You've probably all heard this album, seeing as it's sold over 15 million copies and is considered one of the most successful and influential electronic albums of all time, but just in case this bold shit remains a mystery to any of you, here's a 320 rip.
Not as experimental as the bulk of his forebears, Jarre's pop instincts infuse these minimalist synthscapes with an unexpected, pure magic. This is one of my favorites of all time-- I bought it at a backwoods thrift shop when I was 13 or so just because I mistakenly thought the cover art was a Roger Dean piece (something which seemed very cool at the time, only moderately so now), and when I finally gave it an honest spin I was transfixed. Dreamy and apocalyptic: perfect.
As for that cover art, it's by Michel Granger, and the original was given to Jarre by his future wife, Charlotte Rampling. The painting served as the primary inspiration for the record, interestingly enough. For those of you who don't know Mrs. Rampling, here she is as "Consuela" with the mighty Zed of Zardoz:
Oh, boy. Oh, heck yeah. It all makes sense somehow... what a groovy cosmic coupling. Here's a couple more Zardoz shots:
"This Brutal... like all primates... is capable of spontaneous and reflexive erection."OXYGENE (320)
Perhaps Jarre's next best effort, and by far his craziest, is this funky little gem. A bit like Oxygene meets My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Zoolook finds Jarre augmenting his soundscapes with the "actual" playing of art-funksters like Adrian Belew and Laurie Anderson, in service of a group of airy, experimental songs piled high with ethno-samples in a multitude of languages (these, among others: Aboriginal, Afghan, Arabic, Balinese, Bhundi, Chinese, Dutch, English, Eskimo, French, German, Hungarian, Indian, Japanese, Malagasy, Malayan, Pygmy, Polish, Quechua, Russian, Sioux, Spanish, Swedish, Tibetan and Turkish). Fans of Holger Czukay, Brian Eno, and David Byrne may very well be pleased with this sample-laden abstract funkiness, which retains a great deal of Jarre's pop accessibility while achieving a surprisingly challenging listen. Good stuff if you ask me, again in 320.
ZOOLOOK
6 comments:
The Zoolook link sends me to the Oxygene file, and I'd love to hear Zoolook. You've sold me with the description.
Egg's on my face then, friend. I was wondering why nobody was downloading it. Link's fixed now.
Watched Zardoz the other day monster. All of the couplings between that film and Mr. Jarre align like a perfect diamond, especially the lovely Consuela. Oxygene has indeed penetrated me.
I also positively groove hard to Zoolook, particularly the title track.
Have you got Equinoxe? It's quite a grandiose synthony as well.
Mo.
Equinoxe is awesome, but it definitely feels like Oxygene's little brother.
Still a flat-out must-have, though.
I listened to this album when i was about 5 or six years old. At that time, i was very afraid of the cover of the tape.
When i listened to it, it was raining outside, almost every time i listened it... and the music changed my imagination. How? In the Part II, some synthesizers with duck-like sound made me imagine a rain of ducks. It was so atmospheric that i just entered to a electronic world.
I lost that tape years ago. And i'm only seventeen, but i want so hard to revive that again. Thanks, man. Greetings from Chile (South america).
Exactly, Hangman! That is exactly the thing of it-- entering that world, somewhat or precisely like a child. Innocence and austerity, nostalgia and apocalypse.
Thanks for commenting.
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