He revolutionized electronic music with his avant-garde sounds. We met the French cult composer Jean-Michel Jarre (67) yesterday before his concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Jarre created one of the most groundbreaking works of pop music in 1976 with his album "Oxygène".
In the fall, you will be performing your new stage show "Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise" in Zurich. What can the audience expect?
Jean-Michel Jarre: The idea was to bring together artists from all areas of the electronic music scene, for example Moby, Air, Massive Attack, Pet Shop Boys and Hans Zimmer. In my new stage show, the audio-visual is also part of the orchestration of the music. I wanted to create a show in 3D. The visuals should draw the audience into the music.
You also recorded a track with the famous American whistleblower Edward Snowden for your new CD. How did that come about?
When I first heard about Edward Snowden, I was immediately fascinated by him because he reminded me of my mother. My mother was an important figure in the French Resistance. For me, Edward Snowden is not a traitor, but a modern-day hero. He said: "Be careful not to abuse modern technology!" I really wanted to work with him. I flew to Moscow and he was enthusiastic about my project. As he is not a singer, we recorded some spoken sentences from him, in which he explained why he acted exactly the way he did.
So do you also see yourself as a political artist?
I'm very careful about mixing politics with art. I don't think it's necessarily the artists' job to say between songs: "Save the penguins" or "Save the rainforest". But of course, sometimes it does get a bit mixed up.
You've been a visionary in the music world from the very beginning. How do you see the future of music?
My last work was based on collaboration with people. Maybe my next album will be based on collaboration with machines. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because some machines could soon be able to create emotions that are even perceived by us humans. That sounds incredibly exciting.
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE
18.11.16, Hallenstadion Zurich
25.11.16, Arena de Genève
TICKETS
