Oxygene 7 - 13 by Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel Jarre
„Oxygene 7-13“
Electronic. 1997. Remaster 2018, CD.
In 1997, 21 years after Oxygene, JMJ (Jean Michel Jarre) dug out his iconic analog synthesizers again and released "Oxygene 7-13." The title comes from the fact that there are no actual songs. "Oxygene" ended with "Oxygene Pt. 6," and now Pt. 7 through Pt. 13 follow. In the following, I'll refer to Oxygene 2. Since the real stars are the devices, I'll briefly summarize them.
Synthesizer [2600 ARP], Synthesizer [VCS3], Synthesizer [AKS], Electric Organ [Eminent], Mellotron, Theremin, Synthesizer [CS80], Synthesizer [Quasimidi Raven], Sequencer [Digisequencer], DAW [Logic Audio], Sampler [Akai MPC3000], Synthesizer [Nordlead], Synthesizer [JV 90], Synthesizer [K2000], Synthesizer [RMI], Synthesizer [Prophecy], Drum Machine [TR808], Sampler [DJ70]
The merit of Oxygene 2 was hotly debated. From "boring," "uninspired," "did JMJ need money?" to "brilliant successor." JMJ's large contribution to purely electronic music isn't particularly innovative. He made it radio-friendly and accessible to the masses. Anyone expecting innovation from Oxygene 2 is completely wrong. However, anyone expecting a continuation of Oxygene in the classic style is spot on. Something completely new would have made less sense as a successor.
Do I like Oxygene 7-13 and why? I'm not a big fan of purely electronic music, especially when it's purely instrumental. But I do like analogue SC-FI music, films, series, games, and books. And JMJ's "classic works" in particular fit perfectly. The parts are recognizable with Oxygene, but also sound distinctive enough. The parts are poppy and often on a single level. That's JMJ; here you'll find melodic music that will captivate you. If you prefer something more complicated, this is the wrong Album for you, and that's my conclusion.
The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.