Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[GeeJee]

You too.

If it has an explicit meaning, Frederick Rousseau and Laurie Anderson know it too

[BnM]

If it has an explicit meaning, Frederick Rousseau and Laurie Anderson know it too

No they don't. Especially Not on Ethnicolor.
Also if for example I ask somone to speak some words,
to them it may appear random, but to me it means soemthing.

[GeeJee]

You are very well informed

[BnM]

You are very well informed

This person has told me this in urtmost confidence.
thus I can only point to it, but not tell what it is.

HUGS GeeJee.

[VinceBlood]

Some lyrics are written on Ethnicolor scores excerpt (look at CPLT or Remilleux Book).

Why only one person ?
I suppose F. Rimbert, F. Rousseau, X. Bellanger, Perllamourgues (he manages Jarre archives) or even M. Geiss worked on Ethnicolor at a moment (either for studio or concert).

[GeeJee]

Indeed, Vince. So if there is an explicit meaning of this track, they know it..

[BnM]

Like I said,
If I ask some one to say some words,
and I write down these words
do they know the significance of these words?

That's why it is/was so personal ... to JMJ & this person (at that time).

It is the actual words used & their meaning, and how the words are processed to somewhat to disguise what is actually being said.

Even though anyone else can hear what the words are.,
the words in Ethnicolor and the music itself is meant for only one person.
This person understands the meaing immediately.

NO one else involved in the album has any idea.


This is one reason why I know JMJ to be the One person
behind the true spirit of his music.
Not Michel Geiss, not anyone else.

[GeeJee]

But those voices were recorded from TV or Radio or taken from somewhere else... yawn.

[BnM]

But those voices were recorded from TV or Radio or taken from somewhere else... yawn.

Some of it.
That's why it is clever.
Using ordinary everyday words to convey a meaning to one person.

As I said twice already, No one else has any idea
You've just proven it.

[GeeJee]

Riight. I'll have breakfast.

[BnM]

Beans on Toast.

[jp8000]

back almost ontopic;

Only clear words what I can recognize are "good morning" and "love me"

[Feffeli]

I hear in various places of Ethnicolor 1...

Index 1
"Bai-sha-bai-sha-bai..."
"duy~yuy~yuy"
"Love me, love me."
"Daddy..."
"Tsut"
"Give me some."
"Orlhu"
"Aht-deedz-ah"
"That she says of me."

2
"Edéanao"
"guamma-guamma"
"guamma-étéa..."
[Random garbled vocoding]
"Di-häus-ni..."
"Ad-indu-se, se-sindu-andush..."
"Bäoushuuuu"
"mi-na-li-adne..."
[gasping]
"Teenyäush"
"d-d-dids..."
"trebuchadne"
"Chikotah"
"Iä-nil-rah"
"On sickness."
"Up-up"
"Nee-choo"
"Cous-cous-cous-cous-cous..."

3
[Vocal perc track]
"Pa-pa-pa-pa-päi"
"Cissciss"
"Wul-wul-wul..."

...And then it gets too busy to pick distinct things out.

Given the distinct English-sounding words, I guess that Ëthnicolor"is a lament to Maurice for not being there to help Jean-Michel through his childhood.

[marnix]

In the Jean Louis Remillieux book about Jarre there's a picture of one page of sheet music Jarre has written for ethnicolor, where it shows some words, written above or under the music bars (I'm not sure, haven't had access to the book for a while) saying "quana quana" and "ede amaou" to be referred at as eskimo language if i'm not mistaken. Now I suppose these were JMJ's own phonetic notes as to what he recorded, because he had to use it . Too bad we don't have all of his notes .
Still, it doesn't shed light upon Bangers claim that the vocal samples (and/or how they were treated) were highly personal.
And I am a bit intruiged. On the other hand, whatever the significance of this message to this other significant person at that time may have been, the music is what it is: most impressive

[VinceBlood]

Written words are in afghan for the part that you refer.
"Ouana" means "The Tree".

Other words are in Soudan language, eg : "Ede amaou".
I don't know what it means.

It may be possible that some words are not translatable even for Jarre because he didn't choose them for their sense but rather for their "sound".
In Japanese you can have up to 12 significations for a same word, the story context is very important.

Finally I noted that Jarre wrote several words phonetically (eg : CPLT scores).