Jean Michel Jarre is a French composer whose particularity, among other things, is that he is the son of Maurice Jarre, a famous composer of film music ("Lawrence of Arabia" among the most famous ...).
He started playing the piano at the age of 8.
It was only a few years later, when his mother took him to the Jazz box "Le chat qui peche" that he had the "revelation". He will be a musician.
He takes harmony and counterpoint lessons at the Paris Conservatory.
It was in the early 1960s that things intensified when he started playing with the group "Mysteres IV", then with "Dustbins".
The year 1968 marked an important turning point in his life when he met Pierre Schaeffer, who made him join the "Groupe de recherches musicales", an organization made up of musicians and researchers studying contemporary and experimental music.
He discovered the first synthesizers there and rubbed shoulders with composers like Stockhausen among others.
It was in 1969 that he composed his first songs. Which are published in vinyl at a hundred copies 2 years later by Pathé Marconi.
In 1972, he composed the credits for the program "Sport en fête".
In 1973, he composed for the groups "Bill & Buster" and "Blue Vamp". He also composes for the cinema.
He also participates in the albums of Christophe "Les paradis perdus" and "Les Mots bleus" as lyricist.
In 1975, he collaborated with Françoise Hardy, Gérard Lenorman and Patrick Juvet.
And it was in 1976 that his destiny changed when he started composing an album that was to prove revolutionary in terms of sound, namely "Oxygène".
The album was released at the end of the year and it was a shock in the musical world both in France and abroad. Oxygène IV becomes a planetary hit and this in a sensational way !
Two years later, "Equinoxe" was released, an album in the line of Oxygen, which only confirmed his incredible and avant-garde talent.
He launched for the first time in 1979 his concept of mega show, the first of which took place at Place de la Concorde in Paris in front of 1,000,000 spectators !
1981 saw the release of the album "Les Champs Magnétiques" and he was the first westerner to be able to play in China since the death of Mao Zedong.
1984 saw the release of the album "Zoolook" with particularly mixed sounds.
1986 saw the release of the album "Rendez-vous", whose Single "4ème rendez-vous" quickly became a worldwide hit and an emblematic piece of his concerts.
The mega shows follow one another, the master of which is excessive. 1988 was the year of the release of the album "Révolutions", once again based on sound mixing.
1990 meanwhile will be the year of the album "En attendant Cousteau" from which the flagship Single "Calypso" will be extracted. The same year, he organized a mega show at La Défense in front of 2,500,000 spectators !
1993 saw the release of the album "Chronologie" which gave pride of place to analog synthesizers of yesteryear, just to get back to basics.
The loop being blocked, the artist will no longer produce a major work in the years that follow and will mainly focus on his extraordinary shows.
The visionary and avant-garde artists who marked the 20th century with their revolutionary instrumental compositions are not legion.
They can even be counted on the fingers of one hand : Mike Olfield, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Vangélis and ... Jean Michel Jarre.
As such, low hat Mister !
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
• La cage 1971
• Freedom day 1972
• La chanson des granges brûlées 1973
• Hypnose 1974
• Oxygene 4 1976
• Oxygene 2 1977
• Equinoxe 5 1978
• Equinoxe 4 1979
80s Decade :
• Les Champs magnétiques 2 1981
• Orient express 1982
• Souvenir of china 1982
• Musique pour Supermarché 1983
• Zoolook 1984
• Zoolookologie 1985
• Fourth rendez vous 1986
• Revolutions 1988
• London kid 1988
90s Decade :
• Calypso 1990
• Chronologie 4 1993
• Oxygene Pt. 7 1997
• Oxygene Pt. 8 1997
• Oxygene Pt. 10 1997
• Together now 1998
2000s Decade :
• C'est la vie 2000
• Hey Gagarin 2000
• Skin paradox 2003
• Pleasure principal 2003
• Téo & Téa 2007
• Beautiful agony 2007
• Touch to remember 2007
• Vintage 2007
2010s Decade :
• Glory 2015
• Automatic (Part 2) 2015
• If..! 2015
• Stardust 2015
• The heart of noise Pt.1 2016
• Brick England 2016
• Here for you 2016
• What you want 2016
• Gisèle 2016
• Swipe to the right 2016
• Oxygène Pt. 16 2016
• Oxygène Pt. 17 2016
• Oxygène Pt. 20 2016
• Flying totems 2018
• Robots don't cry 2018
• The opening 2018
2020s Decade :
• Amazônia Pt.7 2021
• Amazônia Pt.9 2021
• Herbalizer 2021
• Brutalism 2022
• Brutalism Take 2 2022
• Brutalism reprise 2022
• Epica 2022
• Synthy sisters Take 2 2023
• Zeitgeist botanica 2023
• Epica maxima 2023
Tracks :
1971 ... beginnings to say the least ... tortured. Experimental taken to the extreme and which leaves nothing to augur at this stage of the huge suite which is on the horizon ...
1972 ... this one will not do better unfortunately. There is still work before he can go to the stars ...
1973 ... the style evolves slowly but surely. There is better, it is clear but it will still have to work ...
1974 ... the year 1974 will not change anything again. The inspiration remains basic and does not allow him to hope to play soon in the big leagues ...
1976 ... then comes THIS title ! And the world discovers a revolutionary sound that did not exist until then. The artist delivers here a HU-GE album which marks a major turning point in the musical history of the 20th century ! MO-NU-MEN-TAL !
1977 ... the rest, just as HUGE ! An almost divine inspiration, a sound of an incredible lyricism. But where is he going to get it all ?
1978 ... the second sonic shock, the gifted one has reoffended and confirms an absolutely incredible talent as a composer
1979 ... the shock wave spreads all over the planet and opens a new musical era essentially based on the power of synthesizers. An instrument that will simply revolutionize music like rarely another instrument before it ...
1981 ... the transition phase. The artist changes his tone once again and opens up new musical dimensions, this time a little more dance-oriented
1982 ... a constantly evolving sound, a desire for permanent innovation which makes him one of the most avant-garde composers of the moment
1982 ... a magnificent memory of China which magically suspends time and takes us into sound regions which we did not even imagine existed ...
1983 ... a one-of-a-kind album because it was produced in only 1 copy at the time and composed especially for the Orrimbe Show exhibition, an exhibition organized on the theme of the supermarket by friends of the composer. An album that will stand out because it will become one of the most expensive albums in contemporary musical history ...
1984 ... an explosive mix of diverse and varied sounds that perfectly sums up the atmosphere of the moment
1985 ... the HUGE interplanetary hit which once again puts him in the spotlight and once again proves his truly extraordinary talent. MAS-TER-FUL !
1986 ... he repeats a year later with an equally HUGE title. But where does this inspiration which is constantly incredible come from ?
1988 ... the end of the decade, this time lacking in inspiration, a first for an artist who had previously achieved flawlessness. We will have to catch up and quickly !
1988 ... another title with certain quality, certainly. But it misses this grain of genius which inhabited the artist until there ...
1990 ... fortunately the change of decade rhymes with return of inspiration. We thought we had lost him for good but it is clear that the essential is preserved !
1993 ... unfortunately, even if he delivers here a new title of very high class, one feels that the inspiration begins to fluctuate more and more and that the best is now behind him. And the future will only confirm this bad feeling ...
1997 ... we thought that the masterpiece 'Oxygen' would not have a sequel and yet here it is. And my faith, even if this sequel will not meet the same level of incredible success as its ancestor, it largely holds the road !
1997 ... the flagship title of the album. We still find there the fundamentals that made the incredible success of the previous album and we will not shy away from our pleasure, that's clear !
1997 ... the artist mixes influences of yesteryear and much more contemporary influences, the whole giving a result of the most effective. Like what, 20 years later, we can do something new with old !
1998 ... less and less personal titles which leave room for more and more collaborations. A bias that will end up irremediably marginalizing him ...
2000 ... anyway, here he is entering his 4th decade without asking too many questions. The main thing for him is to keep doing what he loves, no matter what the rest ...
2000 ... especially that this album there will know the favors of the public and thus allows the artist to remain at the top of the poster. Not sure that it lasts afterwards ...
2003 ... the beginning of the 2000s which will prove to be a little more complicated to manage than expected. The artist is at the crossroads of several musical eras, therefore of several musical influences, and will therefore have to choose which direction he now intends to orient ...
2003 ... even if this opus will only know a very limited level of success, it still allows us to assess the artist's level of inspiration at this precise moment: all is well !
2007 ... after the middle of the 2000s where the artist will look for himself somewhat, here he is back in this year 2007 in a form that we will qualify as certain. Form which sees him stick to the very last musical trends in order to find the way of the Charts. And it works !
2007 ... we feel that the artist has decided to stick as much as possible to the very latest musical trends of the moment. A necessary and beneficial adaptation to avoid dropping out which could prove to be irreversible ...
2007 ... in the end, an album which once again shows that the artist's inspiration is constantly evolving and constantly renewing itself. Who would complain !
2007 ... the problem is that in wanting to stick too much to the latest musical trends, he loses in originality and loses a little bit of his soul and begins to blend in with the crowd. Beware of trivialization ...
2015 ... follows a big air hole of 8 years rather inexplicable. A healthy air hole anyway since the return will be a winner, to say the least !
2015 ... the very clever idea that the composer will have is to surround himself with other renowned musicians or artists to produce a unique title each time. And the result will necessarily be up to the talent of each protagonist ...
2015 ... his idea of calling on old and new stars of the music scene is a real success and allows to produce titles of more than certain quality. All good on this one !
2015 ... after M83, after Little Boots, among others, it's Armin Van Buuren's turn to play luxury partners. And as for the previous titles, the result is largely up to par !
2016 ... the continuation of his incredible duets. This time, it is Rone who will have the favors of the Master on this title. We want more, that's clear !
2016 ... surely one of the most successful duets. It must be said that joining forces with the Pet Shop Boys could only produce an extraordinary result. And he is !
2016 ... it's Gary Numan who sticks to it this time. It must be said that the respective universes of the 2 artists have always been quite close. It was therefore quite normal to find them there ...
2016 ... and the adventure continues this time with Peaches. When we see the list of artists who participated in the 2 special duets opus, it is clear that he did not take the worst of their time, that's for sure !
2016 ... a new Franco-French duo, this time with Sébastien Tellier. Each artist will have brought his very particular touch to his own title and made these ephemeral collaborations truly unique moments !
2016 ... picking up Cyndi Lauper for this title was a daring bet to say the least, but it is successful in any case. We feel that the composer will have invited all those he appreciated, even admired, and all eras !
2016 ... an endless 'Oxygen' saga for our greatest pleasure. He releases a sequel every 20 years on average and each time he very subtly mixes the atmosphere of the time and the latest trends. The proof once again !
2016 ... we therefore imagine that season 4 of 'Oxygen' will see the light of day during the 2030s. An incredible saga which is enriched with new bricks each time and which will ultimately form a summary of what was best in electronic music over a period spanning over 60 years. A real feat !
2016 ... a unique musical style that will remain forever out of time and above all out of fashion. Just like its composer ...
2017 ... an exercise in style, to say the least, of which few people suspect the composer for a single second. And yes, it is Jean-Michel Jarre who is behind these TV jingles which have now become recognizable among all !
2018 ... here he gives a follow-up to another of his Masterpieces namely 'Equinoxe'. Real continuation or not, the result is once again up to the task and allows him to maintain a level of excellence rarely achieved by someone of his generation, especially at the French level ...
2018 ... once again, old and new sounds blend together perfectly and form a particularly homogeneous whole. While some of these sounds date from 40 years ago anyway ...
2018 ... the pleasure is real to listen to his new titles but whose basic recipe is really from another time. He will undoubtedly remain as one of the very few to be able to achieve this kind of feat ...
2019 ... the end of the decade 2010 which sees him somewhat with difficulty despite this new opus of more than certain quality. Once again he is at the crossroads of several contemporary musical trends. A choice will have to be made once again ...
2021 ... and the choice that will be made is going to be astonishing to say the least. He will opt for noise more than for music and the result will not be really 'all audiences' as they say ...
2021 ... daring direction certainly but risky orientation and especially counterproductive on this one. But the story is far from over and we imagine that he is already working on a next opus which may surprise us once again ...
2021...
2022...
2022...
2022...
2022...
2023...
2023...
2023...
Top Bonus : the story of a lifetime...
Top Bonus : the story of a lifetime II...
Top Bonus : the story of a lifetime III...
Top Bonus : 2023...behind the scenes...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :