Jean-Michel Jarre anounced Equinoxe Infinity

After listening to The Watchers over and over I think it sounds good, like big electronic waves smashing onto an Easter Island beach.

 

Has there been a major mention here or elsewhere about the upcoming re-release of Geometry Of Love?
It's on pre-order at Amazon.

 

I have not listened to Oxy 3 too much in the last year so I put on the headphones last night and played it loud. Sounded so good! Probably play it constantly until the new one comes out. Really like how it is similar to Oxy 1 but different. I expect the same on this new Equinox.

 

I would have had zero expectations for this after getting burned by Mike Oldfield’s “Return to Ommadawn” , but Oxygene III was really good so I’m cautiously hopeful!

 

As was Oxygene II

I liked Return To Ommadawn btw.

 

That’s exciting. I have a lot of love for that album. The penultimate track, Near Djaina, is beautiful.

 

Not familiar with JMJ's recent output since the Docklands gig all those years ago when it was on TV

Has he reached the same level as Mike Oldfield (and UB40) whereby every new album release has to have your best selling album name in the title?

I lost could of how many Tubular Bells there where in the end.

 

Well, there's Oxygene 2 & 3, and now Equinoxe Infinity. Not more (yet).

 

He's probably gonna stop after that.

 

I really liked it. It's Mike's best 5.1 mix and I think the album holds up well alongside the big four.

If Equinoxe Infinity is as good as R2O I'll be thrilled, would be great if it's mastered like R2O also.

 

Actually just got into listening to Jarre by the past month. I'm a little hyped over this. I think the Oxygene series works well as a whole and is really great.
For me a vast portion of his production is not really interesting. But I am guessing this will be very nice and spark my attention more to the original Oxygene album.
New cover is cool

 

Me too! I thought Return to Ommadawn (while nowhere near the classic that is Ommadawn) was quite good.

 

Jean-Michel Jarre is one of those electronic musicians I want to like but never have been able to say I like the music. Maybe I’m just showing my Tangerine Dream bias here, maybe I’m showing my affinity for Vangelis, maybe I’m being totally unfair, but Jarre hasn’t produced one recording that has made me want to go back and listen again.

 

Does it sound better than CD at least? I have the CD, and it's pretty bad, dull, and music is hard to enjoy with a horrible, annoying brick-walling.

 

Yes, it sounds better than the digital versions. But only slightly. It’s nowhere near his old vinyl releases. Album list - Dynamic Range Database

 

What's frustrating about Jarre is that he really doesn't seem to care.
He's like "people today listen to compressed music. We're giving them compressed music. End of story".
I read something like that in an interview around the last remastering campaign.

I understand "optimizing" music to make it "competitive" on streaming services (every service has its sweet spot in term of dynamics - higher than the average DR on his latest productions btw) but doing so (even worse, with outdated Loudness Wars standards) with his CDs, that certainly are not gonna be played on the commercial radios, is absurd.

 

Yeah, I don’t understand it either. Some time ago he was involved in high end audio hardware and kept proclaiming it was about the best sound quality. At the same time his new albums and reissues became more and more brickwalled. Where’s the logic in that?

 

Jeez, that's an excellent news. I just listened to the new track "The Watchers", and this is how the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack should have sounded. What a bummer it was compared to the original masterpiece by Vangelis.

Now back to the Watchers (on about by 10 listens now), it is warm, elegant, intriguing, and way more organic than most of the music Jarre has produced thus far (though his last Oxygene 3 was a great addition to O1 and O2).

I am very keen on this intro track, and hopefully, the whole album will somehow follow a similar sound pattern. If so, it should be a very pleasing listening. Looking forward to listening to this new piece. Thanks to JMJ

 

Don’t worry I plan on revisiting some Jarre today. So hopefully, I’ll have better luck today.

 

To me only Equinoxe works as a whole album, flawlessly. I don't listen to it that much (like with any Jarre) but when I put it on, maybe with the idea of enjoying 10 minutes r so, I end up taking the whole trip.
Excluding Oxygène, whose iconic status prevent me from being objective, the second one is Chronologie, that always felt sort of an Equinoxe II to me (though I have to be "patient" to jarre's attempts to be up to date with then current music), the second half of Part I is one of my absolute favourites.

Everything in the middle kind of has some problem to me or didn't age as well. Good tracks here and there. Houston/Lyon or Live pretty much sum them up.
Everything after, it came as a novelty (the lounge album) or didn't click at all.

Waiting for Cousteau (the track) is superbe, though, IMO. Magnifique.

 

Funny, to me Chronologie sounds like a better Rendez-Vous. IMHO there has never been a second Equinoxe album.

Listening to the new track I like the first half, but after that all the “performance tricks” from Rendez-Vous enter the arrangement: I can hear exactly when the fireworks need to go off during the live concert. I hate that.

Still keeping fingers crossed for a good album, though. Equinoxe is a melodic landmark in his catalogue. I hope he composed something that matches it.

 

It's not about sound, just a general feeling. They both give me this sense of circularity, like the passing of seasons or of the 24 hours.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I just bought eight more Jarre albums.

 

Excerpt from Flying Totems (second track). Definitely some Vangelis influence, which is definitely not a bad thing