Oxygène
Oxygène (French pronunciation: [ɔksiˈʒɛn], English: Oxygen) is the third studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976 by Disques Motors, and distributed internationally in 1977 by Polydor Records. Jarre recorded the album in a makeshift studio that he set up in his apartment in Paris, using a variety of analog and digital synthesizers, and other electronic instruments and effects.
For other uses, see Oxygene.Oxygène
December 1976
August–November 1976
Jean-Michel Jarre's home studio, Paris
39:39
Disques Motors/Polydor
French sound engineer Michel Geiss helped Jarre in the purchase, recording and programming of some instruments used on the album. Jarre's musical style was influenced by the musique concrète, developed by Pierre Schaeffer. The album was supported by two singles, "Oxygène (Part II)" and "Oxygène (Part IV)". Following the international success of the latter, the album became Jarre's breakthrough, reaching number one on the French Albums Charts. It was inspired by the track "Popcorn" by German-American electronic composer Gershon Kingsley.
Oxygène has been described as the album that "led the synthesizer revolution of the Seventies"[6] and "an infectious combination of bouncy, bubbling analog sequences and memorable hook lines".[7] The album influenced later artists such as Moby or Brian Canham of Pseudo Echo. In 1978, it would be followed by Équinoxe and in 1979, Jarre held an open-air concert at the Place de la Concorde, causing the sales of both albums to increase, reaching worldwide figures of 15 million copies. As of 2016 it had sold an estimated 18 million copies and is one of the best-selling French, electronic and instrumental albums in history.
Background[edit]
In 1967 Jarre travelled to London to sell his electric guitar and amplifier to be able to buy his first synthesizer, an EMS VCS 3 (one of the first units of the instrument), which he used on many of his subsequent albums.[6][8] He also played guitar in a band called The Dustbins and mixed instruments including the electric guitar and the flute with tape effects and other sounds.[9] Jarre began working with early analogue synthesizers and tape loops in 1968, and in 1969 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (lit. 'musical research group'),[10] founded and led by Pierre Schaeffer,[11] who developed musique concrete, a type of music composition that is mainly based on the use of pre-recorded sounds, originating the concept of sampling.[6] That same year he mixed the harmony, synthesizers and tape effects to record his debut single "La Cage/Erosmachine".[12] In 1971, he left the institution and dedicated himself to designing Triangle's electronic sound effects; he also went to the Pathé-Marconi record company to release it.[13] Jarre had also done production work for some rock artists, earning enough to set up a small makeshift recording studio in the kitchen of his apartment on Rue de la Trémoille,[14][15] near the Champs-Élysées in Paris.[16] Initially it included very basic equipment consisting of a few guitar pedals,[17][14] a Farfisa organ, the EMS VCS 3,[18] and an EMS Synthi AKS; these last two were linked to two Revox model B77 tape machines.[12][19]
One of Schaeffer's former students and artistic director of Disques Motors, Hélène Dreyfus convinced her husband, Francis Dreyfus, to hire Jean-Michel as an employee of his record label. Initially Francis offered Jarre a job as a copyright administrator, however he opted to sign an exclusive songwriting and recording contract.[20][21] In 1972, the American synth-pop band Hot Butter released a successful version of Gershon Kingsley's "Popcorn".[22] Jarre in that same year released his respective cover version under the pseudonyms Pop Corn Orchestra and Jammie Jeferson.[23] Although unsuccessful, the track would serve as an inspiration for his most successful single, "Oxygène (Part IV)".[24][25]
Their first two albums as well as their previous single were recorded on the label, Disques Motors, however they were not published there.[20] Jarre released on Sam Fox Productions his debut experimental album Deserted Palace intended to be used in films and on television.[26][12][10] It was created using the VCS 3 and RMI Keyboard Computer.[18] In 1973 he composed the soundtrack for the French drama film Les Granges Brûlées (English: The Burned Barns).[27][28] In its beginnings in the label, he was mainly dedicated to writing music and lyrics for other artists inside and outside the label from 1972 to 1975. The royalties received by Jean-Michel during his collaborations with Françoise Hardy, Gérard Lenorman and Patrick Juvet allowed him to purchase the ARP 2600,[20][29] used in several of his collaborations with the French singer Christophe and solo works.[18]
In 1974, Jarre attended a conference on the analog synthesizer and the ARP 2600 at the TDF center in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It was carried out by radio and television engineers, and French musical instrument designer Michel Geiss.[29] Later, Jarre contacted Geiss by phone to invite him to his private apartment,[17] Geiss accepted and visited Jean-Michel's makeshift studio, where he had the ARP 2600, the Eminent 310 Unique, the VCS 3 and more.[30] Shortly after meeting, Jarre and Geiss started working together during the recording of Jarre's next album. Geiss, who at that time worked as a maintenance technician at Barclay studios,[31] advised Jarre on the purchase of instruments such as the RMI Harmonic Synthesizer at the Piano Center's music fair, and was in charge of the programming and recording of some of them.[30] Later, Jarre managed to finance the purchase of a Scully 8-track studio recorder and a mixture of Ampex 256 and 3M tape.[11][17] In that same year, he composed the opening jingle for the A4 autoroute (also known as autoroute de l'Est), some media such as The Telegraph pointed out the possible original incarnation of "Oxygène (Part IV)" in the jingle.[6][32]
Artwork[edit]
The cover art features a skull inside a dismembered Earth and is an adaptation of a 30 x 40 cm (12" x 16") watercolor,[6][14] also named Oxygène, by the French painter Michel Granger.[38] A picture of the painting was first published in 1972 in the magazine Pilote, and in 1976 the artwork was displayed at the Marquet Gallery, in rue Bonaparte in Paris.[39] Jean-Michel visited this gallery and bought it, then Granger received a phone call from the gallery director to inform him that Jarre wanted to see him in person.[40] On 15 September 1976, Jarre met with Granger so that he could modify the background of the watercolor and adapt it to the square shape of an LP record.[39]
The album title was taken from the artwork because he considered that he "perfectly adheres to the spirit of the songs".[40] Jarre said: "30 years ago there weren't so many people thinking about the planet. But I've always been interested in that, not necessarily in a political way but in a poetic, surrealistic way."[6] Jarre also told the English newspaper The Guardian that "in a way, I wanted to link everything to nature and environmental issues". Granger stated that "Oxygène was part of a series about the damage being done to our planet. It was a pretty violent image for a record cover." He added, "That picture is the best known of all my work. It's my Mona Lisa. But I don't feel like it belongs to me any more. It belongs to anyone who loves the music of Jean-Michel Jarre."[14]
Release[edit]
Oxygène was turned down by several record companies[41] such as Island Records founded by Chris Blackwell[33]—who later considered that he made two mistakes in his life, among them rejecting Oxygène and Elton John's first album, Empty Sky—.[40] Jean-Michel decided to meet once again with Francis, the head of the Disques Motors label to see if he could release the album, to which he immediately agreed saying: "Right, well we have a world success...".[40]
Oxygène was released in December 1976 in France,[20][42] and the first pressing of 50,000 copies were given away to a limited number of hi-fi shops vendors. They used a few copies of the album to showcase its stereo sound qualities to their customers,[6][40] and also as an example of "state-of-the-art sound".[14] These copies were also promoted through clubs and discos.[43] In addition, Jean-Michel and Francis did a promotional poster campaign in Paris.[40]
In early 1977, Jarre together with long-time collaborator Juvet decided to put together the same team from the album Mort ou vif and set about writing the album Paris by Night, which contained the hit single "Où sont les femmes?". The album was released in June and topped the charts. After another album with Christophe entitled La dolce vita in the same year, Jarre decided to stop writing music and lyrics for other artists and preferred to dedicate himself entirely to his solo musical career.[44]
In 1977, the album was released internationally by Polydor Records,[45] and by April, it had sold 70,000 copies in France.[46] "Oxygène (Part IV)" was Jarre's breakthrough single worldwide, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart.[47] This success led to the album reaching number one on the French Albums Charts,[48] number two on the UK Albums[49] and number seventy-eight on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape.[50] "Oxygène (Part II)" was edited to about 3 minutes to be released in France as a single.[24]
"Oxygène (Part IV)" began to play on the most important radio stations in his native country and the United Kingdom.[6] Europe 1 used it as the theme of two of its regular programs, Hit Parade directed by Jean-Loup Lafont and basketball show Basket sur Europe 1 in the credit titles.[32][45] The radio station also dedicated an hour and a half program in Jean-Michel's studio, and played the entire album, bringing his music to millions of people.[45] It was played on Dutch radio and television throughout the two days in 1977 that South Moluccan terrorists held.[51] The BBC used the album in a documentary,[14] BBC Radio 1 also played it[33] and was used in television programs such as Antenne 2 or Récré A2.[45]
When interviewed in Billboard magazine, Motors' director Stanislas Witold said, "In a sense we're putting most of our bets on Jean-Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional and we're sure that by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide."[46] In Dublin, Ireland, a phone-a-disk system was used, whereby a phone call played about two minutes of the album along with an advertising message.[52] On October 2, 1977, he was invited by host Jacques Martin to an episode of his Sunday program L'orchestre d'Antenne 2, in which the orchestra performed his single "Oxygene (Part IV)". Jarre also received nearly 25 gold records worldwide. In the United States it sold over 100,000 copies in Los Angeles alone,[45] and by the end of 1977, it sold 300,000 copies nationwide.[53]
Later, Francis created a label called Disques Dreyfus.[44] Équinoxe was released in that label in 1978.[54] It continued with a "familiar style, exploring the emotive power of orchestrated electronic rhythms and melody."[55] In 1979, Jarre performed an open-air concert at the Place de la Concorde, this event caused the sales of both albums to increase, each sold around 1.5 million copies in France and were certified platinum in 1981;[54] both sold 11 million worldwide in November 1979.[56] By 1981, the album had sold an estimated 15 million copies worldwide,[54] and by 2016 an estimated 18 million,[33] being one of the best-selling French,[57] electronic and instrumental albums in history.[58][45]
Legacy[edit]
Oxygène won the Grand Prix du Disque (English: Disc Grand Prize) award by L'Académie Charles Cros,[45] and American magazine People chose Jarre as the "Personality of the Year".[10] A sequel, Oxygène 7–13, was released two decades later in 1997.[69][70] In 2007, a new version of the original album titled Oxygène: New Master Recording was released,[38][11] and in 2016 another sequel titled Oxygène 3 was released on the 40th anniversary of Oxygène.[38][71]
Welsh music writer Mark Jenkins commented that the album "achieved a dynamic compromise between imaginative sound textures and accessible melodies that for one reason or another had been denied to earlier synthesizer artists".[72] The album has been used for music therapy, meditation and births.[33] Some of the music was used on the soundtracks of the 1978 film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and the 1981 film Gallipoli.[73][74]
Oxygène has been described as "one of the biggest catalysts to widespread use of the synthesizer in the 1970s"[75] and influenced electronic artists like Moby, who collaborated with Jarre on his 2015 album, Electronica 1: The Time Machine.[76][8] Brian Canham of Australian band Pseudo Echo said in Music Feeds that it was a "major influence on my production, song-writing and synthesizer programming with Pseudo Echo, and another of my projects, Origene, hence the homage in the namesake".[77]
Personnel listed in the album's liner notes.[37]
Adapted from the liner notes of the 2014 remastered version.[37]