Jean Michel Jarre
Oxygène
Electronic, Ambient, New Age. 1976 (Remaster 2015)

In 1976 Frenchman Jean Michel Jarre released his groundbreaking album "Oxygène". All songs were composed and recorded by the master himself using the following instruments: ARP 2600 synthesizer, VCS3, AKS, RMI Harmonic Synthesizer, Farfisa organ, Eminent 310, Mellotron, Rythmin'computer drum machine, and Korg Mini-Pop.

Jean Michel Jarre was by no means the inventor of electronic music. However, he deserves credit for bringing this genre to all radio stations and the mainstream. This is by no means a flaw, as Jarre creates spacey, melodic electronic music without having to be overly intellectual. Especially everything is purely instrumental. Oxygène sold over 18 million copies. Jarre had previously had great difficulty even finding a label, as music without vocals and drums was considered unmarketable at the time. So much for that.

There are no individual songs; the album is divided into parts: Oxygène Part I to Oxygène Part VI. Part IV with its simple yet catchy melody became the most well-known. Some might find this superficial, but Jarre consistently manages to generate tension and atmosphere. The parts fluctuate between floating, melancholic, dark, and bright. Listen louder and the quieter melodies and background noises really come through and Oxygène clearly wins. The LP is the successful remaster from 2015. It's made of 180-gram flat and clean-sounding vinyl.

With Oxygène, Jean-Michel Jarre made purely synthetic instrumental music suitable for radio. Very nice to relax and be transported to foreign worlds. Even today Oxygène has lost none of its flair.

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.