-13 was not to do a Rocky II. It was more an idea of continuing something I had done a few years ago. And I had this idea almost as soon as I had completed the first 'Oxygene'. I didn't necessarily plan to do this Oxygene 7-13 this year. It could have been last year or next year. But it happened like this and at the moment where it seems that a lot of people seem to be more and more interested by analogue instruments and analogue synthesisers, to go back. It's like for a guitar player to play on an old Stratocaster for instance, instead of getting the latest midi guitar, whatever. In a sense, I would say, that if it is not my unplugged album it is a kind of replugged album for me. To be replugged to my roots, to this kind of excitement I always felt by working on textures and working on sounds with no particular strategy but just having fun dealing with sounds.'

Q.2 How did you approach writing and recording Oxygene 7-13? 

JMJ: 'The main excitement for me of making music is really dealing with textures, with colours. Almost considering sounds like actors, like when you are directing actors on a stage. It is the same kind of attitude I've always been interested in. And it was to this Oxygene 7-13 — 7-13 because the first one was part 1 to 6, was really to try to approach composition in this way rather than playing a melody or playing a tune. Starting with raw elements or structures exactly like when you are starting a sculpture on the stone, when you have just the raw elements and then you deal with these raw elements and from time to time you have shapes, give birth to shapes, and it's exactly what I try to do in this project by, for instance, using instruments like Mellatron or Theramin, but also the first old analogue synthesisers where you can really deal with the actual shape of the sounds. And then working, I mean trying to assemble sounds like in nature, I mean you have a lot of things that are not necessarily made to, co-exist. It's like your fingers, you know the shape of each finger with time is taking the shape of its neighbour. When you are a kid your fingers are quite straight and with time one finger takes the shape of the next one. It's exactly the same with sound. Time for each sound being shaped by its neighbour. And so a part of this, a big part of the composition on this project, has been to work on the console, to actually, I would say, knead, like you are kneading clay. Kneading sounds.'

Q.3 How does this continuation compare with Oxygene 1-6?

JMJ: 'I felt that the first Oxygene has a kind of transparency quality because of the minimalist approach. The fact that you have now so many layers so each layer is much more important because it has some space, and the idea of allowing time for each part to develop. It has been the most difficult thing for me that, for the new one. I think the new one has a different pace anyway. I mean its a true continuation, because the second one is a development of the first one. It's not exactly the same mood. It's a mood later.'

Q.4 How did you keep the minimalist approach?

JMJ: 'One of my ideas at the beginning was never in this project using more than 8 elements if not 8 tracks but not more than 8 elements at a time. I succeeded more or less. And because it gives them space to each sound. It gives a kind of oxygen to each sound.'


Q.5 Has the way you work changed over the years?

JMJ: 'When you are doing your first work, shooting your first movie, when you are writing your first book, when you are doing your first record, you are doing it in a very unconscious way. It's not instant, because it carries actually all what you have been through since you have been born. And then after this kind of rather unconscious way of making music the following projects are trying to adjust, to be in contradiction, to explore other fields, and then when I went back to this new Oxygene it was with the idea of going back to this rather unconscious way of perceiving sounds. By using originally the same instruments, so I went back, mainly to the first instruments as a starting point. The first analogue instruments. The first instruments I ever have ever used in my life. They are like, I would say, part of a personal museum, almost. They seem these days like a Stradivarius of electronic music. The old Moogs, the old harps, the old Mellotron or Theramin. I never felt such a kind of possibility of being central, being like a craftsman. I mean really working with your hands and being tactile rather than just intellectual. With electronic instruments rather than acoustic instruments. It's not a problem of making comparisons and saying what is the best. It is just a different attitude. And I've always been fascinated, almost like a child, by this kind of analogue gear where you can really, I mean, I would say, fiddle about, play with sounds and play with, not with concepts, but actually with ingredients.'

Q.6 Where did you get the inspiration for Oxygene 7-13?

JMJ: 'For this project I tried also to move a lot, to travel a lot, to try to get not necessarily influences in terms of sounds, but influences in terms of landscapes and moods. To try not to come in to the recording studio with just preconceived ideas of themes or sounds but trying to trap myself in different situations by experimenting in various places, or various countries almost like when you are playing the violin. I used one keyboard and one small recorder just exactly like with an acoustic guitar, or with a violin or a portable instrument. To be able to make music on top of a mountain or by the sea or in the country or anywhere, to try to break the walls of the recording studio basically.'


Q.7 How did you maintain the feel of the recording?

JMJ: 'The whole project has been done by hand I would say. I mean from the beginning where I really started the composition process and writing the tracks and doing the tracks really with one instrument and one small recorder, a small desk that could work on batteries so I could travel and do some music wherever. And during the recording process I used a lot of analogue processes also. I mean having sounds, playing sounds through small speakers as well as having old analogue tape recorders, I used a lot of tape echoes and not digital kind of delays but tape delays with old instruments, with old tape recorders like the Revox. And also in the mixing process, mixing by hand gave an entirely different situation. The way of dealing continuously with the old textures but also you have the possibility to do 20 totally different mixes in 1 hour. And this kind of almost considering your mixes like when you are using a Polaroid and suddenly having a lot of possibilities, also makes you much less passive in front of technology, because in an automated mixing situation you are always a spectator of your work. When you are mixing by hand, you have to recondition yourself each time to go back to square one, to go back to scratch and play the whole piece again. Exactly like when you are playing with a keyboard or playing with a guitar. The whole piece again. Instead of, for instance, asking somebody to do a chorus on an electric guitar and saying oh yes could you redo that, could you replay that particular note. The rest is fine — it's just impossible. I mean mixing by hand is exactly the same thing. I mean if you are starting from square one you replay and reinterpret the whole piece so it has that kind of freshness and spontaneity that you may lose with an automated mix.'


Q.8 How important is the mixing stage?

JMJ: 'The mixing for this project has really been part of composition. Doing the tracks and doing the tunes by not only in a mixing situation when you are for instance you think that you should have more bass, in the information processes as we know it, you just move the bass. In that kind of music if you move the bass slightly you are changing the whole perspective of the soundscape. So you have actually to reposition everything and this constant repositioning that the manual mix allows, gives a kind of special life to the sounds that was quite important for this piece of music.'


Q.9 Do you enjoy the concept of the remix?

JMJ: 'What I like with the remixing situation is it helps to make the process of finishing the album, as you said before, less painful because you can still continue to be immersed in your own work for weeks. Because I mean, you are remixing the first single, then you have the second single, the third single. It's a process that can last forever. It's what you have to stop at one stage, but it is quite nice because you can experiment on the finished project which is also quite exciting.'


Q.10 How important is the album cover artwork?

JMJ: 'I always thought that the album cover is very important. Even more important for what I'm doing than for an album made of songs. The idea is to try to give an opportunity to have a kind of visual continuation. So for this part of the project I wanted to work with the artist who did the first one, obviously. And he's a French artist called Michel Granger and he did a few covers for me. One was Oxygene, Equinoxe, and Rendez-Vous also, and this new one had to also be a kind of continuation for him. And he went with the idea of reversing the process where you had a human skull, a human presence in the earth for the first one and on the cover of the second one is the earth inside a human figure. The first one it was a not necessarily a statement but it was linked with all this ecological problems that the late 70s had to face.
By the end of the century it is more linked to, I would say, surviving day to day life. And I like very much the idea of Michel Granger about having the earth inside a human figure and the earth is the heart of that guy, of this creature. And I think it's good when you put the covers back to back it's quite interesting, it's a nice graphic statement. I like this kind of poetic way of continuing the first idea.'

Q.11 What is the concept behind the video for the single Oxygene 8?

JMJ: 'Kevin Godley is the director doing the first video with the idea of the music being the interface between the inside world and the outside world. I mean a kind of meditation on the letter O, of the symbol O of Oxygene. And then he created a sort of device with lenses of various diameters, where you can see through. I can see through to the outside world and you can see me through, I mean in a kind of distorted way, through these lenses. But you know you start with a very nice idea and you never know what's going on. That is part of chance. I mean 7-13, 7 and 13 are very interesting numbers because 7 is a lucky number and 13 is a chance number so I don't know at the moment where we are, between 7 and 13. Actually I know where it is — we are at number 8. Because the first single is Oxygene 8.'


Q.12 Do you enjoy the video making process?

JMJ: 'I'm not particularly obsessed to be the centre or the star of the video.
I think it entirely depends on what we want to do. When we started with this first video I said to Kevin look at me, it's dependent on the concept. I mean I know that some people want to see the artist in the video but sometimes if a concept doesn't fit with the fact that you are in it, the fact of being there, being in the video may be artificial.'

Q.13 What excites you about the Internet?

JMJ: 'I am very excited by the Internet concept. It seems to me that actually we don't talk enough about the magic and poetic aspect, the poetic side of Internet and if so many around the world are excited by the Internet or Cyberspace, even without knowing what it is or having almost most of the people not using the Internet, but they are all fascinated by the Internet because of what it carries. So as an artist I am actually even more excited by this aspect of playing with what Internet means than actually working on the Internet most of the time, because still today, it has a kind of heavy process to get into. And I would like to say that the Internet is great until you are facing your computer.
The Internet is one of the first concepts that definitely belongs to the 20th Century and we are pioneering it, which is the excitement about the Internet. It's amazing to see how fascinated we are by the kind of very rough video animation, when we have HD video or HD TV, but we are still fascinated by something that is so rough in terms of technology, that carries a dream of pioneering in new territories.'

Q.14 What are the plans for the Oxygene tour?

JMJ: 'The Oxygene tour is going to be something totally different from my recent productions, where I have been involved with specific outdoor projects, involving architecture, involving environment, involving a lot of visual techniques I developed over the last 12 to 15 years.
The next Oxygene tour is about an indoor and more intimate concept, for theatre, for arenas, involving theatrical effects as well as computer images, and I mean a mixture of past and future in terms of visual techniques, and the whole idea is to focus this Oxygene tour on the music itself, and on the idea of performing the music and 'scenography', it is around the music, with the performance being the main thing, which will be for me rather a change from the recent productions where the concept was sometimes more important. This was the whole idea about the concept I have done in Houston, China and all over the world these past few years, that the concept was the performance itself.'


Q.15 Is it going to be very different performing indoors?

JMJ: 'Being outdoor is a different process because actually for free concerts outdoor, I mean the theatre is where the crowd is, and what's nice about it is that the crowd creates the theatre, and the audience creates the theatre by just being there. In an indoor situation you have a totally different approach and totally different contact with the audience. What I would like to get and experiment with that kind of music, with that kind of musical project where you don't have a singer actually performing, where the music is going to perform, not by itself, but assisted by the 'scenography'. So the intimate venues are going to give a different sense, a different meaning to the music, I hope.
I am quite excited by the idea of touring, for me it's a kind of first time because all my concerts have been, even the tours I have made, have involved totally different concepts, so it's my first indoor tour, so I am quite excited by it. It's a new field to explore, for me.
Much more intimate but also open to the outside world through, maybe, some Internet or also some Online type of situation. I like the idea of using a kind of theatre situation with an Online situation also — trying to mix those 2 worlds. This world means the very traditional theatre mood with the Internet — this kind of mixture.'

Q.16 How would you sum up your work at this stage of your career?

JMJ: 'Oxygene carries who I am. It takes time to assume who you are, to accept that you're not doing jazz or rap or classical music or rock or whatever — you are able to do one thing in your life and try to improve this thing and that I think you have to repeat. I'm a great believer in the idea that you have to repeat yourself, over and over and over again, to make it happen, to finally find what you are trying to express. I mean everybody is doing the same movie, everybody is doing the same record but each time trying to improve or to reject what he has done in the past, and then at one stage you are in phase with yourself and the audience and I hope Oxygene 7-13 carries the touch of naiveté or spontaneity that I had for the first one, linked with experience and where I am today.


         

French artist, born in Roanne on 13th October 1946, well known for designs of Jean-Michel Jarre's albums.

1977   Oxygène     Jean Michel Jarre     Cover Art, Cover Design, Cover Painting, Liner Notes,                                                        Original Paintings, Recto  

1978         Equinoxe          Jean Michel Jarre        Artwork, Cover Design, Recto 

1986         Rendez-Vous    Jean Michel Jarre        Cover Art, Design Couverture, Illustrations

1993         Chronologie     Jean Michel Jarre        Artwork, Illustrations, Unknown Contributor Role

1997      The Complete  Oxygene  Jean Michel Jarre       Cover Art, Recto

1997      Oxygene 7-13   Jean Michel Jarre        Cover Art, Illustrations

2005      Oxygène / Chronologie  Jean Michel Jarre  Recto

2006      Equinoxe/Zoolook      Jean Michel Jarre      Recto 

Michel Granger. ... Jean-Michel Jarre, Charlotte Rampling - 1986 - Paris.

Jean Michel Jarre,

Granger est un manipulateur, archéologue des médias. Il fouille dans notre époque pour en retirer des images miroir, des images dérisoires, des images oeuvre d’art. Entre le vide de certains mots et le toc de certaines photos, Granger se tient debout pour chroniquer notre vie, avec inspiration, tendresse et humour.

OFFICIAL: 

Michel Granger

Animation: OXYGENE by Michel Granger...

             

Jean Michel Jarre discussions sur les préparatifs de "Oxygene 'Live In Your Living Room"

                

Sur scène, aux côtés du maître, se trouvaient Claude Samard, Francis Rimbert et une vieille connaissance : Dominique Perrier. Ensemble, ils ont interprété l'Oxygène de 1977 à l'occasion du trentième anniversaire de sa sortie mondiale, dans les conditions du direct. Un petit compte-rendu en anglais va vous permettre d'en savoir plus sur cet évènement qui met les fans de la planète jarre en émoi. Quand à la nouvelle maison de disque, elle a publié un compte-rendu dont j'ai fait la synthèse ici.

Jean Michel Jarre - Legendary Instruments

Jean Michel Jarre gives a guided tour around the original analogue gear used in recreating 'Oxygene' for the 'Live In Your Living Room' video.

DiGiCo Supplies Oxygene

February 2008

He’s played live to a record breaking 3.5 million people in Moscow. Two billion people tuned in to see him bring in the new Millennium with the great pyramids as a backdrop. But to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Oxygene, Jean Michel Jarre has gone intimate, and, to help him get the most out of his retro instruments, his Front of House engineer, Alain Courieux, is using a DiGiCo D5 Live digital mixing console.

In November 2007, Jean Michel Jarre released a special anniversary live version of his classic album, Oxygene. The celebration continues this year as Jarre has planned some very special concerts – including the Royal Albert Hall on March 30th – in which he’ll be performing Oxygene in its entirety. The French composer, performer and producer has only ever played excerpts in concert, never the whole piece.

“I decided to do this because when I first recorded Oxygene, I more or less did it in my kitchen - the first ever home studio,” says Jean Michel Jarre. “I was recording on a very, very old eight-track tape recorder at the time. Each time I looked at the machine, I would say to myself that one day I should record this piece of music properly.

“Then, with the evolution of technology and the explosion of high definition for television and audio five years ago, I decided that it was time. I got out the old vintage synthesisers, and was absolutely amazed by the sound and the quality of those instruments that we almost all forgot about somewhere in the Eighties. They have such a special texture, such a special colour. They really are collector items, the equivalent of the Telecaster or the Les Paul Gibson of the Sixties, or the Stradivarius for classic music. They are part of the mythology of electronic music.”

Jean Michel Jarre has decided to put these 50 or 60 crazy instruments on stage and perform Oxygene like it is a futuristic classical concert, but in truly classical venues. These venues are quite unusual for him as they are small, with between 1,000 to 3,000 seats. Very far removed from the millions of people he is used to performing to. “For that, we need a very special sound because these very warm analogue machines are like old ladies, and we need accurate and sophisticated equipment to get the right sound in the unusual venues for this type of music.”

To get this sound, a DiGiCo D5 Live console was chosen. The D5 Live digital mixing system sets a completely new standard for live sound mixing. Its audio quality, convenience, simple and intuitive operation are a world apart from conventional mixing. This complete, self-contained system does away with the need for a multicore, splitters, line drivers, dynamics processors and an entire effects rack.

Alain Courieux, who has more than 30 years experience in live sound engineering, studio recording, sound design and audio consultant, is Jean Michel Jarre’s sound engineer on this tour and a great proponent of DiGiCo consoles. “I used a lot of the internal effects contained in the console,” says Courieux. “So the external effects rack consisted of just a Lexicon 480L reverb and an SSL stereo compressor.”

Virtually every feature is there to see at a glance, or at most a single, logical fingertip press away. The four LCD touch screens present their facilities exactly as you'd expect to find them on an advanced analogue console, with instant access and a refreshing lack of menus to navigate. Packed in to the desk are powerful digital dynamics, an effects package, total recall of every function, a 38x8 output matrix, up to 128 input channel s and 40 multi-configurable internal buses.

“I’m really glad to work with DiGiCo and this fantastic equipment that they provide,” continues Jarre. “I think that the timeless warmth and the texture of the old analogue instruments teamed with the up to date digital sound technology is great. Not only for the PA systems, but also to eventually record the whole piece for film and for live projects. It’s absolutely ideal and we are delighted with it. I’m sure that the D5 is going to perform very well. To match this on stage is my next plan”.

Courieux is looking forward to the rest of the tour that kicks off in March. “ The tour will see us use two DiGiCo D5 consoles, and the monitors and in ear system will be driven with a CS-D5,” Courieux added.

Source: digico.biz

Jean-Michel Jarre promete un nuevo disco con colaboraciones para este año

Será "probablemente en septiembre u octubre" y vendrá acompañado de un nuevo tour que podría recalar en España

 Javier Herrero-Efe | Cannes (Francia)

Con "Oxygène", Jean-Michel Jarre se aupó hace más de 35 años a los altares del entonces inexistente Olimpo de la música electrónica. Y a finales de 2013, anuncia este pionero y maestro regresará con un nuevo disco, rodeado por algunos de los miembros de ese panteón que él ayudó a erigir. Será "probablemente en septiembre u octubre" y vendrá acompañado de un nuevo tour que podría recalar en España, tal y como revela durante una entrevista a su paso por la última edición del Mercado Internacional del Disco y de la Edición Musical (MIDEM) de Cannes (Francia).

“Hay muchos artistas electrónicos que me dicen que soy una de sus influencias, pero yo digo que eso funciona en las dos direcciones”, afirma el francés, que cita a referencias consolidadas como The Chemical Brothers y Moby -”un gran amigo mío”-, además de los franceses Justice, Air y Sebastien Tellier. “De España, también conozco a jóvenes DJ muy interesantes, como John Tallabot”, añade el músico, que fue nombrado el pasado mes de noviembre miembro honorario de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).

Al Midem 2013, clausurado el pasado martes, este visionario que grabó en su casa “Oxygène”, el disco que condujo a “la revolución de los sintetizadores de los años 70″, habló sobre los puentes entre la música francesa y la cada vez más potente escena musical de Taiwán. Y es que en China su estatus brilla como antaño, cuando forjara otros discos míticos como “Équinoxe” (1978) o “Magnetic Fields” (1981). Lo achaca al conocimiento que existe en el país asiático de la música clásica y a la relación que existe entre ésta y la electrónica. “No es un estilo como el rock o el hip hop, sino una forma de hacer música, como la clásica. Está basada en el patrimonio europeo y por eso tiene ese carácter universal que tan bien entienden en China”, explica.

En su discurso, la electrónica adquiere tintes y conexiones tan elevados y trascendentales como las temáticas que le inspiran y que le llevaron a tocar en el desierto egipcio, cerca de Giza, y a intentarlo en las Pirámides de Teotihuacán en México (la escenografía se perdió en una naufragio en el Oceáno Atlántico a pocas semanas de la cita).

No comparte la forma de actuar de algunos DJ que apenas tocan un botón durante sus actuaciones. “Si te subes a un escenario, es para dar algo diferente a lo que se ofrece en el disco, en la grabación”, argumenta.

Y es que otra de las grandes aportaciones de Jarre al esquema musical internacional fue su visión monumental del espectáculo en vivo. Según explica, cuando empezó no parecía “muy sexy” pasarse dos horas en el escenario delante de un ordenador, así que pensó cómo podría trasladar el espíritu de su música al directo. “Estaba obsesionado con la ópera como manifestación artística. ¿Por qué aquellos compositores como Verdi, Rossini o Wagner, con su magnífica música, querían trabajar con carpinteros, iluminadores, pintores y escenógrafos? Para dar algo más sobre el escenario”, responde.
Diseñó entonces apabullantes puestas en escena junto a profesionales que, con los años, saltaron a la escena rock para trabajar con bandas como The Rolling Stones y U2, adalides del “rock de estadio”. “Estoy muy feliz de haber contaminado la música en este sentido”, dice.

Él, que llegó a congregar a dos millones de personas en 1990 en el barrio de La Défense de París, no teme que le acusen de “pomposo” o “recargado”. “Me gusta la esencia poética del concepto circense: actuar una sola noche, apropiarte del lugar y desaparecer a la mañana siguiente. Para mí esa es la actuación definitiva”, cuenta.

Source: republica.com