BlahBlahCafe - Jean-Michel Jarre forum

Are all the instuments featured in this book in JMJ's own collection? Those electroacoustic handhelds are amazing. Have we seen them before? Were these part of his Oxymore stage setup in early 2022, when he played 'live' in the months before the album was released?

Kanta wrote: Tue Mar 31, 2026 3:59 pm

I think she is Johnny Marr's daughter: https://www.marjacq.com/sonny-marr.html

Zooming in on that contents page, it seems there are no entries for Waiting for Cousteau, Chronologie, Oxygene 7-13, Teo & Tea, Oxygene 3, or Equinoxe Infinity. And the landmark "Cities In Concert" series between 1979 and 1990 – Concorde, Houston, Lyon, Docklands, La Défense - get no entries either, which is a shame as the reinvention of electronic music as something to be performed, rather than kept in a laboratory, was one of JMJ's greatest legacies, in my opinion.

I would hope more recent virtual shows like Notre Dame (Welcome To The Other Side) and Versailles 400 are referenced somewhere.

Richard-Eastham wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2026 11:38 pm Zooming in on that contents page, it seems there are no entries for Waiting for Cousteau, Chronologie, Oxygene 7-13, Teo & Tea, Oxygene 3, or Equinoxe Infinity. And the landmark "Cities In Concert" series between 1979 and 1990 – Concorde, Houston, Lyon, Docklands, La Défense - get no entries either, which is a shame as the reinvention of electronic music as something to be performed, rather than kept in a laboratory, was one of JMJ's greatest legacies, in my opinion.

No Digisequencer and JD 800? Kurzweil K2000? These were used quite a lot at the time. That would be odd.

CONTENTS

013 PREFACE JEAN-MICHEL JARRE

016 CHAPTER 1 | 1913–1971

018 THEREMIN [1920–]
022 The Heart of Noise
024 CRISTAL BASCHET [1952]
028 PHILIPS PHILICORDA [1961]
030 Vacuum Tube Era
032 VOX CONTINENTAL [1962]
034 MELLOTRON [1963]
038 KORG DONCA-MATIC DA-20 [1963]
038 KORG MINI POPS [1966]
040 COUPIGNY SYNTHESIZER [1966]
044 FARFISA TRANSISTOR ORGAN [1968]
046 Musique Concrète + the GRM
048 WATERPHONE [1968]
050 Copper Shortages
052 EMS VCS 3 [1969–1971]
058 ARP 2500 [1970]
062 MOOG MINIMOOG [1970–]
066 From Rock to Electronica
070 ARP 2600 [1971]
076 Deserted Palace [1972]
078 ARP ODYSSEY [1972]

080 CHAPTER 2 | 1972–1979

082 EMS SYNTHI AKS [1972]
084 BUCHLA MUSIC EASEL [1973]
088 KORG MINIKORG 700FS [1973 / 2021]
090 Krautrock + Early Electronic Rock
094 EKO COMPUTERHYTHM [1973]
096 EMINENT 310 [1973]
100 MOOG MODULAR SYSTEM 55 [1973]
104 RMI HARMONIC SYNTHESIZER [1974]
110 OBERHEIM TVS-1 [1975]
112 Ambient + EDM
116 STEINER-PARKER SYNTHACON [1975]
118 MOOG TAURUS [1975]
120 KORG POLYPHONIC ENSEMBLE S [1976]
124 KORG M-500 SP [1977]
126 YAMAHA CS80 [1977]
130 KORG PS-3200 [1977]
130 KORG PS-3300 FS [1977]
136 ARP PRO DGX [1977]
138 EMS VOCODER 1000 [1978]
138 ROLAND VP-330 [1979]
140 Oxygene [1976]
146 GUITAR PEDALS [1974–]
150 GEISS MATRISEQUENCER [1978]
150 GEISS DIGISEQUENCER [1982]
156 Machines Playing Notes
160 ROLAND JUPITER 4 [1978]
162 ARP QUADRA [1978]
166 Equinoxe [1978]
174 SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS PROPHET-5 [1978]
178 FAIRLIGHT CMI [1979]

182 CHAPTER 3 | 1980–1999

184 OBERHEIM OB-XA [1980]
186 PMS SYNTAR [1978]
186 MOOG LIBERATION [1980]
188 The Rise of the Drum Machine
194 LINN DRUM MACHINES [1980–84]
196 RHYTHMI COMPUTER [1980]
198 ROLAND JUPITER-8 [1981]
200 E-MU EMULATOR [1981]
204 Magnetic Fields [1981]
206 MOOG SOURCE [1981]
208 The Concerts in China
214 ELKA SYNTHEX [1981]
218 FORMANTA EMS-01 [1982]
220 SOVIET ERA SYNTHS [1982]
222 MOOG MEMORYMOOG [1982]
224 OSC OSCar [1983]
226 Music for Supermarkets + Zoolook [1983–84]
230 DJ & Sampling Culture
234 ROLAND D-50 [1987]
236 ATECHNOS ACXEL [1987]
238 Digital Revolution
242 Rendez-vous + Revolutions [1986–88]
246 LAG KEYTARS [1984–85]
248 ROLAND JD-800 [1991]
252 AKAI S1000 [1988]
252 ROLAND JP-8080 [1996]

254 CHAPTER 4 | 2000–

256 SUZUKI Q-CHORD [2000]
258 ROLAND HANDSONIC HPD-15 [2000]
260 Metamorphoses [2000]
262 ELEKTRON MONOMACHINE [2003]
264 SWARMATRON [2004]
266 MACBETH M5N [2007]
268 YAMAHA TENORI-ON [2008]
270 IPAD APPS [2010–]
272 Democratization
274 EURORACK MODULAR [1996–]
278 TEENAGE ENGINEERING OP-1 [2011]
282 GRP SYNTHESIZER A4 [2012]
288 EDM Explosion
290 Electronica + Electronica 2 [2015–16]
296 MACBETH ELEMENTS [2014]
298 NONLINEAR LABS C15 + ONDE [2017 / 2018]
302 POCKET PIANO + ORGANELLE [2011 / 2015]
304 TASTY CHIPS GR-1 [2017]
306 MOOG GRANDMOTHER [2018]
308 Failed Machines
310 CIRCUIT BENT SYNTHESIZERS [2018]
312 ASM HYDRASYNTH [2019]
312 KORG WAVESTATE [2020]
314 EXPRESSIVE E OSMOSE [2019]
316 UDO SUPER 6 [2020]
318 Spatial Odyssey
322 PIN MATRIX SYNTHS [2020]
324 EMBODME ERAE TOUCH [2021]
328 Virtual + Augmented Reality
330 SYNTESLA SYNTHESIZERS [2021–]
334 THEREVOX ET-5 [2022]
336 MELBOURNE INSTRUMENTS NINA [2022]
338 Oxymore [2022]
342 ELECTROACOUSTIC HANDHELDS [2022]
344 SOMA TERRA [2022]
346 BLIP BLOX AFTER DARK [2020]
348 CHOMPI SAMPLER [2023]
350 GAMECHANGER AUDIO MOTOR SYNTH [2021]
352 ARTURIA POLYBRUTE 12 [2024]
354 FRAXNOISE MELANCHOLYTRON [2023]
356 TELEPATHIC INSTRUMENTS ORCHID [2023]
358 Artificial Intelligence [2020–]

360 INFOGRAPHIC I: INSTRUMENTARIUM
362 INFOGRAPHIC II: EVENTOGRAPHY
364 INFOGRAPHIC III: DISCOGRAPHY
366 INDEX
368 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

One of the comments under Sonny Marr's Instagram post says that Michel Geiss apparently wasn't approached about this book and was not invited to contribute.

The poster says that the book extracts Geiss has seen contain errors about the instruments he was involved in designing and creating. When this was raised with Sonny via Instagram, she simply redirected the poster to the book's publishing company.

If true, this is not a great reflection on all involved, JMJ included

150 GEISS MATRISEQUENCER [1978]
150 GEISS DIGISEQUENCER [1982]

This is an error: The Digisequencer was not 1982 but 1992, and used on Chronologie and Europe in Concert tour in 1993. I get why they might be placed side by side in the book, however, to show the evolution/progress of an idea.

This is where the chosen approach of a chronological running order to the book is a problem and er, a bit ordinary. I'd prefer something more personal from JMJ. For example:

- Machines for Happiness
- Machines for Rhythm
- Machines to make you Dance
- Machines for the Stage
- Machines for Melancholy
- Machines of Sound and Light (laser harp and more)
- Machines for your Pocket (portable, apps)
- Machines that are Learning (AI)

There could be more themes than this, this was just a first go from me. Within these themes, he can group instruments across time, and talk about how he used them to create emotions, textures and performances. How different generations of instruments contrast technically, yet still create similar musical or emotional outputs.

A timeline approach is all rather school text book and not so interesting. It lacks personality.

Richard-Eastham wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2026 11:19 pm I think she is Johnny Marr's daughter: https://www.marjacq.com/sonny-marr.html

Correct. I am reading PSB's Volume and just saw this

For Polish fans. Machines: A History of Electronic Music by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre will be published in Polish.

Source:

I received great news from a Brazilian publisher called "Belas Letras" that specializes in biographies of film, TV, and music.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXrQ8TKDNZB/?igsh=MWs4dGdkaHA2cXBjdQ==


They informed me that it would be possible to launch the book in Portuguese here in Brazil if they receive a positive response from the public. They then provided a link to an online form for anyone interested in the book...

This is for people in Brazil and Portuguese-speaking countries such as Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, East Timor... but I believe fans from all over the world could help popularize the artist globally.

link for form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... w/viewform

Is it me or am I missing chronologie and or teo and tea. Could be a wonderfull item about the roland mc808

^ yeah, those eras are sadly missing.

I just got an email from the JMJ newsletter. If you pre-order the book at Waterstones, UK before the 24th, you get a 25% off:

Jean-Michel Jarre’s forthcoming book Machines: A History of Electronic Music is available to pre-order, and for a limited time, you can save 25% in the Waterstones July Pre-Order Promotion. If you've been thinking about ordering the book now's the perfect time to secure your copy at this exclusive pre-publication price. Simply order your copy here before midnight on Friday 24th July and use the code SUMMER26 at checkout.

I think it'll be cheaper for me to order it here in the Netherlands, including posting and tax and all...

Dr_Jones wrote: Tue Jul 21, 2026 4:26 pm I think it'll be cheaper for me to order it here in the Netherlands, including posting and tax and all...

Waterstones has a big shop in Amsterdam (Kalverstraat/Spui) but I see no way of ordering it from there with the discount.

To my knowledge you can't order from the international site and pick it up in Amsterdam. Tried it myself a few times and never managed to get an order through