Jean-Michel Jarre Quotes
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People don't realize enough how important and influentical John Carpenter has been in electronic music. He did his soundtracks by himself, using mostly electronic and analog synthesizers. He's a cult figure with DJs these days for good reasons.
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All those ethereal string sounds on 'Oxygene IV' come from the VCS3. It was the first European synthesizer, made in England by a guy called Peter Zinoviev. I got one of the first ones.
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One of the first things I created was music for the Paris opera's ballet troupe. That was the first time that electronic music was played at the opera. I really like the relationship between the music and the choreography.
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Sometimes, you try something, and it works in terms of success. That doesn't mean you like what is a hit. Sometimes you like the most obscure song on your album.
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I collect robots. They're mainly Japanese, American, and especially Russian - small robots, big robots, and old toy robots made between 1910 and the Fifties.
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Think about when you listen to a song on the radio. You are not paying for it; it's not illegal to do it, because the rights have been paid for on top, beforehand, by the radio station, by the network. We have to find exactly the same kind of system with the Internet.
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I've always been involved in the visual aspect of my work, and moreover, it's very important in days where technology allows us to push the boundaries even more than when I started out.
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To me, the original VCS3 synthesizer is like a Stradivarius.
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My mother, who was in the Resistance in the Second World War, passed away at 96, and it was like she was 60. I almost have to apologise for my genes.
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I remember, for my fifth birthday, Chet Baker sat me on the upright piano, and he played just for me for a few minutes. I can still remember the pressure of the air on my chest. It was my first physical contact with sound.
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For me, electronic music is like cooking: it's a sensual organic activity where you can mix ingredients.
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Peace is neutral, and not very sexy.
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I always dreamed, when I started writing music, to find a way of immersing yourself in it.
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Technology does not always rhyme with perfection and reliability. Far from it in reality!
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I used to play in rock bands. Then I went to the first school of electronic music in the world. It was in Paris headed by one of the most important people involved in electronic music.
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For me, electronic music is the classical music of the 21st century.
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Even if we artists are all very privileged, there's a constant frustration about how to do more or better, and never being satisfied.
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Bands like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, who I respect, have a very robotic, dehumanised approach. They're almost an apology for machines. It's very German.
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Early music in all kinds of movements is always a mixture of innocence and ambition.
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When I did the first 'Oxygene' in the vinyl days, I had a structure in mind divided in 2 parts fitting the A&B sides of an album.
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I have always been of the opinion that when those in power are promoting actions and ideals that risk harming or impeding us, people should stand up to this.
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I leave everyone to have their own opinions of my music and my influence - or not - on others.
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I was recently realizing that I've probably spent 80 percent of my life in studios! It's very difficult to do that and still have a private life; it's very difficult to do anything else.
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People who do music do it because it is all they can do. And that's me, I suppose. I can do nothing else.