Equinoxe: Decoding Jean-Michel Jarre’s Synthesizer Masterpiece

[@Doctormix]

Learn music production with my in-depth 45-lesson course "Music Producer Gold Guide" 👉 GoldGuide.uk

[@Banerled]

_!!! YES !!!_ *_O X Y G E N E_* _OXYGENE_ *[-oxygene-]*

[@jacobbanks07]

I'm just curious have you ever listened to Skinny Puppy? Canadian Industrial band. Would really love to hear your take on them. Thanks 😊!

[@adissart]

Claudio the passage you are discussing at 11:52 minutes is probably an idea taken from the piece Chicory Tip - Son Of My Father kzbin.info/www/bejne/aV65paOHrM96qdk

[@SuperbonyTheCat]

[@SuperbonyTheCat]

good music

[@geiss48]

I was deeply involved in the making of the album with Jean-Michel Jarre throughout the recording process. Technically, I had made the sequencer that you hear throughout the album (the Matrisequencer 250), as well as a drum machine (the Rythmicomputer). I had designed a method of synchronisation that used a track on the tape recorder to record several sequences synchronised with each other, and always locked to my drum machine. My sequencer drove an ARP 2600. An input for the ARP keyboard allowed the sequences to be transposed in real time, which not only allowed the sequences to be transposed, but also the pitch of the notes to be modulated while the sequencer was running. In this way we were able to produce the music in a very unusual way.

[@cbraunsteins]

Equinoxe would not be a masterpiece without Michel Geiss. Merci Michel!

[@christiand8243]

Vous êtes une légende Michel!

[@Nidels]

Maestro. Perhaps you can review my comment on the album's instrumentation and add or correct my writing on what some of the synths used did. A hug. Peut-être pouvez-vous revoir mon commentaire sur l'instrumentation de l'album et ajouter ou corriger mon écriture sur ce que certains des synthés utilisés ont fait. Un câlin.

[@thhedk]

The way it pitches when changing key of the beat is very unique and I haven't really seen or heard it elsewhere. Very clear on Equinoxe 7 with the "claves" playing slowly down on a pattern not repeating in an even number. ....and of cause the Bass too Also in the sequencers going on in the background on 4th Rendez-vous. Dr. Mix mentions the glissando on Equinoxe 5 - I presume they were plotted in on the matrisequencer too? I sat the other day and tried them on Arturia 2600, it sounds like the ARP2600 but the sound is different everytime they play - so annoying :D But thanks for your tribute to this greatest album ever.

[@damondrobinson3313]

It's wonderful to have your input on this Michel, was Claudio correct in saying that the Eminent was used in Pt.1? but it sounds like there's a slight envelope on the pitch which creates a small pulse to it that always made me wonder how that triad of notes were created , that's the beauty with those first few albums, the attention to detail and that synthetic ensemble that's always moving the pitch around in unexpected a very harmonic ways.

[@tomsmodeltime6662]

Oxygene and Equinoxe are probably the most fascinating and hauntingly beautiful music albums ever conceived. Jarre himself never managed to surpass these. Claudios analysis is just spot on. He is a very, very talented music teacher.

[@MaxCarponera]

Almost totally agree. I think he reached his top on Magnetic Fields Part I. Then broke all the rules with revolutionary Zoolook, ten years before its time. But after that, the scene he helped develop devoured him and couldn't produce nothing relevant.

[@wizdude]

@@MaxCarponera I’ve listened to all of JMJ’s major work over and over since I first heard oxygene back in the 80’s and I was hooked. Each album is genius work, although Zoolook is a supreme masterpiece. The way each track joins together to make one seamless “experience” and I love the way Dr Mix explains the “characters” and how the story is constructed. Excellent work.

[@mrdali67]

Agree. Like the Docter says. Jarres use of polyrhytms is so masterfull done on his early records. I don't know if that is something he has studied or it just comes naturally but shows how brilliant his mind works. And those fast arps he often uses is almost impossible to desicate 100% And all this is done 20 years before anyone knew about Dance music and ... without computers. Dpn't even think the first synths with build in simple arpegiators were out in the mid 70's when he started out. Very impressive when you think of how difficult it must have been to get all this stuff synced up on 4" tape. Some of his rhythmic blends takes quite a quircky brain to keep track of, let alone to get your fingers to play 😵‍💫And yet he has an outstanding feel for comming up with simple motifs that gets you hooked on his musical universe. He is even today still the moste progressive pioneer in electronic instrumental music

[@Magnus_Loov]

@@MaxCarponera I think Jarre was good until Chronologie, which has some classical Jarre songs in kind of the classical Jarre way. After that it was steeply downhill. I mean Rendesvous 4 is really a great Jarre classic. Laser harp is great. Revolutions had its moments (although not as good as normal), Calypso was a great melodic Jarre tune.(the whole album not so much though) Most of the Chronologie album was good (except the scratching "hio hop" abomination at the end). I mean the first track on Chronologie is extremely "atmospheric Jarre lush pad and great harmonies" territory.

[@gibs75]

Zoolook was also very disruptive / innovative (even if was a commercial failure when it was released)

[@Official_MarkoM]

From Jarre official facebook ”Thanks Doctor Mix for this x-ray vision of Equinoxe : composition comes to me in mysterious ways, I really like your decoding !” 🥰

[@olivierloynet]

I was 12 years old when I listen this album. Now I've 57 and my skin still prickles ❤❤❤

[@omarc9977]

Oxygene? Yes, please!!! A fan of Jarre since 12 years old. Jarre mixes pop, dance and classical music seamlessly, without saying that he was one of the inventors of the first two. Awesome!

[@iannibloe4020]

Been a fan since I saw the concerts inChina on tv back in the 80's.

[@KaptainKevman]

I can’t describe how important this album and artist is to me. I have Cerebral Palsy and used JMJ to get me through some difficult times.

[@Miximixos]

I've owned the album for 45 years and know every sequence from it. I look forward to your contribution!

[@Sasha-Sabelnikov]

Same thing! Every phrase!

[@philosynth]

Me too!!

[@AvithOrtega]

I know it as the palm of hand... because it has burned exactly the same grooves as the vinyl surface of the album

[@MaxCarponera]

I gave my album to a girl in 1985. Never saw both again. Now I miss it. (not her)

[@SockSockson]

I see you're not alone in saying that. Me too. First heard it as a 5 year old in 1978.

[@ericfletcher8454]

One of the amazing things in this album is he leaves you wanting more. More of the album, more of each song, more of each section, more of each theme. He knows how to give you just enough to make you want more. Equinoxe and Oxygene are masterpieces

[@TanjoGalbi]

I have yet to find an album by Jarre that is not a masterpiece in my view, I love them all so far 🙂

[@andyhall7032]

I'd add Magnetic Fields, Rendezvous and Zoolook to that list also.

[@jeanphilipperondeau1070]

yes.

[@Braziliense1984]

​@@andyhall7032yeah, Zoolook is the opus magnum in my opinion

[@wwolfz]

@@andyhall7032 I have the 5 albums you both said. I agree. I would say for my taste that Révolutions is a solid good one too👍🏻

[@erikvangoethem2777]

Every time I listen to equinoxe it touches me deep, this is the strongest song I heard in my life, and I am 76 years now, still touches my soul

[@nunofernandes4501]

The sound of my childhood. Along with Kraftwerk, Abba and Mike Oldfield. Gen-X had it all.

[@alterhund4116]

💜💛💚💙❤️♥️ Don't forget Michael Fröse / Tangerine Dream

[@colinwilson210]

The sort of music you could simply listen to and enjoy, or with ABBA etc, sing the hell out of! (no shitty rapid fire voice sample loops that can be sung by actual humans)

[@markdeghoul5879]

Same here

[@nufrankz]

The same!!! Saludos desde Chile amigos en JMJ.

[@karagi101]

Baby Boomers.

[@johnsaunders6510]

Jarre is the king. The best electronic composer I've ever heard. Oxygen and Equinox has never been surpassed.

[@maydaygoingdown5602]

100% Agree. A Composer of the Future...from the past.

[@mournblade1066]

Oxygene 7 - 13 is on par with the original Oxygene.

[@gregsullivan7408]

I place Jarre & Kraftwerk on equal footing, both absolutely fantastic

[@Wolfbabypuppylove]

Loved the Rendezvous album some gems on there.

[@dlaivisonsilva845]

​@@gregsullivan7408 no Jarre is the best a lot superior!

[@numara585]

I've been listening to Equinoxe album for decades, now after "decoding" it you gave it another dimension.

[@thhedk]

Best album ever made! My comments: 1. Yamaha CS-60 is the brass on Part1 2. The RMI's mentioned is doing the high pitch claves in Part 2 and the "water like" high pitch in Part3 3. All basses are ARP2600 and Geiss's home made sequencer. 4. The glissando in Part5 is also from Geiss Matrisequencer and ARP2600. 5. First part of Part 8 is all from Elka 707, beat and sounds, last part is Korg PE-1000 6. Part 4 is so genious, you have no idea how genious it is! The sequencers is Arp2600 played two times, one in each channel, and not always syncronized int he chorus A7 9b is the secret chord ;) Chorus sound is Eminent with 347ms R/L delay like the strings in the start - made with Revox B77 - (you miss out almost everything on the album is made with R/L delay) Also you forget the robot sound in the middel part - made on ARP2600. All effect are made on EMS or Synthi. Wow - I'm such a nerd :D

[@thhedk]

My "tutorial" of the sequencer genious here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIXdk2SDfdBjgMU

[@thhedk]

How the bass parts was made with a pattern and changing the pitch with the keyboard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqmlo3qGrNifiqc

[@thhedk]

How the sequencer in Part 7 is made, playing a pattern with more than 16 notes, so the repeat is not starting again on the beat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnm7c62cZ7mrgLc

[@hill1975]

How much input musically did geiss have in this album do you think? Or maybe even Dominique Perrier or Frederic Rousseau? I've just always wondered these past few years that's all. Love your vids too..👍🏻

[@thhedk]

@@hill1975 I'm pretty sure Geiss had a lot of inputs and influence on the technical site, he "programmed" sounds on the ARP2600 (the brass on Oxygene4) and also I think a lot of the sequences on the Matrisequencer could be made by him. But all composing is Jarre. It was only Jarre and him, the others were there yet :) Thanks :)

[@altezza69]

I first heard Equinoxe 5 at the age of 12. At the same time I started reading science fiction. Today I am 56, and this song has always remained my "flight through space" soundtrack

[@frankyboy6844]

I was 13, "Equinoxe" was my first Jarre-Album, and 1978 I heard it up and down with closed eyes over headphone, with pictures of flying through space in my mind. I thought, THIS should have been the soundtrack for Star Wars and not the orchestral soundtrack of John Williams.

[@jameshoiby]

@@frankyboy6844 It's interesting you mentioned that. When discussing his approach to making the soundtrack to Dune, Hans Zimmer brought up the same point when he asked why spaceships have traditionally been accompanied with classical music.

[@jameshoiby]

@altezza69 I'm turning 56 next week. Looks like we're on the same path!

[@DanSuneKronvold]

You're not alone. JMJ, Asimov, Clarke and later Iain M. Banks on a trip through space. 55yo here.

[@garethgrundy8087]

@@frankyboy6844 Having travelled through France in the late 70’s I would imagine myself on the TGV doing 300kph from Paris to Nice watching the landscape fly by 🥰

[@gaoupslr8953]

Thank you for your incredible videos. I'm french (from Le Mans). I unfortably didn't understand everything, but your passion speaks for itself! I fell under the spell of synthesizers at a very young age. My father went to see Jean-Michel Jarre in Paris in 1979 (I think), and started buying his albums. I've been a fan ever since. When I listen to him, my emotions never dry up. Each time I pick up new details (which you describe perfectly). Regards from France

[@MikeRenouf]

Probably my favourite Jarre album. It's so well paced and feels like a single unbroken piece throughout.

[@kirkanos771]

Indeed. A break was mandatory between IV and V because of the Face A/B dilemma on all medium.

[@yornav]

Fully agree. Hands down, the best.

[@SuperbonyTheCat]

[@FedericoBudassi]

As a big JMJ fan, this is probably the BEST Doctor Mix video that I've seen. I LOVED every second of it. And of course, Oxygène please, or maybe Chronologie!

[@SuperbonyTheCat]

[@andrerogerioleandro]

34 years listening to JMJ compositions… and counting! What a satisfying video you shared with us. Another subscriber. Indeed!

[@wiseoldfool]

That transition at around 19:00 is absolutely stunning. Can you imagine what it was like for me, hearing music like this when it was new; in bed, in total darkness, on stereo headphones? Stereo was amazing in itself at the time!

[@kalinkaata]

Yeah, same feelings here. It just calms your nerves and like smoothens your thoughts...but in the same time gives you energy. Most amazing transition EVER.

[@MichaelLauerDr]

Same here! 😊

[@Panam511]

Total darkness, headphone & stero, is the moment when music become mental space. A real mind blowing and mind changing experience.

[@vendingdudes]

Absolutely. Then the off beat alternate snare, then the build up, then the crickets, then the off beat every measure snare....my goodness it's so goosebumpy!!!

[@deltic5514]

I know absolutely nothing about music, how to play it, record it etc. But what I do know is that I was 9 when my Mum bought the tape for me after hearing Oxygene at my Aunts. I was mesmerised for weeks and have always gone back to both albums. Pure genius.

[@storm1968eu]

you made me understand why i fell in love with jean-michel jarre's music and synthesised music in general during my teens. 🎹

[@lesixiemejour]

"Oxygène", "Equinox" et "Les Chants Magnétiques" ... juste des chefs d'oeuvre !

[@mikclarke64]

Oui.

[@deantiquisetnovis]

I bought all of them on vinyl back in the day. Plus Concerts in China!

[@lesixiemejour]

@@deantiquisetnovis c'est vrai "Concert en Chine" est aussi une très belle création ! ;-)

[@SuperbonyTheCat]

[@fablb9006]

Do not forget that Jarre is at the base a real composer that had academic classical roots. Not only by his family context (born in a family of musicians, like his father Maurice, famous film music composer), but also by his training in Paris conservatory during childhood to young age, and later in participating into « contemporary music » with Pierre Shaeffer and others. He is not just of pop composer.

[@robertschnobert9090]

Lots of pop composers have classical training. You don't have to be born in a family of musicians to create something great. The worst part about Jean Michel Jarre are his presumptuous fans. 🌈

[@R---66---R]

We all know 😀

[@hrzlpfrz]

see Michael Cretu - a innovative music composer (enigma) ..

[@UnimatrixOne]

Goosebumps, EVERY TIME!❤️

[@treyquattro]

Jarre studied harmony and counterpoint at university, that's why his music is so complex and for want of a better word harmonious. This is one of my all-time favorite albums and so happy that you're covering it. Fantastic episode!

[@treyquattro]

@johnryder8464 use a search engine. There's no excuse for ignorance in 2023.

[@maurinoana]

Claudio, I've heard this album hundreds of thousands of times in my life, but listening to it with your analysis is simply masterful!!! I have the Jarre collection on vinyl, cd's and MP3, complete. The vinyls I bought them in 1987!!!

[@Fallingoverbackwards]

I love the vinyl !!

[@maurinoana]

@@Fallingoverbackwards Me too!

[@X22GJP]

Hundreds of thousands…OK, kinda’ undermines your claim to have the complete Jarre collection on vinyl, cd and mp3. At a minimum of 200,000 to qualify as hundreds of thousands, that’s minimum 15 years of listening to just one album.

[@ConceptJunkie]

I've been a fan of this album for almost 40 years, and I'm also a fan of your videos. Your explanations are very educational, but it's also important to note that your videos are a lot of fun. Your enthusiasm makes them just that much more fun to watch.

[@PearlPaisley]

After seing JMJ in concert some years ago I am forever transformed. It is the most important musical happening in my adult life. Thanks for explaining the genius of JMJ and his music in a very enjoyable and interesting video!

[@mikclarke64]

I agree having seeing him myself .

[@motorchoice9720]

In 40 years of my life I got goose bumps every time I listened the start of Equinox part 4!!! The Matrisequencer 250 was designd by Jarre's sound engineer Michel Geiss. Thank you for the video!

[@laurentparet2256]

Claudio would love Michel Geiss for sure. He should interview him! Michel is doing great mastering for famous singers today and launched a new synthesizer last year called the OctoCell.

[@maksafi]

well you should know that the master Geiss himself replied to this video... cheers

[@Animalambulanceandy1]

Ohhhh superb the hours spent listening to these albums(oxygene) too from childhood onwards and still today as crisp and brilliant as ever

[@SharpblueCreative]

My favourite album of Jarre’s of all time. Got it when it came out in 1978. Listen to it several times a month usually when I’m out and about. A real feel good album.

[@tuanbe]

As a 80's kid I loved listening to JMJ and Vangelis. Haven't listened to it much since the past 30 years but still remember every single note. Getting away with breaking rules requires a mastermind. No doubt both are responsible for my taste for house and complex music. Decoding videos - let them keep coming! 😍

[@jerkchickenblog]

everyone remembers every single note. that's how listening to music works

[@TanjoGalbi]

Another good artist from the same era is the UK's answer to JMJ, Mike Oldfield. Most famous of his work is Tubular Bells which was later used in the movie The Exorcist and so most people hear the music and think it's evil even though it was not made for the movie! lol I'm not a complete fan of Oldfield, I own about 6 of his albums, some are remakes (the remake of Tubular Bells features John Cleese), however some of his albums did not appeal to me. But, ALL of Jarre's albums do, in my opinion Jarre can't put a foot wrong!

[@KongoBilly]

These sounds have accompanied me since my earliest childhood. My earliest memories of music at all🙌

[@morik3188]

Can we just appreciate your expertise for a second.. your ability to make connections across all genres is just beautiful. Keep doing what you do. Thank you..

[@adewouters]

This is the album which made me discover electronic music back in the time, and Jean-Michel Jarre. I listened to it hundreds if not thousands of times since then, it gives me shivers every time. Unbelievable, THE masterpiece, absolute perfection. I adore it.

[@winstoncat6785]

Wonderful analysis. Thank you so much. The thing about someone like JM J is, he was the first to do what he did. This music came out of some part of the universe no one visited up to then. So now, looking back it's obvious. But when he made it?! It was extra terrestrial.

[@rowdywallbanger4080]

Just writing to say how much I enjoyed your exam of Equinox. It has a special place in my heart. In 1978 I was 10 and my Dad used this to demonstrate his “music centre”. It was Alien, out of this world. I had never heard anything like it. Your enthusiasm made me grin along. My Dad died 3 years later. I love Equinox.

[@2112jonr]

OXYGENE !!!! PLEASE !! 😀 You know what? There's SO much sheer joy to love in this 28m35s of video. But what I love most is that I see a professional musician, who has dedicated his lifelong career to excelling at music, enjoying this masterpiece just as much as myself, a very, very amateur (and not very good!) musician, seeing the same reactions and huge grins that this album has been giving me since I first listened to it aged 11 in 1978 ! It never gets boring. Thank you Doctor Mix for taking the time to give some love to this album which was so incredible for its time. I could have listened to hours of you analysing and deconstructing Equinoxe, I can't wait to hear you do the same for OXYGENE 😀

[@samtully6949]

this is one of the first albums my dad showed my brother and I. This album as well as Oxygene has undoubtedly shaped my affinity for synthesizers. Thank you Dad.

[@georgetzimas1541]

Equinoxe parts I to IV have perhaps the most beautiful transitions in the history of electronic music.

[@Feisar1976]

My dad had the Equinoxe and Oxygene albums. They were the first records i listened to when i was a child and when he was at work. They are the reason i am into electronic music ever since up to this day. True masterpieces 😊

[@InMused]

Same here. I was 4 when Equinox came out. I still remember listening to both albums and War of the Worlds before I was 5, still into electronic, progressive and long-form music to this day.

[@BobKuchiKopi]

I think this might be my first legit "Are you me??" moment. I wore my dad's LP of Oxygene *out*. The only thing that could possibly have taken its place in my life was Equinoxe. Such incredible stuff.

[@rasmusalmqvist5960]

I grew up listening to Jarre in the late 70' and all of the 80'. Brings back lot of fuzzy memories! ❤

[@pavelvoronovskiy]

JMJ is the father of electronic music. His composition is ART, not just music. It's incredible to create this music without modern tech. love it!

[@mareikemacinnes7764]

Stockhausen, Conny Plank and Kraftwerk are the greatest pioneers of electronic music! ;) Greetings from Germany

... and Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan

[@mareikemacinnes7764]

@ If it goes after that, we have to start before musique concrete (Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Henry)! But I'm more interested in the popular Pioneer than someone who made electronic music and noises with test equipment in 1930. You can also sample since 1920. But it wasn't until 1979 that the first sampler (Fairlight) was available to the general public! ;)

[@lvlarihuan0]

I suppose that the father of electronic music was Lev Serguéievich Termén.

[@FUNKINETIK]

I would say Friedrich Trautwein / Oscar Sala.

[@furiobisotti8150]

Claudio... You made me young in few seconds. Infinite thanks! I was 14 years old when my mum gifted me with a Korg MS20. I remember me playing with filters resonance, envelope and LFO to copy JMJ sounds. Exactly like you did here. And thanks for the polyrhythm and afro explanation. Extremely appreciated. Real masterpieces live forever

[@duncanmartin8965]

Jean Michelle Jarre. Pure genius for his time. Still leaves us guessing his equipment and styles to this day. Just wished that I saw him live !

[@fatcharliethearchangel5122]

I remember this album coming out. I was still in school and my mate’s sister had a copy of it. We sneaked it out of her room one day while she was out and sat down to listen to it. I can honestly say that it was a life changing moment. Your enthusiasm for the music is awesome. I’m a classically trained musician and often find myself taking tracks apart in my head. I spent a long time doing it to JMJ stuff, Isao Tomita, and also Vangelis. And then I discovered Tangerine Dream. Electronic music is definitely my “thing” and has been for many 😂years. It amuses me when I get asked how I can have Beethoven and Debussy next to stuff like The Orb, Future Sounds of London, etc parked in my record collection. Carbon Based Lifeforms, and Nigel Stanford are recent additions. It’s a funny old World. Keep up the good work and yes, Oxygene please.👍🏼

[@nutster9000]

Classical orchestral music alongside technology always works for me. I think you will like the music of Onuka from Ukraine. It's amazing how they mix performance of a full orchestra, ancient instruments and a brass section with electronic music. I was as blown away by Onuka as I was on hearing Jarre for the first time. Eugene Filatov of Onuka is the Ukrainian equivalent of Jarre.

[@Mopantsu]

You should definitely add Shpongle to that list. I think it was Mike Posford who was part of FSOL.

[@fatcharliethearchangel5122]

@@Mopantsu I'll have a look at that. Thanks for the heads-up. 👍🏻

[@liquidphantom4233]

Seen this legend twice and has been an inspiration since I was 8 yo… influenced my composing of my own digital music…. 😍 Pt.5 into 6 into 7 is just amazing

[@delskioffskinov]

JMJ and Vangelis both made me fall in love synth's and 40 years later my love for them is still the same! thanks Doc for picking one of my favourite albums of all time and understanding whay it all meant! you have a great ear for the details! love your work keep it up!

[@Leesmapman]

I love the album. The b-side (parts 5-8) is probably the best sequence of songs he's ever written, with Equinoxe 7 as high point in this whole suite.

[@TrueMeHow]

yes, but parts 1-4 aren't bad either, right? especially if we consider them as starters, hahaha!

[@Leesmapman]

@@TrueMeHow indeed, parts 1-4 are brilliant too.

[@just_passing_through]

His music affects me in ways which literally no other music ever has, before or since. I don’t really understand why, but it has since I first heard it all those years ago.

[@Mr.1.i]

i was blowen away when i first herd jeany jarre his music at the time was so advanced

[@fozzee6999]

I asked my mum to buy this album in 1978. The guy in the record shop asked who was it for. She told him " My son" and he asked how old I was. I was 7. He said I had very good taste in music. Love the album still!

[@jarlett3793]

I learned to know this music because of my dad when i was 7 :D my dad is now 62

[@videozeugs]

30 years ago this album played during my wedding. It was a CD my wife and I brought with us for the DJ from our personal collection. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet JMJ in person as part of a professional collaboration. I brought the CD with me and got it signed by him. Aside from being an ingenious musician he is also a very nice guy.

[@Infinitesap]

This decoding of Equinoxe is EMINENT and spectacular. If you haven't watched it a couple of times then I recommend you to do so. I got a lot more out of the his analysis the third time I watched this video. Thanks for this great video. I was a big joy to watch. Please make more like this .-)

[@scottritshie105]

I was 16 in 1986 when a friend gave me this cassette for my bday. It was a life changer, becoming the soundtrack for many bicycle tours after school, where I’d be out for hours in atmospheric bliss. 2 years later I bought an M1… 3 years after that I enrolled in music school as a transfer student… 2 years after that I got a jazz piano degree and 30 years later I’m still a pro musician who traces it all back to this very album! ❤❤❤ Thanks, Jean-Michel!!

[@cimpysTech]

Is it like I feel the feelings you describe ❤❤❤

[@JoeEvansSound]

This has to be one of your finest video featuring one of the finest electronic album in our history. I first heard Oxygene on the dance floor when I was 21 and my eyes and mouth opened and my head exploded. I am now going to listen to Equinox all the way through. I was lucky enough to see JMJ in concert in Manchester City Stadium one balmy evening many years ago and I will remember it for ever. Thank you for bringing this memory back. :¬)

[@jacklewis100]

16:13 "you hear the loop 3 times and it's now legitimized in your mind" This is such a brilliant description of how this type of music works ! Great job as always !

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

This is essentially how all music works. As soon as a pattern is "legitimized" as a pattern or rhythm, one begins to anticipate what comes next, so one can follow the rhythm. But it takes some time to learn it, one needs repetition.

[@robertroxxor]

JMJ concert in Houston 1980 something. I watched it as a 4y old on Television. The music is still burned into my brain, he is most likely the reason I started DJing electronic music many years later. Thanks for this great video.

[@KyzylReap]

Yes! I was there!

[@nicomeier8098]

All my Jean-Michel Jarre vinyl albums luckily have almost no scratches. Of course I have all of them on CD as well. Timeless music.

[@magyar77]

Ahh the good ol days of JMJ - Équinoxe, Oxygène, Magnetic Fields, Rendez-Vous. Eargasm goodness. Still gives me goosebumps after 40 years.

[@n84434]

I’ve been listening to Oxygene since I saw Galipolli in 1981. I was all of 16 years old and already a huge Kraftwerk fan. Love it!

[@ausi14u]

Many a trip of my life was with this soundtrack (where haven't I been). Such innovation, style and concept originality, any fool can comment but only the great can create such an innovative quality soundtracks for a life course. Thanks for presenting this beautiful album.

[@DjNikGnashers]

It's fantastic to not only see your musical knowledge examining the elements of this piece of musical history, but the way you do it with such enthusiasm too, is so enjoyable to watch.

[@marcoballa]

Il professore di musica alle medie un giorno si presentò con un giradischi, casse hifi e questo disco, per me all'epoca sconosciuto. Fu subito amore! Acquistato all'epoca il vinile, poi il CD in varie edizioni. Vero "masterpiece" di Jarre. Ancora oggi, dopo QUALCHE decina d'anni, lo ascolto senza pause, tutto d'un fiato con sommo godimento ❤ Grazie per aver condiviso la tua esperienza!

[@Featinwe]

I think that classical parts of his music made him so universally loved by anyone - be it 70 year old lady and a 20 year old young person. You can find techno, dance, oldschool melodies and psychodelics in his music at the same time. This reaches EVERYONE.

[@georginet]

Jean Michelle Jarre. Almost every song gives me goosebumps

[@maurinoana]

This album is absolutely amazing!!!

[@voenixrising]

The joy you express in this video is infectious, and tears were streaming down my eyes as I remembered the day I brought this disc home the first day it was available in 1979. It gave me multiple aural orgasms as I listened to it and IMMEDIATELY put it back on for a second go when the final notes from Equinoxe 8 ended. And Oxygene 5? For me it was skimming over the dunes of Tatooine in my own landspeeder...

[@fablb9006]

This album is a concept, a story about cosmic cycles, seasons, synthetized into the parabolic journey in one equinoxe day (beginning of spring time, the moment when days and night equals). The whole album is like a day along a shore, from the sunrise to the sunset, whatchin the hours goes, the sun appearing behind the clouds, calm sea becoming more wavy, at midday, the high tide is at highest, then the afternnon storms and finnaly, after the rain the final sunset... the is one equinoxe day, like today, but also a metaphoric vision of human history, from the genesis, to the sudden path to indsutrialisation and futur robotic and AI time, then the cycles returns to nature... never ending cycles.

[@georgeprout42]

Wow. I just like listening to it, the meaning to me is the memories of when I first heard it. (Not) Sorry artists, you think you're being clever and sending a message but I don't hear the whoosh as your message flies by. JMJ was great, his later stuff less so, sadly.

[@nutster9000]

That explains opening track which sounds like Here Comes The Sun, which in a way evokes sunrise - the dawn of the day. The central tracks are the technological activities of the human day time. Band In The Rain at the end always evokes a night time setting for me.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

This is the album that inspired me to start collecting synthesizers. It was given to me by my grade 9 band teacher. It's a phenomenal piece of work that still holds up today.

[@abelanzizar]

My dear sir... You quoting the great Pancho Quinto gave me goose bumps. As a Cuban; I could not be any prouder, and that's a lot to say. Bravo!

[@X22GJP]

Massive Jarre fan, and one of his best albums. However, his most creative IMO is Zoolook. Incredible mastery of sound, and Zoolookologie is just a mind blowing track. I also have a soft spot for Revolutions having attended the London Docklands concert, and the synth solo in Industrial Revolutions is something I’ve only heard surpassed by Kebu - a massive accolade to both artists. More of these please Doctor Mix 😛

[@unclemick-synths]

Zoolook is my 3rd fave after Oxygène and Équinoxe. The pinnacle of the sampling craze of the time.

[@andygriffith5160]

Agreed, Zoolook was fantastic, especially considering how limited samplers were back then. Always amazes me that it wasn't more popular but I suppose it is less commercial in its sound than the previous ones.

[@hatzegopteryx.sounds3637]

Yes, finally someone who knows Jarre id much more than Oxygene and Equinoxe. Zoolook id clearly his best album.

[@JS-vk7ek]

Graham, I went to the Docklands too, taken by my parents all the way from Devon on a coach. I think I still have a touch of pneumonia from that rainy night.

[@soundfx68]

@@JS-vk7ek I was there as well, myself and a couple of mates went there from Manchester and we went to the site the night before and slept in a disussed garage!

[@ValeriaSantos-ce3eb]

I love this album, i can´t get tired to listen. There´s so many details when you listen, wonderful. Of course, Oxygène, Les Chants Magnétiques, Zoolook and Rendez-Vous, just to mention, makes JMJ a great master to me.

[@trevorbrown6654]

A very interesting video, thanks. I need to listen to this album again as I remember listening to it when I was about 12 in the early 1980s , and absolutely loving it. It flows beautifully and you can never get bored of it. It was way ahead of its time and still sounds absolutely fantastic decades later. To me it hasn't dated at all.

[@stationlightyears1532]

Fantastic! This was my first ever album, all of my very own. I was 8 years old, loved synth sounds since hearing Autobahn on TOTP when it was released. Oxygene another one, then this album took me on an amazing journey across the Universe. Thank you for another amazing video! 😊😊❤❤

[@Kev5565]

This takes me back so long. I can't remember when I bought this album only how, I finished work on a Friday lunch, got drunk, went to the record shop, saw this album and got curious, went home with what would be my favourite album for many years, laid down on my bed that seemed to be floating with this album playing on the hifi and ........Bliss! This was the start of my adiction to electronic music. Thankyou JMJ and thanks Dr Mix for reminding me 🙂

[@tangerine825]

JMJ - Oxygenius Of Electronic Music ! Greets From Poland ;-),Great Job Doctor Mix...

[@Sobtanian]

What I love about this video is that even me, a completely tone deaf, music illiterate huge fan of Jarre, can understand why the album is technically so astounding. Thank you for explaining things in terms even I could understand 😊

[@hunkyhungarian378]

You're likeable and entertaining at the same time. I'm a drummer but I just picked up my first synthesizer. Listening to Equinoxe while on THC, it made me feel like I was the structure of space and time. An incredible album to space travel to.

[@mws7347]

I was a young boy hearing first time Jean-Michel Jarre's "Equinoxe" (and "Qxygene"). I heard it hundreds of time, it loved it I still love it today. It is a real masterpeace!! Each melody, each smallest sound detail I can recognize and 'sing along'. What a genius! Thank you, Jean Michel, you made my these days! Jean-Michel Jarre, ABBA, Kraftwerk, Alan Parsons Project: I bow my head. They are part of my Gen-X. 👍👍👍👍

[@rufo]

I think Equinoxe Part 2 is the best piece on the album. It's not as catchy and doesn't have an obvious melody but the way the different parts harmonically play with each other and interweave, is really brilliant.

[@thhedk]

It's such a strange but beautiful song. Impressive how he godt that feeling and sound scape into his music.

[@SynthesizerSauce]

This record wired electronic music for my brain. I was two years old when it came out and my mom bought it, I was mesmerized by the 'owls' on the cover and all the beautiful sounds. For the coming years this was my go to record. I was so prepared to hit the synth-laden 80's and enjoyed everything it offered to the core. From Yazoo to Depeche Mode and others, the acid house revival and everything. By the time I was old enough, it was no surprise I became a DJ and eventually musician of the electronic music art form. Can't thank Jean-Michel enough for this.

[@iandouceartist]

I love this album, I play it most days... I also love Oxygene because it literally saved my life... ❤❤

[@MrFreeElectron]

The really fun thing to think about is that a lot of EDM artists we know today weren't even born when JMJ made Oxygene and Equinoxe... Let that sink in ... That's how far ahead he was. Creating a music genre for musicians that still needed to be born.

[@createdezign1840]

It's amazing how Jarre has come full circle these days.... Once the profit of future music then the engineer of music for supermarkets (Yes I'm being Ironic) now the father of electronic music. I saw him play live in the London Docklands in 1989, quite the mind blowing experience.

[@RainbowChazer]

Docklands was October 1988. But yes I agree, it was mind blowing.

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

I Was There Too At The Docklands Concert And I Can Testify It Was A M-I-N-D-B-L-O-W-I-N-G EXPERIENCE BUT IN TERMS OF SHEER SPECTACLE I THOUGHT THE HOUSTON CONCERT AND PARIS LA DEFENSE CONCERTS WERE EVEN BETTER ! ! !👍

[@PolyCorpInteractive]

I could only dream of being at that concert. I did however have it on VHS, my parents recorded it when it was first broadcast on TV. I was still quite young when I watched it, so it was unlikely my parents would have taken me there anyway, but I'm grateful they recorded it as it opened my ears up to his other music. I had only ever known this album, Oxygene and Rendez Vous.

[@thorstenhitzemann3644]

A truly epic album. Unforgettable.

[@henrikpaasgaardschmidt2705]

Thank you SO MUCH for this! Jean-Michel Jarre was my gateway drug into the world of electronic music in my early teens around 1981, with "Chants Magnétiques/Magnetic Fields" being my first JMJ album. After listening to that album a million times I quickly discovered "Oxygène" and "Equinoxe" and my deep love for Jean-Michel Jarre's music has been with me ever since. Those three albums will always be my favourites (along with "Concerts in China"). This genius did get orchestral music with the mother's milk, with his father Maurice Jarre also being a world-class composer. I will never get tired of this music. Ever! So thank you Claudio for enhancing my enjoyment even more by demonstrating and analyzing what I've always known: that Jean-Michel Jarre was and is a musical genius whose music will live forever!

[@henrikpaasgaardschmidt2705]

And this video was posted on my birthday, no less. Fantastic! And yes, please please do "Oxygène" too! And then "Magnetic Fields" :)

[@hatzegopteryx.sounds3637]

Jarre's roots are not classical music, but jazz from the club that her single mom had. He barely ever met his so-called father, that scumbag Maurice left him at age 5 and he never cared about him. Jean-Michel wasn't a big fan of his music. He and his father barely met 15 times in their lives. He started with noisy, non-melodic experimental music in the late 60's, look up La Cage/Erosmachine. Oxygene and Equinoxe were just a short period in his career, he never intended to make music in just that one style. His old fans can't keep up with his progressive musical ideas, but he loves modetn music, he listens to more Eminem and Nine Inch Nails than Mozart, believe it or not. He said nostalgia is harmful and technology is great.

[@markkilley2683]

I listened to this album in the eighties. Other people were frightened by the out of this world sound. What an album!

[@Martin-Techno-Gadget-Guy]

It is now September 2024 and I just discovered this video. I LOVE what you have done here. I have been a big fan of JMJ since the last 70's. And to hear you dissect it at this level is very amazing to me. Where were you 30 years ago, LOL. Over the years I owned a few of these synths and tried my best to compose like JMJ. I even went on to work for New England Digital (Synclavier) as a product specialist. And I would often try to re-create JMJ's music on that instrument. Thank you for doing this.

[@martinschmitt2272]

In my opinion Equinoxe is the greatest album ever. I have listened to it more than 10000 times. i know it since i am 5 years old and since this time there is no week i dont listen to it. I have heard so many remixes of diffrent songs from it. IT IS THE BEST. The best album of the best musician of all times.

[@kadiummusic]

It's definitely Jarre's best album by a million miles. As a teen I went to bed listening to one of two albums every night, Equinox and War Of The Worlds, both incredibly unique and beautifuly complete. The other two albums I would add to make it a superb quartet is Tubular Bells and Penteteuch Of The Cosmogony. Absolute perfection. 😎

[@75pechan]

🤣 I also listened it a lot of thousand times. Now you can quite see through the vinyl that I own today... 😅

[@permiek]

I had basically worn out my copy of Oxygene when Equinoxe dropped. Cool I thought, should be good but how can you top such a Masterpiece as Oxygene. 1 month later I emerged from sitting in front of my record player dazed and confused that such genius exists in my lifetime.

[@wizdude]

I’ve never heard a piece of music so well deconstructed and explained. Thank you Claudio! If you decide to deconstruct other JMJ work that would be fantastic! Zoolook!

[@Sisyphe31000]

oxygen please

[@adrianparr]

Absolutely love this! Jean-Michel Jarre's Equinoxe is a masterpiece, and Claudio breaks it down in such a fun and entertaining way. Beautiful!

[@captiveimage]

I've been a fan of JMJ since I heard Oxygene, which is still a phenomenal, timeless album. 45 years on and Equinoxe still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up though. Superb!

[@lkylv]

Now we are talking! JMJ and Vangelis are the reasons why I love synthesizers, new age music.

[@richardpoyle6155]

Had this album in 1978 and still think it's one of the greatest electronic albums ever made. The sounds are so rich and warm. I notice this is the original vinyl mix of Part 5 - there's even more crazy effects on the later release. The ARP2600 basslines are amazing throughout, especially the little pitch bends that give them variety and stop them being robotic. You could almost believe they were played by hand. And that low Mellotron choir at the end of Part 4 - just one of many little details throughout that show how much thought and craft was put into this record.

[@RainbowChazer]

I seem to recall JMJ said he didn't want to make every repetition the same, so there are little (deliberate) changes in each sequence. He was going for the human touch, not robotic melodies which are the same no matter how many times you repeat them.

[@kerzwhile]

We must not overlook or forget Larry Fast' "Synergy". My personal massive influence up there with Jean and Vangelis. 😊 Forgot to add, this is excellent! Very well done ! LOVE IT!! 😉

[@deondewit3175]

Jean Michel Jarre is the reason I became interested in synths and own a modx today. I listened to Rendezvous Oxygene and Equinoxe and all I wanted and dreamed about was owning a synth. Oxygene breakdown would be awesome yes please.

[@Sydreyc]

I have been told that I sat in front of the TV as a baby and was mesmerized by Jarres concert in Houston/Lyon, so I have apparantly been a life long fan. Seen him live 4 times, and it is always mindblowing! Please do Oxygene as well! PS: I believe the sequencer used is Michel Geiss' Matrisequencer 250.