Jean-Michel Jarre - Electronica, Vol. 2: The Heart of Noise

	€		19
	$		22

Allgemein

Trackliste LP - 1

Trackliste LP - 2

Beschreibung

Beschreibung

Jean-Michel Jarre's two-part Electronica series finds the French synthesizer guru in full-on Santana circa Supernatural mode, collaborating with a vast array of guest musicians ranging from veterans to younger artists. The second volume, released seven months after 2015's inaugural The Time Machine, is titled The Heart of Noise in reference to Italian futurist Luigi Russolo's 1913 manifesto The Art of Noises. Jarre has a keen ear for collaborators, ranging from his '80s synth pop peers to 21st century techno artists whose work carries on the legacy of his past innovations. "Here for You" sounds exactly like what a Jarre/Gary Numan team-up should sound like, with a cruising midtempo synth pop rhythm and an unmistakably Numan-esque melody. "Brick England" is a typically anthemic Pet Shop Boys song, and Cyndi Lauper's Tinder-inspired "Swipe to the Right" is perky, neon dance-pop. The album reflects Jarre's visionary spirit, as well as that of his cohorts. The Orb (who previously remixed Jarre's iconic "Oxygène" into their 1997 single "Toxygene") mixes spoken samples from synthesizer inventors Léon Theremin and Bob Moog, as well as Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, into a dense yet fluid collage, which is topped by the eerie sounds of the Theremin itself. Julia Holter makes a surprise appearance, adding her ethereal vocals to the shimmering synths of "These Creatures." Of the album's dancefloor-friendly tracks, the highlight is "Circus" (with Siriusmo), a playful, romantic take on choppy French house. The album also features "Exit," which begins as an aggressive psy-trance track before slowing down to present a chopped-up monologue from exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden that pertains to privacy and freedom of speech. "The Heart of Noise" bookends the album, with its first part (a cinematic version featuring Rone) and more dissonant second part kicking it off, and the original demo concluding the release. As with the first volume of Electronica, the second is commendable for its scope and its attempt to bridge several generations of electronic music. ~ Paul Simpson

Paul Simpson

Beschreibung

Jean-Michel Jarre's two-part Electronica series finds the French synthesizer guru in full-on Santana circa Supernatural mode, collaborating with a vast array of guest musicians ranging from veterans to younger artists. The second volume, released seven months after 2015's inaugural The Time Machine, is titled The Heart of Noise in reference to Italian futurist Luigi Russolo's 1913 manifesto The Art of Noises. Jarre has a keen ear for collaborators, ranging from his '80s synth pop peers to 21st century techno artists whose work carries on the legacy of his past innovations. As to be expected from such an extensive laundry list of guests, however, the end result is wildly inconsistent, and taken song by song, it's very much a hit-or-miss affair. A lot of the pairings make total sense on paper, and in many cases they don't necessarily do anything wrong, they just aren't particularly exciting. "Here for You" sounds exactly like what a Jarre/Gary Numan team-up should sound like, with a cruising midtempo synth pop rhythm and an unmistakably Numan-esque melody, but the tune itself doesn't end up being memorable. Similarly, "Brick England" is a typically anthemic Pet Shop Boys song, and Cyndi Lauper's Tinder-inspired "Swipe to the Right" is perky, neon dance-pop that sounds closer to Robyn than her own work. Again, neither are bad; they're just not notable. The most successful tracks are the ones that reflect Jarre's visionary spirit, as well as that of his cohorts. The Orb (who previously remixed Jarre's iconic "Oxygène" into their excellent 1997 single "Toxygene") mixes spoken samples from synthesizer inventors Léon Theremin and Bob Moog, as well as Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, into a dense yet fluid collage, which is topped by the eerie sounds of the Theremin itself. Julia Holter makes a surprise appearance, adding her ethereal vocals to the shimmering synths of "These Creatures." Of the album's dancefloor-friendly tracks, the highlight is easily "Circus" (with Siriusmo), a playful, romantic take on choppy French house. Far less successful is Jarre's sappy, filter-heavy reworking of Primal Scream's "Come Together" (retitled "As One"), which is so cheesy it's hard to imagine why he even bothered creating it. The album's oddest cut is "Exit," which begins as an aggressive psy-trance track before slowing down to present a chopped-up monologue from exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden that pertains to privacy and freedom of speech. "The Heart of Noise" bookends the album, with its first part (a cinematic version featuring Rone) and more dissonant second part kicking it off, and the original demo concluding the release. As with the first volume of Electronica, the second is commendable for its scope and its attempt to bridge several generations of electronic music, but as a listening experience, it requires a fair amount of cherry-picking. [The Heart of Noise was also released in a two-LP vinyl edition.] ~ Paul Simpson

Paul Simpson

Mitwirkende

• Artist: Jean-Michel Jarre
• Artist: Jean Michel Jarre
• Record Label: Sin
• Record Label: Columbia