VINIL Sony Music Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene

Synthesizer [ARP 2600, VCS3, AKS, RMI Harmonic Synthesizer], Organ [Farfisa, Eminent 310], Mellotron, Drum Machine [Rythmin'computer, Korg Mini-Pop] – Jean Michel Jarre

℗ 1976 Disques Dreyfus - BMG © 2015 Disques Dreyfus - BMG
New mastering from the original analog tapes 2014
Remastered By – Dave Dadwater

[ Sputnik ] Jean Michel Jarre is one of those musicians that don't need (or at least shouldn't need) an introduction. One of the most important precursors of genres like electronic music, new age or ambient, he is, along with others like Brian Eno or Vangelis, one of the most creative minds that emerged in the 70's, and his magnum opus, Oxygene, is a cornerstone in modern music.

Before this album, synthesizers were already an important element in music, a central piece that differentiated genres like prog rock from other musical styles of that time, and artists like Eno or Vangelis already knew the potential that these magic, electronic instruments really had, and started to experiment with them a lot more than many other musicians did. However it wasn't until this LP that we would see what they were truly capable of, since even Jarre's early albums felt a little bit immature and unpolished.

In 1976 however, years of experimentation finally culminated in what would be the first modern electronic album. Oxygene's sound can be described as ethereal, and extremly dense, yet very simple at the same time; it creates a beautiful spacey atmoshpere that feels pretty cold, but in a good way, just like a cold air stream or the cold wind of a March morning.

Even when the ambient created in here is sublime, which works as the proof of the mature sound that Jarre managed to produce, it still feels happy, and even catchy at many points. That is probably one of the most interesting things about Oxygene. Creating such a mystical sound that at the same time could be played at a disco (using Part IV as an example) is certainly difficult to conceive, and even in the present day is a task that not many can recreate. Of course, artists like Solar Fields create a similar atmosphere in their albums but doing this, in such a prolific way, almost forty years ago is really something worthy of respect.