On Monday night, we had the chance to join in the Standard Sounds’ The Annie O Music Series presents a conversation with Jean-Michel Jarre at The Standard East Village. Represented by Sony Music Entertainment Germany, Jarre is the pioneer in electronic music and helped elevate and innovate the genre through the international space. The native French artist is also a composer and spokesperson for UNESCO for Water for Life and Education for All.
Read below some of the highlights from the exclusive talk discussing his new just released album, Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise:
On the connection between Electronica 1 & 2:
The Heart of Noise is a tribute to Luigi Russolo, who proposed in 1913 in his futurist manifesto The Art of Noises a number of conclusions about how electronics and other technology will allow futurist musicians to “substitute the limited variety of timbres that the orchestra possesses today with the infinite variety of timbres in noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms.” Russolo states that noise first came into existence as the result of 19th century machines, I think that all the collaborators on my Electronica project are at the heart of noise. When I started my Electronica project I wanted to collaborate with artists who have influenced me and who are a constant source of inspiration, and who are linked with electronic music so I reached out to them, and as everybody said yes, I ended up with more than 2.5 hours of music. This is the reason why I split it into two albums, they were all initiated more or less at the same time but it took more time for some tracks to be finished than others so there is no difference for me between the 1st volume and the 2nd volume because they were made with the same passion, love, and energy. It was more a question of timing. I wanted to gather people from different generations who have marked one way or another the electronic music scene over the past four decades.
Making of the project:
The specificity of the project is that I met physically with every artist and I didn’t just send files via the Internet. I’m glad to have been able to share a moment with them in their homes and working environments. I travelled for 5 years with this project and met so many amazing people, some of them came to my studio in Paris or worked with me on the road in my mobile studio but I spent a lot of time between Paris, London, Berlin, LA, and New York.
Thoughts on US Tour:
I’m starting my world tour in Europe with Sonar Barcelona on June 17th, and later the tour until Mid-December in Europe. In 2017, I have plans for Asia, the Pacific, and the US.
Future projects:
This I can’t comment on, ask Damon! I’m just coming out from the studio after 5 years of work and now preparing the tour so I feel like I need to breathe a bit of air.
We also had the chance to stop by a private preview with Futura for his collaboration with G-Shock. The preview of the collection took place at The Supermarket in Soho New York in debuting the release of the custom designed GDX6900FTR-1 timepiece. The legendary American Graffiti Artist has partnered with Converse, Men’s US World Soccer team, (RED), and more in the past. His original graffiti artwork will be imprinted on the technical watch for the limited edition launch.
