Oxygene Instruments Explained

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:36 pm

JMJ tkes us on a tour of his studio to see some fantastic jewels..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_E8aGx777Q

HB3 · Post by **HB3** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:19 pm

He redid Oxygene? Jesus! Why?

ColorForm2113 · Post by **ColorForm2113** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:42 pm

HB3 wrote:He redid Oxygene? Jesus! Why?

why?! Why not! Its amazing! I have been trying to find the remake live dvd for some time now, but every time I look on ebay/amazon its either wrong region or blueray

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:15 pm

I saw this on vunyl and picked it up for about 7 bucks or so. Listened to it on youtube. Great album.

I didn't know he was going to redo it or not, didn't know anything about it. I figured it had the possibillity of being an inaccurate youtube labeling as he seened to indicate that those were the instruments he used on the original.

Id love to spend a few weeks in that room with a huge mixer and hoprs and hors of tape.

(and the knowledge to use all of those synths)

Eric

Just Me · Post by **Just Me** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:38 pm

Did you catch this cover on Youtube? Nice use of an LP as an EMS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V66pMP4nz4&NR=1

HB3 · Post by **HB3** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:39 pm

Oh, I'm confused. I thought he re-recorded and reissued it.

Klopfgeist · Post by **Klopfgeist** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:16 am

He also did Oxygene In Your Living Room, which is him playing all of those lovely instruments right on your tv!

david · Post by **david** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:19 am

Jean Michel Jarre
Sound On Sound February 2008 interview with Jean Michel Jarre, by Tom Flint: 30 Years Of Oxygene. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his hugely ...
www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb08/articles/jmjarre.htm

hieronymous · Post by **hieronymous** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:42 pm

Awesome article, thanks for the link! Lots of information to take in - I haven't read the whole thing yet, but scrolled down for the pictures - I like the Taurus, "stand-mounted for playing by hand rather than foot!"

MarbledMoog · Post by **MarbledMoog** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:54 am

Oxygene is a pretty sweet album with some excellent textures and instruments used, but I don't understand why people always freak out about it?

Christopher Winkels · Post by **Christopher Winkels** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:36 am

I'm sort of in that camp too. I think it's a good album, but Equinoxe was better in my mind, and even that release is something I only pull off the shelf every couple of years.

Don't get me started on other putative "classics". Some stuff was historically significant because it broke new ground in the '60s and '70s, but doesn't hold up well today - to my ears at least.

_DemonDan_ · Post by **_DemonDan_** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:17 am

MarbledMoog wrote:Oxygene is a pretty sweet album with some excellent textures and instruments
used, but I don't understand why people always freak out about it.

Hi MM,

I expect that this answer is different for each person but... I first heard the album (cassette)
in 1978. In those days, most of the synths I heard were mixed in with traditional rock
instruments. But the songs that were all or mostly synth were especially fascinating to me
(Popcorn, I Feel Love, middle of Come Sail Away, Switched On Bach, etc.)

If I were to listen to Oxygene for the first time today I'd probably say the same things you are.
But it will always have a nostalgic magic for me. His Magnetic Fields album was one of the first
CDs I ever owned so that one gets a special bump too.

(Special thanks to EricK for the YouTube link. I really enjoyed that.)

nicholas d. kent · Post by **nicholas d. kent** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:52 pm

I've heard one of the reasons why he did it is he has a lot of issues with his old label who own the original. I have kind of mixed feelings. The concept of really playing a 30 year old multitracked album live is at least an interesting stunt. All the gear is kind of cool. Some of his newer clubby sounding music sounds embarrassing.

In many details though I'm not entirely thrilled. I notice though he uses a fair amount of gear from a few years later that he didn't use on the original album. It certainly doesn't spoil it but then I would have liked to see even more in depth on the gear and how it's being played. The recreation of the music tries but is missing something the original recording has. It certainly isn't better. I guess the concentration is on trying to recreate the old tracks live while the original concentrated on making something new.

I don't think what he does always works. He seems to be frustrated he's not more popular than he is, but to commend him, he does try to alternate between what he thinks his older fans like, what he thinks will make him mainstream popular, and maybe something he just wants to do. I guess it's hard to please everyone artistically.

Some years back he did a sequel to the original album with vintage gear. It wasn't bad.