JEAN MICHEL JARRE

Jean Michel JARRE is, without doubt, one of the most creative and innovative musicians of our time. Composer, creator of multi-media concert-spectaculars and recently appointed UNESCO Goodwill ambassador, Jean Michel Jarre is renowned for his state-of-the-art performances in urban environments integrating local cultures and attracting some of the largest audiences ever. Since his album "OXYGENE" rocketed to the top of the charts back in the seventies, his record sales now approach 55 million. But even today, it is impossible to categorize either the artist or his music. Born in Lyon in 1948, Jean Michel Jarre started learning music at the age of 5 and went on to study classical music at the Paris Conservatoire. He started experimenting with electro-acoustic music when he joined the Music-Research Group in Paris in 1968, releasing his first album a year later. By the time he left the group in 1971, he was composing music for films, stage, television and commercials - most notably, a ballet score, "AOR", for the Paris Opera and the soundtrack for Jean Chapot's film "LES GRANGES BRULEES" staring Alain Delon and Simone Signoret. He was also recording his own experimental, synthesizer-based music as well as writing for and producing other artists. Jean Michel Jarre released "OXYGENE" in 1976 and it became an international success, unprecedented in the history of the french recording industry. The album represented a musical revolution : Jarre's creative interaction between machines and moods gave birth to a new genre of modern music and gained him the reputation of being the forerunner of most of today's synth-based bands. In the USA, he was chosen "Personality of the Year" by the U.S media, while in the UK, the Daily Mirror declared "...a French revolution to the rockworld". In breaking away from established rock and traditional lyrics, Jarre introduced an original approach to music, the creation of soundscape or musical landscape. A strictly classical direction had never appealed to him nor did a system of musical experiment devoid of all emotion, thus an entirely new realm of acoustic sounds, which could legitimately be utilised within music, evolved. "EQUINOXE" followed in 1978, and was a resounding success in 35 countries, which firmly established Jean Michel Jarre as an international artist.