Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[Dr_Jones]

French text only (as far as I know).

https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/jeanmicheljarre/

Release date: 20/11/2026
ISBN : 9782384319787
384 pages (148 x 210)

26.00 €

With the album Oxygène, released in 1976 and selling over eighteen million copies to date, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre entered the pantheon of electronic music. His subsequent discography, both experimental and accessible, from Equinoxe to Oxymore, including Zoolook, Métamorphoses, and Electronica 1 and 2, has only reinforced his global success, amplified by revolutionary sound and light shows performed around the world. Drawing on documented sources and previously unpublished interviews with Jean-Michel Jarre and several figures who knew him, Jean-Louis Tallon retraces the career of a visionary artist whose work, sometimes controversial or considered uneven, has nonetheless constantly reinvented itself and inspired generations of creators and musicians through its sonic explorations.

[melo]

Would this be an official release or a fan book?

[Dr_Jones]

The publisher looks legit, they have released lots of other books already. I can't really find more information about it. The author himself released 4 books (including this one) in 2020, 2022 and 2025. So it doesn't look like printed A.I.

[jeanbatman]

Definitely worth the price ! The guy is from Lyon, too.

[Herr Dunkel]

For what it's worth:

Yes, Le Mot et le Reste is a serious publisher. Their books can easily be found in bookstores in France.

They are the official publisher of the French translation of Peter Hook's 3 books on Joy Division, New Order, and the Haçienda.

https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/unk ... leedition/
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/substance/
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lha ... leedition/

I have 4 books from the Musiques series:

Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett, la croisée des destins - Alexandre Higounet
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/pin ... ydbarrett/

Tangerine Dream, les visiteurs du son 1967-1987 - Emmanuel Saint-Bonnet
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/tangerinedream/

Kraftwerk - Éric Deshayes
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kra ... leedition/

Klaus Schulze, le rêve éveillé - Emmanuel Saint-Bonnet
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/klausschulze/

So far I have only read the books on Kraftwerk and Schulze. The writers are journalists, so the books are well written. Regarding the content, the approach is chronological, which is typical for such books. Since I know both Kraftwerk and Schulze well, I didn't learn much (except Schulze's ventures in the 80s), but I enjoyed the cultural and musical context in which the artists and their work are presented.

The books don't contain new interviews. There are quotes from past interviews.

The book about Schulze has a lot of quotes taken directly from the booklets of the SPV reissues of his back catalog on CD. So if one has those CDs and has read the interviews in the booklets, it seems a bit redundant, but can serve as refreshers...

I don't know much about Tangerine Dream so I am sure I will learn a lot of things (I have a few albums and I know about the infamous concert at the Reims cathedral in 1974, but that's about it - oh and yeah, Zeit is awesome, and I prefer Rubycon over Phaedra - yeah, I know).

Pink Floyd and Barrett, I know very well, so I am more interested in the odd anecdote and getting back to that early period, rather than in learning something new.

3 of the books feature small pictures of album covers in black and white, usually at the beginning of a chapter (the PF / Barrett book doesn't have any pictures).

There is no "nerdy" stuff, so no info on the number of oscillators in this synthesizer or on the settings on a guitar pedal for that effect on that song.

And yes, the texts are in French, obviously.

The JMJ book has about twice as many pages as the books I have, so there might be larger pictures in it. It has the same number of pages as Peter Hook's book on Joy Division. I don't have the French version but I have the US version, which is the same as the UK version only with a different cover and layout, and there are indeed several pages of photos. The French version likely has the same photos. So the JMJ book might, too.

This might give you an idea of what to expect from the book on JMJ. Since the publisher's site lists reviews about its books (see link "Voir la revue de presse" on the web page of the books, you can wait a bit after release and see what the reviews say.