FRANCE/RUSSIA: JEAN MICHEL JARRE REVEALS THAT HE 'STILL FEELS LIKE A BEGINNER' AFTER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Record ID: 387416

  • Title: FRANCE/RUSSIA: JEAN MICHEL JARRE REVEALS THAT HE 'STILL FEELS LIKE A BEGINNER' AFTER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
  • Date: 12th December 1997
  • Summary: JARRE IN STUDIO
  • Embargoed: 27th December 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE/ MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVAB8S90YVJFEAFCOAPTVCSC8DG6
  • Story Text: - The self-proclaimed "godfather of electronic", Jean Michel Jarre has revealed he 'still feels like a beginner' after twenty years in the music industry and despite his success, he says there's still room for improvement.

    1997 has proved a hectic year for Jarre, the year he released the continuation of his Oxygene album part 7-13 and embarked on a new-style world tour "The Oxygene Tour".

    Speaking from his studio in Croissy, Paris, Jarre explained why he chose to release "Oxygene parts 7-13" twenty years after the success of "Oxygene 1-6".

    Two decades ago, Lyon-born Jarre burst onto the international music scene with his first album "Oxygene 1-6".

    It became an instant success and propelled Jarre into the enviable position of being one of France's most successful musical exports. It was swiftly followed by the release of "Equinoxe" in 1978 and "Magnetic Fields" in 1981.

    In the twenty years that followed, Jarre has sold over 55 million albums worldwide.

    Jarre is the son of a film composer and engineer but believes he was more influenced by his grandfather Andre, who was an engineer and inventor. It's from Andre, that Jarre believes he gets his love of technology.

    He went on to study at the Paris Conservatoire where he was faced with the choice of becoming a classical composer.

    It was whilst there he joined the radical 'groupe de recherche' (an electric-accoustic ensemble led by Pierre Schaeffer). According to Jarre there was little competition.

    In order to record Oxygene 7-13, Jarre spent 12 months working in his studio at Croissy, Paris, the home he shared with his British-born wife, Charlotte Rampling and their children.

    He decided to return to his musical roots to compose the album, preferring to use old machines "the Stradivarius of electronic music," Jarre said.

    He claims that to move forward musically he always looks to the past. Thus, the latest technological gadgets for the studio were eschewed for the original analogue synthesisers on which he based his first works in the 1960's. He has stated though that he's taken the best from both worlds, digital and analogue.

    Jarre admits that he has a very sensual approach to his music, and added he thought making music was rather like cooking.

    "It's a sensual attitude to technology, a tactile relationship with sounds. Making music with sythesizers is like sculpting with clay it's like cooking.....the D.J. room is like being in front of an oven, experimenting and preparing dishes, Jarre said.

    Jarre believes the second Oxygene album is not a sequel but a true continuation of a whole process of composition which he decided to put into perspective.

    This 'continuation' theme he says ties in well with the decision to move away from large outdoor stadium shows.

    "It was interesting to be in a kind of kaleidescope world and different ideas and for me the idea of doing my first indoor tour, putting this music on stage and performing that kind of music in a totally different way was interesting," he said.

    Jarre's massive outdoor shows in Paris, London and Houston are world renowned and attracted record-breaking audiences of over 2 million people.

    He was the first Western artist to perform for the People's Republic of China in 1981.

    Jarre's first ever indoor tour began in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 7, 1997 and ventured through ten European countries before heading off to the USA, Canada, South America and Australasia.

    Looking to the future, Jarre says he hopes to perform in Cuba, Central America and is currently negotiating with officials for permission.
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