wrecktangle writes:
quoted 7 lines ]I like them very much: beautiful, simple, emotional. they tear at me.> ]I like them very much: beautiful, simple, emotional. they tear at me.
> ]there has to be someone who does lots of stuff like that.
>
> yes there is...and his name is the almighty JEAN MICHAEL JARRE!!!
>
> his style is sooo syrupy-sweet I once thought my whole bedroom was oozing
> glucose as I listened to a CD of his while on acid...
jarre started off as a real pioneer... back in 1976 with "oxygene", a
great amorphous blob of mellotrons, analog synths, ancient rhythm
boxes. really a great record, still stands up, for the most part.
he's had his ups and downs over the years. i still check in on him
now and then because oxygene (and its followup equinoxe) were my first
introduction to entirely synthetic music.
his experiments with fairlights and sampling in the early 80's yielded
"zoolook", a real touchstone for idm development (at least for me it
was). i remember lying on the floor, completely stoned, listening to
this one back in the mid 80's and just flipping out
completely... another one of those "i never knew music could sound
like THAT" epiphanies.
nowadays he's mostly crap, unfortunately. although i would be more
likely to describe him as "grandiose" rather than "syrupy" (although
certainly there's a little of that as well).
interestingly, i just got a copy of his most recent work, which is a
"sequel" to the original Oxygene. it is actually pretty good in
places, with jarre busting out the old moogs, arps and mellotrons for
another go round the space music block. (of course he had to ruin it
by throwing in some quasmidi and nord stuff, and dabbling
unsuccessfully with "contemporary dance" (he ends up sounding like
robert miles in places) as well...)
now if you want saccharine, check out tangerine dream... they really
got into heavy syrup in their later years. (if you use that emulator
shakuhachi sound again you will die!!!)
recommended jarre listening:
- oxygene
- equinoxe
- zoolook
- en attendant cousteau (skip straight to the title track for 47
minutes of underwater ambience that would do eno proud)
--
Jon Drukman jsd@gamespot.com SpotMedia Communications
How the drunk and the maimed both are dragged forward out of the arena
like a boneless Christ, one man under each arm, feet dragging, eyes on
the aether. (David Foster Wallace/Infinite Jest)