Interview with Jean-Michel Jarre

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/liv...

Looks like he's taking his Oxygene tour to London.

I'll be definitely there, love to hear this live!

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thanks. I'm on the JMJ mailing list so hopefully will hear as soon as it's announced.

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Ditto, I love old analogue synths but they are a PITA to use, especially when you're trying to use a few of them at the same time and they keep wandering off on their own.

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Parrot of Doom said:

I was at Docklands too, and Man City a few years later. I almost went to the Paris gig but decided it was too small.

I'm waiting for his next mega-concert, which I'll be off to

I went to Docklands, Paris twice, Wembley & Manchester twice.

Although enjoyable I've always come away from the big mega gigs a little disappointed as I'm more into the music portion of a gig than anything else, also looking at the films of these big shows it's obvious that no-one on stage is actually playing anything which is why I'm particularly looking forward to the Oxygene show. I've seen Pink Floyd which was also incredible but seeing them play a local university would have been miles better as you can get up close and see exactly what they're doing.

Presumably he'll play more than just Oxygene though as it's only about 40 minutes long.

Let him chuck in all of Equinoxe and selective highlights of Magnetic Fields (didn't get on with part 2 & 5) then we'd have the best gig ever!

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tribbles said:

If you find details of tickets, let me know! (If I find out too, I'll let you know)

Although unconfirmed:

5th and 6th March: Lisbon, Portugal
10th March: Italy
19th and 20th March: Dublin, Ireland
25th March: Amsterdam, Holland
30th March: Royal Albert Hall London, England

Also Spain, Russia, Norway, Sweden and Germany is rumoured.

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You could always go n buy a D-50/550, they cost nothing now.

Or a JD-800 which basically has the same sounds but a miles better interface.

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minimoog said:

MitchT said:

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Ditto, I love old analogue synths but they are a PITA to use, especially when you're trying to use a few of them at the same time and they keep wandering off on their own.

Wandering off on their own Excellent!

My Polymoog didn't so much 'wander off' as ran full pelt down the stairs, jumped into a waiting car, screeched off to the airport, then caught the next plane to Bali. It's still lying there on a beach somewhere under a palm tree surrounded by Ladymoogs and sipping gin slings. The bastard

Wouldn't be as bad if they did that every time.

There was a great series on Radio 2 a couple of years back about the rise of synths in popular music, had all the grand masters on like ELP, Froese, Kraftwerk etc on, then all the 80's synth pop people like Numan. Human League too, one of them said that they'd have all these mono-synths, spend ages in a bedsit fiddling to come up with a great sound/sequence, they'd then take them round to a colleagues place to demonstrate 'their next hit' and the chuffing things would sound completely different despite all the controls being in exactly the same place!

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Problem with a lot of the older concerts was the very poor films that were made of them.

Concorde, Houston, Lyon, Docklands (that one in particular) were hopeless, they were usually far too short and were more concerned with silly 80's video effects rather than showing anything, or just shot close-ups of Jarre so you couldn't see the rest of the show.

The first one I was impressed with was Paris La Defense which was a massively OTT concert and it came across on the film.

Pity Jarre parted with Polydor n thus none of them will ever be re-released on DVD.

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Also most of the audio is mastered for your average 80's TV set with little speakers and no Dolby so they do sound a bit squashed.

He's also interviewed in this months Sound On Sound magazine if anyone is interested.

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JEAN MICHEL JARRE: ROYAL ALBERT HALL CONCERT

EMI Marketing UK & 3a Entertainment have confirmed to JARRE UK today, that
Jean Michel Jarre will officially bring his 'OXYGENE' Concert to the Royal
Albert Hall, London, UK, on Sunday 30th March 2008.

According to the Official Press Release, Jean Michel Jarre will continue to
celebrate the 30th Anniversary of his 'OXYGENE' Album, by performing the
entire masterpiece, 'LIVE', at the Royal Albert Hall, using more than 50 of
his original Vintage Analogue Synthesizers, accompanied on stage by the
French Musicians Francis Rimbert, Claude Samard & Dominique Perrier.

This will be the first time that Jean Michel Jarre has performed in the UK
in over a decade. Coincidentally, his last performances in the UK were for
the 20th Anniversary of 'OXYGENE', as part of his 'OXYGENE TOUR' in 1997.

Jean Michel Jarre's 'OXYGENE' Concert will take place at 20:00 (8:00pm) at
the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK on Sunday 30th March 2008, Tickets for
which will go on sale from 9:00am on Monday 21st January 2008, priced at
£45, £55, £65 & £75 (all subject to booking fee), either from Bookings
Direct (www.bookingsdirect.com), or by phoning [phone] (24
Hours).

Arena, Centre Stalls & Side Stalls - £75
Loggia Boxes, Grand Tier Boxes - £100 (Reserved For Invited Guests)
2nd Tier Boxes - £75
Front Circle - £65
Rear Circle - £55
Circle (Restricted View) - £45

For further information about Jean Michel Jarre's forthcoming 'OXYGENE'
Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, please visit Jean Michel Jarre's
NEW-LOOK Official Web-Site (www.jeanmicheljarre.com), or alternately visit
the Royal Albert Hall's Official Web-Site (www.royalalberthall.com).

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After the initial excitement I think I'm going to give this a miss.

Judging by the shows he did in Paris it's basically a rerun of the DVD with Oxygene 13 as an encore. So as much as I'd like to see it and ogle that kit the costs of going plus the 7 hour round trip for only an hours worth of music it just isn't worth it.

I'll watch the DVD and turn the speakers up.

Have fun those that go.

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andy400 said:

I recently listened to Oxygene again after a twenty-something year gap, and well.....

I'll probably get a slating, but not really that impressive. There are some catchy riffs and tunes here and there, but mostly it seems to consist of atmospheric sweeps, with some bleeps and bloops thrown in for good measure, and, frankly, with the right kit, almost anyone can do that.

I get the distinct impression that it was only popular in it's day because it groundbreaking, new synth & technology type stuff - a bit 'different' musically, and at a time when home computers etc were just starting to come into their own.

I won't be buying a ticket, if I'm going to sleep, I'd rather sleep in my bed.

But that's the point isn't it, I'm sure if Mr. Jarre had the technology of 2008 at his disposal back in 1976 it would have sounded very different. It wouldn't have been regarded as groundbreaking or pioneering if "anyone could do it".

It's like arguing that an Atari 2600 is less impressive than an Xbox 360!

It would take you about 30 minutes to get to grips with a modern music package and start making a tune, good luck figuring out an ARP 2500!

The problem with modern technology is that everyone now takes it for granted, very few know how it actually works or what it can really do that's why 99% of modern electronic music sounds the same and a 30+ year old record is still marvelled.


Anyway regardless, as a chillout record it's still awesome regardless of the equipment used to record it.

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http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainme...

I'll be going to this one for sure.

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I got tickets for Row F in the Circle.

Most expensive concert I've ever been to, do hope he's good.

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Do people actually buy them at those inflated prices?

To pay all that I'd want him to perform Oxygene parts 1 - 13, Equinoxe & Zoolook. Then Vangelis would walk on and they'd play a whole new collaborative piece!

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Is JMJ a fraud? I know that on his big shows it's all mimed and this'll be his first actual live show. But I think if you're worried about that at one of his mega outdoor shows then you've missed the point.

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andy400 said:

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Is JMJ a fraud? I know that on his big shows it's all mimed and this'll be his first actual live show. But I think if you're worried about that at one of his mega outdoor shows then you've missed the point.

It's a joke. Sorry if I offended.

No I get the joke, it was just the debate on the YT link.

I like his music (not so much the newer stuff) but I'm no fanboy.

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Some good feedback from this tour so far, really looking forward to it now.

Apparently he makes a disclaimer before he starts that the old kit has a habit of screwing up.

No pressure then!

If anyone here is going to the Manchester gig, see you there.

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IIRC I'm on row F (look for a v-tall chap in need of a haircut).

Review here of the Scots gig:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/displ...

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Really enjoyed this, amused me that every time he went to use a different synth there was a subtle look of worry as to whether it would work.

Sounded great too, easily the best Jarre gig I've been to. I think he could have spent a little more time tuning them boxes at the beginning though, some of them sounded very flat.

Only gripe was the venue, it was very naff, the seats were tiny had to crowbar my 6'6" frame into them and there must have been a bout of bladder weakness on row F as there was a constant stream of people going to and from the loo, I mean FFS how much do people drink beforehand, find it weird. After the 5th time I had to get up my chair collapsed, back still feels sore.

The poor venue wasn't enough to spoil the show, lets hope he comes back with Equinoxe!