“BRUTALISM , the new single from electronic music pioneer JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, is released digitally today, the first track from “ OXYMORE ”, his 22nd studio album to be released on October 21st (Sony Music).
The album, one of his most ambitious projects, is already available for pre-order and will be released in CD, double vinyl and digital stereo, binaural audio and Dolby Atmos formats. The physical version will be accompanied by a code to access the highest quality binaural master , as devised by Jean-Michel Jarre during the production of the album.
“BRUTALISM” is a particularly intense and overwhelming techno song, perfect for the atmosphere of Berghain, the iconic Berlin club temple of electronic music.
« It is definitely a strong song - explains Jarre - I wanted to create an apocalyptic atmosphere, as if it were a kind of big bang of early Berlin techno, when it exploded. I wanted to create that kind of feeling, perhaps due to the remnants of the war ».
“OXYMORE” is a tribute to the French composer Pierre Henry , who passed away a few years ago, with whom Jarre wanted to collaborate on “ Electronica ”, the album that was nominated for a GRAMMY . Henry was an iconic figure in electronic and classical music, as well as one of Jarre's mentors at the Groupe de Recherche Musical (GRM), where he studied. After his death in 2017, Henry's widow provided Jarre with some drafts of the materials intended for this collaboration.
“OXYMORE” is a musical journey in which Pierre Henry's atmospheres interact with Jarre's world, between analog and digital sounds.
The project is inspired by the French movement “ Musique Concrete ” , a genre of musical composition that uses recorded sounds as raw material. The movement was first developed in the 1940s and revolutionized the way music is made. With “ OXYMORE”, Jarre takes up this concept and reinvents it with the tools of today.
The album was conceived as an immersive work in one of the symbolic places of the “Musique Concrete” , that is the innovation studios of Radio France (where Jarre began his experimentation activity) in a multi-channel and 3D binaural version. Multichannel binaural sound will revolutionize the way music is composed, mixed and produced, placing sounds in 360-degree space, and can be easily experienced by anyone via a pair of headphones. “ OXYMORE ” represents the first commercial publication in which the future of audio and musical sound is realized in a way never seen before.
“ This is the real breakthrough time for audio and sound recording. “OXYMORE” is an attempt to illustrate and explore these new ways of linking technology and music. Today we have technologies that allow us to explore spatial audio composition and this represents a completely new experience for us musicians during the creative process. It offers the listener the experience of a more physical and natural way of hearing sound and music. In real life our sound perception is at 360 degrees - says Jarre - “OXYMORE” was composed specifically with the experience with spatial audio in mind. The stereo mix is also wider and has gained even more space in the process.I am convinced that this is how music will be composed and produced in the future. The emotion for the listener is a huge leap in level, like when we went from mono to stereo ".
Each single extracted from the album will be accompanied by remixes or reworkings by different artists and producers . “ BRUTALISM” will be reworked in collaboration wth Martin Gore and Deathpact and both versions will be released later this year.
The project also includes the launch of “OXYVILLE”, a VR world that will accompany the release of the album and where Jarre and his personalized avatar will perform the album live in virtual realty. «“ OXYVILLE” will be a virtual city of music and in the future I would like to invite other artists to be part of it, as well as holding master classes and other events. I would also like it to become a “sandbox” for new musical experiences »explains the artist, who is no stranger to pushing boundaries when it comes to VR and the metaverse, as demonstrated by the recent“ Welcome To the Other Side ” event .
The 360-degree spatial audio of " OXYMORE" has already been experienced in a live concert, where the album had its world premiere during the Hyper Weekend Festival , within the walls of the Maison de la Radio in Paris in January of this year. The concert was seen not only by the 300 people present in the hall, but also by 1,000 people connected live on social VR. Critics welcomed the event very positively, which they defined as one of the most innovative musical performances in VR. Kent Bye talked about it in the “ Voices of VR ” podcast stating that " Oxymore is probably about 4-5 years ahead of [the metaverse] Meta (Facebook) is thinking about ."
Jean-Michel Jarre has always been a pioneer in his field. Throughout his illustrious career, the composer, performer, producer and cultural ambassador has continued to discover new horizons with his music and mastery of creative innovation. From its pioneering role in electronic music, from its use of multi-channel audio technology and production, to its recent explorations into the realms of VR performance and the metaverse, technology is at the forefront of everything it does. In this regard, the artist said: « Today is the most exciting time to create, make music and share through so many media».
Jarre is UNESCO Ambassador for Education, Science and Culture, unconditional defender of the planet and the environment, and winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Scientific Communication.
Jean-Michel Jarre's current catalog, which includes 21 albums, has sold over 85 million copies worldwide and earned him countless awards and nominations. Over the course of his career, Jarre has created his performances from some of the world's most iconic monuments and sites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to spread his creative, cultural and environmental message by him. He has also established new Guinness World Records for public participation in concerts in several emblematic locations. He was the first Western musician to be invited to perform in China and he also created and performed concert-events at the Great Pyramids in Egypt, in the Sahara Desert, in the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, at the Houston skyline, in the Eiffel Tower, in the Dead Sea, in Al-'Ula and more.He has always sold out in arenas and stadiums on all continents, as well as performing at major festivals, including Coachella.Welcome To The Other Side ”, an innovative livestream broadcast all over the world from a virtual Notre Dame (Paris).
Source:
https://www.politicamentecorretto.com/2 ... 1-ottobre/
