Iconic French Electronic Music Producer Jean-Michel Jarre Receives Grammy Nomination In "Best Dance/Electronic Album" Category For 'Electronica 1: The Time Machine' (Ultra Music)

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

" He is very much the "Producer." He is tireless, and quite perfectionist, but also really supportive and inspiring."

–PETE TOWNSHEND (The Who), as told to V Magazine (Fall 2016)

"I think that Jean-Michel Jarre introduced electronic music to millions & millions of people. When I first heard Oxygene it sounded just like it was coming from another universe. It created a very  soft revolution for a lot of people." -  MOBY

"He was a major influence on me, I don't think there is an electronic musician out there that isn't influenced by him. " - HANS ZIMMER 

"Jean-Michel Jarre for me is a pioneer you know, he did so much for electronic music and especially for my generation of artists, I'm talking about Daft Punk, Phoenix, Justice…"  - M83

"A big, a big  inspiration for me…really one of the reason's why I went into electronic music."  - ARMIN VAN BUUREN

Considered one of the founding fathers of electronic music, pioneering French electronic music composer and producer JEAN-MICHEL JARRE's illustrious career has spanned over four decades. Just a few of his feats include selling over 80 million albums worldwide, holding the Guinness World Record for playing to the largest attendance in history (3.5 million in Moscow) and becoming the first Western musician to be invited to perform in post-Mao China in 1981.   This week JARRE celebrates another accolade with a GRAMMY nomination for "Best Dance/Electronic Album" for ELECTRONICA 1: THE TIME MACHINE. 

Nominated alongside fellow electronic acts Flume, Tycho, Underworld and Louie Vega, this will be the second time JARRE has been in contention for a GRAMMY, having previously earned a nomination back in 1987 for his album Rendez-Vous.  The first of a two-part album released October 16, 2015 on Ultra Music in the U.S., ELECTRONICA 1: THE TIME MACHINE features a true who's who list of collaborators and was conceived with JARRE's wish to encompass the last few decades of electronic music into one mesmerizing LP. 

Looking to shed a light on the legacy as well as the future of electronic music, JARRE called on an array of global superstars to contribute to the album including fellow Frenchmen M83's Anthony Gonzalez, AIR and Gesaffelstein; British trailblazers The Who's Pete Townshend, Depeche Mode/Erasure's Vince Clarke, Little Boots' Victoria Hesketh, Bristol-based Robert "3D" Del Naja (Massive Attack) and Fuck Buttons; cross-genre performance artists Moby and Laurie Anderson; Dutch producer Armin van Buuren; German outfits Tangerine Dream and Boys Noize as well as left-field picks like film director John Carpenter and a fellow Grammy-nominated Chinese classical pianist in the form of Lang Lang.

ELECTRONICA 1: THE TIME MACHINE broke into the Top 10 in over 25 countries worldwide and was lauded by the media for its vision:

"Since the 1960s, Jean-Michel Jarre has been a pioneer of electronic pop, with arpeggiator-loving ideas that made their way into dance music and soundtracks. Electronica 1: The Time Machine is the first volume of a collection of recent tracks made with musicians as diverse as Pete Townshend, Laurie Anderson, Moby, Gesaffelstein, Air, M83 and his German contemporaries Tangerine Dream. They defied the electronic-music norm by collaborating not online but in person."

–New York Times

"Electronic music pioneer Jarre teams with his fellow Frenchman in M83 for this enigmatic track ["Glory"], which comes with an even eerier video. This — along with news of additional collaborations with Tangerine Dream, Massive Attack's Robert '3D' Del Naja and techno artist Gesaffelstein — has us extremely anxious to hear Jarre's new studio album…. 

—USA Today

"…he's back with a vengeance: for his new LP, he's enlisted some of electronic music's greatest modern pioneers for one of the biggest compilation albums we've ever heard. Boys Noize, Gesaffelstein, Moby, M83, Fuck Buttons, Pete Townshend, Massive Attack and Armin van Buuren all feature on Electronica 1. Impressive, right? …10/10"  

– Mixmag

"JMJ has seldom enjoyed the same sort of adulation as his electro contemporaries, most of whom he outsold by a wide margin. Electronica is a re-statement of the Jarre daring and brand, with help from illustrious friends. The opener, The Time Machine, a collaboration with Boys Noize, is filmic and techno-tub-thumping,after which the mood switches deftly via the sexy whisper of "Close Your Eyes" (with Air), the sweet, instant synth-pop of "If…!" (Little Boots), the tumbling, rumbling arpeggios of "Immortals" (Fuck Buttons), and "Suns Have Gone" (Moby), an alienated thing of beauty. Tangerine Dream mumble sublimely on "Zero Gravity," Laurie Anderson is cheekily predatory on "Rely On Me," while Pete Townshend is panicked yet liberated on the brutal beats of what appears to be an end-of-life in "Travelator (Part 2)."  All in all, this is an unqualified triumph." **** out of 5.

–MOJO

Listen/read NPR's coverage here.

Further, ELECTRONICA 1 collaborator Vince Clarke talked with JARRE for The Talkhouse, providing even more valuable insight into the ambitious project: http://thetalkhouse.com/vince-clarke-depeche-mode-yaz-erasure-talks-jean-michel-jarre-talkhouse-music-podcast/

Having garnered rave reviews for part one, ELECTRONICA 2: THE HEART OF NOISE followed in a similar vein, featuring world-renowned acts such as The Pet Shop Boys, Primal Scream, Julia Holter, Peaches, Cyndi Lauper, Hans Zimmer and most notably, Edward Snowden on "Exit" being just as big a hit with the critics.

Most recently, JARRE unveiled the final chapter of his OXYGENE trilogy with OXYGENE 3. Out now via Sony Music International--40 years on from the release of his groundbreaking first OXYGENE album and 20 years on from its sequel--JARRE has now completed the trilogy with seven new original compositions, titled OXYGENE parts 14-20, to cap off a trailblazing four decades in music. Take a listen here.

Electronica 1: The Time Machine tracklisting:

1. The Time Machine (JMJ & Boys Noize)
2. Glory (JMJ & M83)
3. Close your eyes (JMJ & AIR)
4. Automatic (part 1) (JMJ & Vince Clarke)
5. Automatic (part 2) (JMJ & Vince Clarke)
6. If..! (JMJ & Little Boots)
7. Immortals (JMJ & Fuck Buttons)
8. Suns have gone (JMJ & Moby)
9. Conquistador (JMJ & Gesaffelstein)
10. Travelator (part 2) (JMJ & Pete Townshend)
11. Zero Gravity (JMJ & Tangerine Dream)
12. Rely on me (JMJ & Laurie Anderson)
13. Stardust (JMJ & Armin van Buuren)
14. Watching you (JMJ & 3D (Massive Attack))
15. A question of blood (JMJ & John Carpenter)
16. The train & the River (JMJ & Lang Lang)

Electronica is a two-volume project with 30 collaborators in total.

Electronica 1: The Time Machine is out now.
Listen to and buy the album here

Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise is out now.
Listen to and buy the album here

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About JEAN-MICHEL JARRE:
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE has been one of the pioneering forces throughout the electronic music scene over the last four decades, having originally made his name in the 1970s for his critically acclaimed album OXYGENE. OXYGENE was unmistakably a catalyst that set electronic music well on its way to becoming the behemoth that it is today, with JEAN-MICHEL's music and follow through albums (Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, RendezVous, Chronology) breaking down boundaries of composing and production paving the path for what has become today the most popular genre of music of all time.  With over 80 million albums sold worldwide to date, musicians and contemporary DJs often refer to JARRE's influence and innovation, not only for his music but also for his singular vision and creation of outdoor concerts experience.  JEAN-MICHEL JARRE's legendary concerts have attracted Guinness Record-breaking audiences, with his live shows, often, if not always, taking place in some of the most extraordinary settings worldwide. He was the first western musician ever to be invited to perform in post-Mao China, and has also played the likes of the Great Pyramids in Egypt, The Sahara Desert and The Eiffel Tower, in addition to perhaps his most famous performance ever, where he played to a record 3.5 million people in Moscow. All in all, JARRE has held Guinness World Records for the largest live audiences over the continents not withstanding his memorable one-off city-scale concert in Houston in 1986 for NASA's 25^th Anniversary and in a moving commemoration of the Challenger Mission to which over 1.3 million people gathered to share this groundbreaking show at the foot of Houston's skyline.

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE is synonymous with the legendary as he continues to break new ground with each piece of music and live performance.  

SOURCE Legacy Recordings