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EDM pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre talks new CD, virtual reality, AI (Includes interview)

On his new album, Equinoxe Infinity, he said, “For the first time in my life, I started from the artwork of an existing album of mine called Equinoxe that I did a long time ago. The album cover was quite extraordinary and made up of strange creatures watching you. I wondered what these ‘Watchers’ are all about, and what would happen to them today.”

He continued, “It was great to create two different covers for this album, which symbolizes two different futures: a peaceful one and a dystopian, apocalyptic one. I did this album almost as a soundtrack. It has been well-received all over the world since it was released a few weeks ago. The world is made of bright and dark moments in our lives. That’s what this music is all about.”

Jarre listed “Robots Don’t Cry” as his personal favorite song on the album. “I should have called this track ‘Robots Don’t Cry So Far,'” he admitted.

On his plans for the future, he said, “I would like to work more with artificial intelligence (AI), and also next week, I am doing something very exciting with TheWaveVR, the team involved in virtual reality. Everybody will be able to remix the music by sending his or her avatar inside the virtual reality (VR) world.”

He shared that he hopes to tour the world starting next September. “Hopefully, I will go to New York, since it is one of my favorite cities,” he said.

Jarre is happy with the passage of the Music Modernization Act, especially since he feels that artists and creators should be respected in the Internet world, in an effort to ensure that they get their fair royalties.

Digital transformation of electronic music

On the impact of technology on the music business, Jarre said, “Like everything else, on one side it is very positive since it gives people accessibility to music. On the other side, we need to be careful to still respect the creators and artists. We need to create a decent business model for creators in the future.”

He predicts that within the next five years, artificial intelligence is going to change the contemporary music scene. “We create a new challenge for musicians, especially the idea of robots being able to create original content,” he said.

For aspiring DJs and producers, Jarre said, “Don’t be trapped by the fact that technologies make you believe that there are no limits. Try to find your own limitations, and try to create your own music.”

He shared that he just celebrated his 50th year in the music business and he acknowledged that the key to longevity in the electronic music industry is “curiosity” and “keeping things fresh.”

Jarre listed Deadmau5 as one of the artists that he would love to collaborate with in the future. If he were not a musician, Jarre revealed that he would have loved to have been an architect.

Equinoxe Infinity is available on Spotify and on Apple Music. “I would like the fans to listen to this album like they are watching a movie,” he said. “I am really happy to share this album with lots of people because I feel this album is in phase with our time. I say this with a lot of humility. It has a sunny and bright side, and a dark side. This album should be taken as an entity, as opposed to a series of tracks.”

To learn more about electronic pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, check out his official website.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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