Jean Michel Jarre
Oxygene

Jean Michel Jarre, a son of art with an artistic stature not equal to that of his father, but certainly endowed with a more intuitive and broad-spectrum creativity, with the album "Oxygene" contributed to give a decisive impetus to the use of electronic sounds in popular music. Without formalizing a contamination as the Kraftwerk did in the same period, he brought the sensations and atmospheres of the German cosmic school to a more exquisitely Mediterranean plane; blending the suggestions of synthesizers and artificial voices with a very accessible melodic and symphonic taste.

It is no coincidence that at least half of the tracks contained in "Oxygene" were a hit in the charts and became a reference point in popular culture for understanding where to place electronic music compared to pop songs. In particular, the portion "IV" of the long eponymous title track was a striking example of instrumental music that entered the collective imagination, withstanding the test of time and transforming into a (often overused) earworm for jingles, news services, background music, and more. This indicates that Jarre had a great intuition and the great ability to execute it without compromising with the more cultured factions of genre enthusiasts.

What should be emphasized, however, is that with "Oxygene" the Frenchman did not invent anything fundamentally new, since artists like Tangerine Dream had already formalized this type of conceptual suites in several movements before him, with extensive use of arpeggiators, synths, artificial voices, and space atmospheres. The credit, if anything, was to simplify the listener's approach and to propose - as I mentioned above - a balanced mix of melody, rhythm, and orchestration. Where the Germans of the cosmic school sought to experiment, often prolonging explorations to the limits of atonality, Charlotte Rampling's husband used electronic instruments in a traditional way, indulging at most the whim of creating seagull screeches and ocean waves with the synthesizer.

"Oxygene" is a beautiful album, it flows well, creates continuous tensions, and paints frescoes of alien landscapes and earthly nature with a masterful harmony of visual-acoustics. Starting from the first part and then continuing into the second, very famous, with a melancholic and contemplative demeanor that in turn set a precedent. There is no glimpse of true cheerfulness or sunlight, in fact, emanating from Jarre's inspirations, which became even more somber - but perhaps more self-satisfied - in the subsequent "Equinoxe". It is therefore all the more surprising the commercial success of this work, which even from the cover illustration (a partially peeled Earth, whose pulp is a skull) reveals a spirit not at all optimistic and at peace with itself.

On the sidelines, I would like to highlight that when Jarre, decades later, decided to create "Oxygene II", on one hand, I felt that spirit betrayed, because the artist had to draw on the magic formula of the past to get back on track after a slumped phase; on the other hand, I noticed how that vein was still extremely vivid and current, since the musical and narrative concept of the original "Oxygene" worked splendidly.

Overall, a key album, especially for its indirect merits, more than for the inherent sound qualities that were not entirely innovative.