BlahBlahCafe - Jean-Michel Jarre forum

OMG...(I want to say something else )

Even though I am not a musician like most of you an this forum (okay, I play a little bass) and so approach all the Synth Technical talk like a baby learning to crawl...even I can see that these Presets (do I have that right?) are almost exactly like Teo & Tea.

Being a filmmaker, I know sometimes the "art" is not in coming up with the original sound/idea as much as it is how you execute it and make it your own. (Marconi ripping off Tesla for the radio anyone?) but this is more than just execution.

It would be me taking the movie Psycho and remaking it in color...oh, wait that's been done and was a disaster! Even the Coen Brothers borrow from films/books of the past (Homer's The Illiad = O' Brother Where Art Thou) but even they put a unique and original spin on it!

...you know what I mean.

Even I, of virgin ears and naive of most things musical, can see this is for the most part a sad rip-off. What's sad is that I loved Teo & Tea from the start (I still do) but why such mediocrity.

I know, I know...I'm off-topic but this is how "I" relate to these presets that have now been revealed.

I always thought of Jarre as the musician's musician....I guess that was Vangelis...

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My only other question is very much like the chicken and the egg...which came first.

Could there be any possibilty that Jarre helped create these sounds with Tim or that they were working on said sounds at the same time???

Something like--

INT. JARRE STUDIOS - NIGHT
Tim: these are some cool sounds I have.
Jarre: Cool, let's use them!

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE FARM

INT. ROLAND STUDIOS - DAY
Tim: These are some cool sounds I have.
Roland: Cool, let's use them!

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P.S. Whatever the truth, I think/hope Jarre will redeem himself with the next musical project.

We aren't talking about the use of a preset -something taht JARRE and other musicians have done in several records-. The problem is that JARRE has CREATE A TRACK FROM A SYNTH PRESET, and not just a track: A complete album.

I've always said that "Téo & Tèa" is a bad produced record, without a brillian melody line. It's a 0 creative record too.

I have listened just now.

All I can say is... "damn - what was he thinking?"

Oh dear, oh dear...

(C3-PO)

Anyhow ~ I can finally equal Radek when it comes to making replica covers. This will be like buying an MC808... hit start... go for a cup of coffee and hit stop on the way back...

In an attempt to be positive (I know it's kinda hard), what these MC808 presets and their influence on Teo & Tea really says to me is that Jarre is HUMAN...and therefore fallible (But only if everything we're saying is about Jarre " borrowing" entire presets to make complete tracks on the Teo & Tea album is indeed true...as naive as it sounds I want to give Jarre the benefit of the doubt).

I found this great old quote. Take from it what you will:

"Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them."

"The cycle runs thusly: adoration turns to obsession, obsession turns to disappointment, and from disappointment it is just a short emotional jump to contempt."

-author unknown.

With that said, I still do really enjoy the Teo & Tea album but am listening to it in a new light. It's as if someone gave me a promotional CD to market the new Roland MC808 and that's sort of okay too. Just not something I expected from Jarre. At least not to this extent. Then again I could never make music like he does so I will always be an admirer. I'm just confused behind his motivations. But that is a different matter altogether...

Note: I really feel we need to start a new thread on this whole Teo & Tea revelation!

moviemaker wrote:"Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them."

I think we don't care too much about celebrity. It's more the artistic side... When a musician, famous or not, records an album under his own name, you would expect he did compose a few things, and did the drum programming himself, especially for a "dance" album.

But I haven't heard the MC808 nor the T&T album and don't really want to, so I don't know how much comes from the MC808 presets.

jeremy wrote:

moviemaker wrote:"Many people lack a spiritual belief system and fill that void with obsessions about celebrities. The celebrities are raised to the rank of gods, and these earthly gods will always fail the expectations the masses have set for them."

I think we don't care too much about celebrity. It's more the artistic side... When a musician, famous or not, records an album under his own name, you would expect he did compose a few things, and did the drum programming himself, especially for a "dance" album.

But I haven't heard the MC808 nor the T&T album and don't really want to, so I don't know how much comes from the MC808 presets.

Jeremy,
While I agree with you, to really add to this discussion (which is about the MC808 presets) it would behoove you to listen to both the album and the MC808 samples for yourself to compare and make your own informed decision as opposed to just agreeing with what everyone else is saying. (though you will probably come to the same conclusion)

In my view T&T is an experimental album. If I look at last albums from distance - all last albums are experimental albums only.

Metamorphoses, Aero, Geometry, Session, Interior ... everything is experiment.

Everybody accept that Jean is a good composer. I thing that Jean ended one long period by making O 7-13. After releasing of this album he is "independent" from himself historical music style. I hope that he is doing what he wants and not what he must to do (according to some stupid contract with Warner).

I don´t know if Jarre used Rolands patterns for his album or if Roland used them later. I think that it was COOPERATION between Jarre and Roland´s people. I thing that some reporter asks Jarre later.

If I calculate that T&T is experimental album, I understand small promotion of this album. Remember promotion for Session or GOL. It is similar.

I accept T&T like one episode of Jarre´s experiment period and I am looking forward to new (I hope absolutely different) album.

I really would like to know what happened to the original "new" album with Frederic Rousseau and whatnot ... unless that was just a rumor

All of this reminds me of the 2002 Aero Introduction discussions, too. Didn't he even use the same melody as in some synth's programming or...? Oh whatever.

Atleast we go out and buy the MC-808 and get those instant 'Jarre' sounds (and now tracks ). They have just made it a little bit more easier for us.

We know that Jarre helped Roland with the SH-201 synth and the MC-808, so lets hope that the patterns heard on the MC-808 are what Jarre made from scratch and Roland used. If we can't get the confirmation from Jarre, how about Roland themselves.

I'm sorry but I can't really see what's so surprising here.
It's just the thing with todays synths in general...synths, workstations, groovieboxes or what have you, small computers, packed to their limits with allready completed presets. I just think it must be pretty damn hard to create your own very unique sound unless you can rebuild the instrument itself.

Could Roland not have put the patterns on the MC808 after JMJ did the album? Sorry if it’s a stupid question.

Kanta wrote:Could Roland not have put the patterns on the MC808 after JMJ did the album? Sorry if it’s a stupid question.

The MC-808 came out June/July 2006

Equinoxe5 wrote:

Kanta wrote:Could Roland not have put the patterns on the MC808 after JMJ did the album? Sorry if it’s a stupid question.

The MC-808 came out June/July 2006

Thanks Equinoxe5. All is clear.