It was with some sense of nervous trepidation that we pressed play on the new collaboration between Little Boots and Jean Michel Jarre. Little Boots is the artist we've written more about than any other on this blog and with Jarre, albums like Oxygene, Equinox, Zoolook, Magnetic Fields and Rendez-Vous hold a very special place in our heart. Kraftwerk is often held up as being the pioneering band of all the early electronic acts, but the sounds, textures and ideas that Jarre was using as far back as 1976 also still resonate today. Maybe Jarre isn’t talked about in such revered tones as Kraftwerk because he wasn’t considered as ‘cool’ as Kraftwerk? Well f*ck ‘cool’, f*ck whatever preconceived ideas you have of Jarre or even Little Boots (it seems some that some Jarre purists are a little upset about this song because for them, it’s too poppy and features vocals), because as far as we’re concerned If..! is a rather excellent piece of pop music. It sounds like Chvrches with an extra shot of extra bubble gum flavour, and frankly that’s no bad thing. Well done everyone involved.
No idea about the video though. Jean Michel Jarre - If..!
I can remember the first day that I listened to a Jean Michel Jarre record. The date was 13July 1985. The day that Live Aid took place. I watched the whole thing, mesmerised on my TV at home, suddenly feeling part of something, feeling that music really could change the world maybe in the same way that those who listened to the political message of The Clash in the 70's felt that they could change the world. I remember Bob Geldof, sat next to a cigarette wielding Ian Astbury of The Cult and Geldof swearing (in those days still a very controversial thing to do on TV) and thinking that suddenly this seemed very important.
I remember the morning before Live Aid started. I remember the trip to my local library, and the selection of some vinyl albums chosen purely because I liked the covers. One was Oxygene, a skull peering out from the core of earth, representing a dying world. I took it home and listened to it before the TV took me to Wembley.
I was hooked on first listen. I loved the pulses, the waves, the textures of the music revolving around in that secret space that only the escapism of headphone listening can give you. It was my own world, exotic, futuristic and visionary. A world inspired by electronic music that had first been released almost ten years before. It was glorious.
French synth wizard Jean Michel Jarre is probably better known for his huge and spectacular futuristic sound and light extravaganzas where he illuminated cityscapes all over the world. Rendez-Vous Houston with its record breaking estimated live audience of over one million and Destination Docklands for which he sold over 200,000 tickets are probably some of the most colossal shows ever staged. Therefore to see Jarre playing a tour of arena sized venues seems almost strangely intimate.
That is not to say that Jarre still isn’t thinking big. From the start of the concert where he emerges from a pyramid shaped mass of smoke and lasers like a spectral being with keytar in hand, to the gladiatorial Second Rendez-Vous which brings images of the apocalypse, all flashing strobes and cacophonous beats, Jarre still puts on a big show. To create such an experience Jarre uses visuals that are simple in their operation, but complex in delivery. There are no obscure pseudo arty film projections, or huge banks of lights typical of shows by Britney Spears or U2. Instead Jarre relies on a multitude of lasers, dry ice and singularly powerful flashing coloured spotlights to create a spacey atmospheric gig.
Jarre may have never been considered particularly hip, but his music has a legacy of influence. Kraftwerk, Orbital and Aphex Twin all owe a debt to Jarre’s pioneering sounds. As he wheels out what is effectively a greatest hits set there are moments where you can hear elements of rave, ambient house and techno but much of this was created long before these genres had even been invented. Occasionally the tunes veer into self indulgent prog, particularly when he straps on his keytar, but even this can be forgiven as the plethora of lasers keep everyone entertained.
Jarre himself is a massive showman, punching the air with glee between pieces, bashing hand cymbals and running through the waves of dry ice that fill the room to greet his fans. Sometimes he comes across like a mad professor having fun in the lab as he twiddles knobs and presses buttons smiling crazily to himself. Variation from keyboards comes from one track played on a theramin and another on accordion, but for the most part it’s electronics all the way.
Electronica can often be criticised for having little emotional soul or intimacy, but Jarre manages to capture the heart several times. On two occasions he comes to stage front to use a laser harp (video shot by Breaking More Waves below - now the is it live or not arguments begin, but this clip suggests it could be), which plays a note each time he breaks a beam. It’s a quiet and relatively still moment away from the lush sprawling pulsing synth sounds. Then there’s the poignant moment when he dedicates a song to his father who died just a few weeks ago - it is widely known that Jarre did not have a good relationship with him. These moments are rare though, the majority of the set being satisfyingly uplifting without ever reaching a deeper emotional core. Such emotional depth is not necessary though - he leaves back through another pyramid of dry ice to a standing ovation.
