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JM Jarre seen from abroad
Aero has broken the sound barrier
Paris
31/08/2004 -
"A pioneer in electronic music, Jean-Michel Jarre has never stopped evolving and experimenting with new sounds". El Imparcial (Mexique, 23/08) aptly reminds us, precisely at the same time as this French musician, "who has sold over 50 million records during his career", is preparing to release his new studio album, Aero (East West Records), the first since Métamorphoses in 2000. A month before the release of Aero and the day before his 56th birthday, Jean-Michel Jarre made the front page of the Review, the supplement of the British daily The Independent (23/8). In a long interview, the creator of Oxygène revealed the key points of this record which has been hailed as significantly innovative.
“His most recent album is the first in the world where every single note is composed for 5.1 surround sound", whereas the other (rare) CDs currently on the market have only been remastered for surround sound. Jean-Michel Jarre is categorical on this point: "I am convinced that this 5.1 surround sound is about to become the next musical revolution". "It’s the right time, people are ready for something different." This new technique situates the listener “inside” the music and not behind a wall of sound, as is the case with a classic stereo recording. Dolby sound is heard in 360° through an outlet of 5.1 and which "gives a rather pleasing impression of being about to be saved by Sigourney Weaver". Much used in the cinema, surround sound heightens emotions. To help you be convinced, the CD comes with a special kind of DVD: "75 minutes of a pair of eyes staring at you". This famous stare is from non other than the actress Anne Parillaud (who has succeeded Isabelle Adjani in Jean-Michel Jarre’s heart) and it’s no accident: the audio track is timed simultaneously with the video track, which should enable emotions to be perceived directly whilst listening to the album. As far as the content is concerned, it reveals itself to be far less groundbreaking, with merely four unreleased tracks. Aero above all reworks Jean-Michel Jarre’s big hits, here played for the benefit of surround sound.
The other event is definitely Jean-Michel Jarre’s return to China – in 1981, just after the end of the cultural revolution, he was the first artist from the West to perform there. The Chinese press agency Xinhua has been reminding us of this since July: "The Minister for French Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, has announced the launch in October of the Year of France in China, with a concert by the French musician Jean-Michel Jarre in the forbidden city of Peking" - an "unprecedented" event, stated the official agency. In an interview given in August to the English website MusicOMH.com, Jarre hinted at some of the features of his open-air show ; "I want lots of young Chinese artists to perform – video artists, visual artists and musicians. It’s going to be the first concert played in 5.1, with HDTV (high definition TV) in the Tienanmen square. It’s also going to be broadcast on the web throughout the world". Chinese television will be showing it live on the 10th of October.
"On all the magazine covers over the last few weeks with stories of his love life, Jean-Michel Jarre has already paved the way for amassing publicity for his new work". The journalist for La Dernière heure (Belgium, 19/8) thinks that’s an understatement. The publicity has already begun in spite of himself and to his cost. His break-up with Isabelle Adjani was the summer saga in France. In her familiar role of the maligned lover, the actress "made not one, but three magazine covers, to tell of her heartaches with Jean-Michel Jarre", Le Matin (Suisse, 14/8) pointed out ironically. "As for Jean-Michel Jarre, smacked in the face by this quasi Napoleonic smear campaign, he left for Sardinia to pursue the love of his dreams after also having made the front page of three French weeklies. (Gala, VSD et Paris Match)". With three all, it’s a draw. At least with Aero, there will be a possibility this autumn to get back to musical values.
Aero (East West Records), commercial release on the 21st of September 2004
Gilles Rio
Translation : Caroline Preller
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