From The Guardian.
‘Hi-fi shops played it as an example of state-of-the-art music. I didn’t tell them I made it with Sellotape in my kitchen’
Jean-Michel Jarre, musician, composer
I played in rock bands as a teenager and would use a tape machine my grandfather gave me to get processed sounds out of my guitar. During the French student uprisings of 1968, this felt like a way of being rebellious. I loved it when people said: “What is this crap?” But by the mid-70s, I wanted to bridge the gap between experimental music and pop.
I had done production work for some rock artists, earning enough to set up a studio in my kitchen. I didn’t have much equipment, though, just a few guitar pedals and my first synthesiser, an EMS VCS3, which looked like a telephone exchange. I realised that using a Revox tape machine to delay the sound that came out of one loudspeaker created a huge sense of space.
With so little to work with, I had to be creative. My old Mellotron had only a few working keys, but I still managed to write Oxygène (Part II) on it. My primitive drum machine – a Korg Mini Pops – was the sort of thing people played in pubs, but by using Sellotape I could make it play two preset rhythms at the same time, creating cool beats. Part IV, which became iconic, was a mixture of “slow rock” and “rock” , while Part VI combined “rumba” and “bossa nova”.
Nobody knew about synthesisers back then. When I first heard Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, I thought they were a Californian band trying to imitate the Beach Boys. But I still saw Autobahn as a pop song with vocals – and I was into electronic music with no singing. Somehow, I wanted to link it all with nature and environmental issues. Then in an art gallery one day, I saw a painting of the Earth peeling away to reveal a skull and thought: “That’s the album cover!”
For the full article, please see The Guardian website.
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- Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene 3 - Clear Vinyl - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £29.99, $38.09, €35.09 (New Item) (arrived 18-Mar-2024 17:10)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Oxygene 3 (2016 UK/EU limited edition 7-track LP pressed on Translucent Vinyl, his nineteenth studio album & the third release in the Oxygène Trilogy, housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve featuring great Michel Granger artwork based on the original album artwork. Sealed in the original shrink )
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Revolutions - UK - vinyl LP - £12.00, $15.24, €14.04 (New Item) (arrived 16-Jan-2024 09:10)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Revolutions (1988 UK 7-track LP, the sixth studio album by the French composer including the singles Revolutions & London Kid [a collaboration with Hank Marvin], picture sleeve. The sleeve has a small patch of missing laminate where a price sticker used to be, however there is little sign of other wear & the vinyl remains in Excellent condition with a few inaudible paper scuffs and light signs of spindle wear POLH45)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Equinoxe - Japanese - vinyl LP - £35.00, $44.45, €40.95 (New Item) (arrived 30-Dec-2023 10:55)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Equinoxe (1979 Japanese 8-track LP, complete with the Japanese insert, picture sleeve & matching picture obi-strip which has an advert for the Korg synthesizer on the back. The sleeve is Excellent with a light spot of corner scuffing & the vinyl appears Near Mint MPF-1214)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Rendez-Vous - UK - vinyl LP - £12.00, $15.24, €14.04 (New Item) (arrived 12-Jan-2024 13:54)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Rendez-Vous (1986 UK 6-track LP including Last Rendez-Vous: Ron's Piece, intended to be the first piece of music played & recorded in space, picture sleeve. The sleeve shows just a little foxing & the vinyl remains in Excellent condition with few signs of play POLH27)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - The Concerts In China - EX - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £15.00, $19.05, €17.55 (New Item) (arrived 15-Jan-2024 10:16)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE The Concerts In China (1982 UK 15-track double LP, recorded live during five concerts in Peking & Shanghai, the first performances of rock or contemporary music ever given in the People's Republic of China; includes forty minutes of then-new material, gatefold picture sleeve with illustrated inners. The sleeve is Excellent with some edge scuffing yet the vinyl remains in Excellent condition PODV3)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Calypso - UK - 12" vinyl - £18.00, $22.86, €21.06 (New Item) (arrived 15-Jan-2024 15:59)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Calypso (1990 UK 3-track 12" vinyl single including Extended Version & Calypso Part 2, picture sleeve. The sleeve has only minor edgewear and a little creasing, whilst apart from a few light scuffs, the vinyl has few signs of play PZ84)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Calypso - UK - 12" vinyl - £18.00, $22.86, €21.06 (New Item) (arrived 15-Jan-2024 17:00)
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Calypso (1990 UK 3-track 12" vinyl single including Extended Version & Calypso Part 2, picture sleeve. The sleeve has only minor edgewear and a little creasing, whilst apart from a few light scuffs, the vinyl has few signs of play PZ84)
- Jean-Michel Jarre - Live - UK - vinyl LP - £12.00, $15.24, €14.04 (New Item) (arrived 16-Jan-2024 08:51)
JEAN MICHEL JARRE Live (1989 UK 10-track vinyl LP which was recorded live at London's Docklands, glossy picture sleeve with illustrated inner. The sleeve shows little wear, the vinyl shows a few notable hairline marks that have no real impact on play)
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