VERSAILLES 400

In 1977 JM Jarre stunned the musical world with his synthesizer oriented hit single Oxygene IV, this inspired so many people to buy a synthesizer and make electronic music, including me, a Roland Juno 106. But not until 2016 I finally witnessed a JM Jarre gig, during the Electronica World tour. It was a mindblowing experience, not only musically (he played most of my favorite tracks and the Edward Snowdon tribute Exit was exciting) but also visually, at the level of Pink Floyd! But I noticed too that JM Jarre his musical taste has switched more towards modern music styles. And that is even more the case on this new JM Jarre 2024 live album, released as a 'hommage' to 400 years Versailles.

Listening to the music on Versailles 400 I get very mixed feelings. On one hand I am impressed by a very inspired, creative and cheerful JM Jarre with his high-tec equipment and sound (including vintage synthesizers and organ, and Mellotron choirs), and the way he delivers inventive re-arranged versions of his best known and most popular compositions. But on the other hand the musical atmosphere is strongly influenced by house, trance and techno, culminating in collaborations with Jeff Mills (pioneer of the Detroit techno scene) on The Architect and with Dutch pride Armin van Buuren (once the #1 DJ in the world playing progressive house and trance music) on Stardust. For me the most interesting collaboration is with Tangerine Dream on the track Zero Gravity, very pleasant electronic music featuring wonderful sequencing and synthesizer flights.

But in general it is Let's Dance with JM Jarre, the king of Versailles, for a moment France is no republic!