Jean Michel Jarre

La vie après World Tour partie 1 - Français

2009-06-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Merci à tous et à toutes pour votre soutien et vos excellentes réactions aux concerts partout en Europe qui m'ont beaucoup touché. C'est un réel encouragement pour moi à continuer et à améliorer la prochaine étape.

De retour chez moi et en studio, j'ai été occupé ces derniers jours par le débriefing de la première partie de la tournée.

Si je suis plutôt satisfait de certains aspects des concerts, le son incroyable d'Alain Courieux, les K1 de Heil Acoustics, les lasers de Hugo, l'organisation et la Production, je voudrai néanmoins faire évoluer la tracklist, les parties complètement improvisées comme «Variation 3», des nouveaux morceaux, certains effets visuels, etc.

Je considère de toute façon depuis le départ ce World Tour comme un terrain d'expériences et comme un projet qui devrait constamment évoluer, tout au long des deux années qui viennent. J'ai beaucoup d'idées à ce sujet...

La prochaine partie du World Tour sera bien sûr un prolongement de la première mais sera définitivement différente, avec peut-être même un nouveau titre!

J'ai aussi travaillé sur mon nouveau site Web. Là aussi, il y a encore beaucoup à améliorer. Mon ambition est de faire de ce site une vraie plate forme de communication interactive entre nous.. J'ai d'ailleurs enregistré aujourd'hui deux vidéos, une en français et une en anglais, commentant l'ouverture de ce nouveau jeanmicheljarre.com.

Cette semaine, j'ai prévu différentes projections des films des concerts tournés à Wembley, Manchester, Bruxelles et Zurich pour me rendre compte du son et de l'enchaînement de la scénographie.

Après avoir discuté avec notre agent à Londres, très enthousiaste après avoir assisté au concert de Wembley, de nombreuses dates de concerts vont être annoncées dans un avenir proche, à commencer par les dates françaises.

On travaille aussi sur une nouvelle affiche..

A très bientôt.

Life after LEG 1 - English

2009-06-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Back home and in the studio, I have been busy debriefing the first part of the tour.

Although I have been really pleased by your feedback and some aspects of the concerts, I really would like to improve
a few things both in the visual and in the tracklisting. I like to see this World Tour project as a work in progress. I have a lot of new ideas, which I am going to develop this summer, bringing new songs and new visual effects...

LEG 2 will be inspired by LEG 1 but will also be definitely different...

I have worked also on my new web site. Again there is a lot I want to improve. Today I recorded two videos, one in french and one in english, to explain how I envision this new website and my expectations regarding it..

This week l have scheduled screenings of the Wembley, Manchester, Brussels and Zurich gigs in order to check the sound and the visuals. Afterwards l'll have various meetings with Ignace, Alain Courieux, Chris, James, Fiona, Louis and Pierre to discuss ways to improve everything...

After having discussed with the agent, a lot of dates are about to be announced in the near future, starting by the french dates. We are working also on a different poster..

Zurich, the last of leg One

2009-06-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

Zurich, one of my favourite hall. The black one! Such great vibes.. Sunny everywhere outside and inside... This one was the last one of In-Doors part 1. We were all very excited.

First of all, I would like to thank all the Fans. I feel very lucky having you as fans, you've been great all along. It is a true feeling of warmth and an encouragement to try to do better for you in the first place. You are giving me strength and energy to go on...

This concert was special. I really wanted it to be a tribute also to all the crew:
The sound team with Alain Courieux and all his delightful family, the fifth member of the band did a wonderful job, with his son Cedric and Arno, who is part of the belgium crew as well!!
Thanks to Vincent the sixth member of the band, doing the mix in our ears.. to Alex and co....
As usual my dear Patrick did a fantastic job with "Alex 2" at the backline and so much more.

The laser team became part of the gang as well with Hugo Bunk, Peter and Co.. They did such a brilliant work.
Thanks to our tour manager Chris Rowley who organised this tour in a perfect way. Thanks Chris for the good vibes, cups of sake, smiles, energy making our life so easy in an invisible and magical way.
Thanks to our production manager James Monkman for taking care day after day of everything on site with such elegance.
Thanks to my friend Pierre "Herr Garnier", for his eye and his ears..
Thanks to Fiona, my little sister, for being such a good manager.
Thanks to Louis being so reliable and to Thomas for so many different reasons.
Thank you again Ignace, Glenn (with two "n"!) and all the EML team for the unique lighting....
Thanks to Arpege for giving me the opportunity to get such an incredible sound.

Thank you to Christian Heil for your amazing K-1 PA system.
Thanks to Digico for their support.

Thanks Jeroen and everybody at Roland Central Europe and Roland Japan for your trust in my work.

Thanks to Jemma and all the catering team for such a great food, an important ingredient to a successful tour. Thank you to all the truck and bus drivers who drove us across Europe. Thank you Paul Charles for what you did and thank you Neil Warnock for what you are doing and will achieve....

Thanks to Edith for taking care of me.
Thanks to everybody at LD publicity for their great job.

At last, thank you Dominique, Claude and Francis sharing the stage with me with such talent.

See you soon...

With Fiona

With Pierre

With Glennnn

Jemma, Queen of Catering

Two Dominique, One Fiona

Cool Francis in our elegant dressing room

Egyptian sound check in Zurich

The venue in Zurich

In-doors Mafia

Enjoying the catering

Unexpected Koblenz

2009-05-29T05:11:00.000-07:00

We arrived quite late in Koblenz in one of the most unusual venue of the tour: the roof is half glass and then we had daylight until 9:45. So we did the soundcheck between 7 and 8 and we started the concert at 9:35pm in a rather gloomy light. I was able to see all the people in the audience, it was so strange..

Again the magic was there like yesterday. It seems now that we have achieved a certain level of control of the songs technically. We can really improvise and play around the themes. The German audience and the fans were really great and we had a real good time on stage. Everything went well, the new AX-Synth is a bit brighter and seems to sound better than the initial prototype.

The laser harp worked well, not like in Brussels where I had a real problem in Rendez-Vous 2. Indeed yesterday, right in the middle of the laser harp part, it froze, the harp went crazy and sent all the MIDI notes at the same time to the Synthex. Patrick leaped on stage like a rocket to switch it off then on and reprogram the sound. I tried again, but the harp was still crazy, I then rushed at the Synthex to play the rest of the theme directly on the keyboard, but the sound was uncontrollable. The audience followed everything and applauded, which I did appreciate...
Tonight, as I said, everything was OK. At least this accident definitely convinced all those who still thought the laser harp was not a real live-performance instrument...

The Theremin in Koblenz

An unusual venue

Magic Brussels

2009-05-29T04:58:00.000-07:00

After London, Brussels was also a place where I wanted to deliver even more than elsewhere a real good show.
Half of the crew is from Belgium: the lighting designer, my friend Ignace d'Haese, his right hand man Glen Mollemans and all the EML team. The french promoter's team, and lots of other friends were around as well.
My friend, Jeroen Raveloot, one of the heads of Roland Central Europe was also there. We had dinner together at the catering before the concert. He brought me a black AX synth specially customised for me by Roland Japan. Apparently they are having a lot of requests for the AXsynth in black since Keyboard Mag US showed me on stage with the prototype that Patrick covered in black for lighting reasons. I am goimg to try the new one tonight in Koblenz then...

The Brussels concert has been magic. The sound was amazing, the light was unique. The all belgium team wanted to do their best in their capital and it worked.. I was really excited on stage and we all had a real good time: after four songs my shirt was totally wet and the whole venue was on fire.. I felt a real fusion with the audience. We are now in control of the show and I can be cool on stage and enjoying what is going on.
The last 30 mn. all the audience was standing, dancing and raving.. Great moments. The feedback after the show was excellent and very encouraging for the future..

With the new AX-Synth

Storm in Amsterdam

2009-05-29T03:39:00.000-07:00

We joined my wife Anne in the Amsterdam airport. She was arriving from Paris at the same time as us from Birmingham. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and enjoying the vibes of such a lovely city. Fiona was coming as well, back from Ireland.

In the evening started one of the biggest storm I have seen for a while. Fantastic lightnings lighting the all town.
... quite Wagnerian.
The venue did not allow us to get the full cyclo but the acoustic is probably the best so far. Everybody was in a very good mood, the concert was cool and easy with a nice audience. I had a problem with the laser harp in RV2 and I had to unblock the midi of the Synthex and going back to the harp for the end of the song..

After the show, I met Armin Van Buren. He told me he was a great fan of mine and that my music inspired him to become a musician! I felt really honored coming from one of the 2 or 3 best DJ in the world. We discussed about how my music has influenced trance music, which is so huge all over the world, except in France where we are more electro. I definitely feel part of that trance family. Armin is also a great human being and we promised to each other to keep the contact and to collaborate on one project, one of these days..

With Amin Van Buren

Telling secrets to Francis and Dominique

The UK Week

2009-05-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

It started in Glasgow, a very unusual venue indeed. We knew from the start that it would be the most difficult one: too small for our production, impossible to get the PA behind the screen and all our lighting equipment. Despite all this we had a warm welcome from the Scots and it was technically a good warm up before London.

LONDON

Even though the audience was good at the Royal Albert Hall last year, I was not entirely satisfied. Too many technical problems and the RAH is always a difficult venue. So the crew, the band and I were really longing for this gig.

I love Wembley Arena, I had already played there and despite its age compared to the O2 arena, the sound and the mood there is great.. We had a serious sound and light check and even if everybody was apparently cool, you could feel the energy growing all day long, no question of missing that one.
Ignace d'Haese our lighting designer came over specially for the concert and we spent two hours checking and cleaning every song. I tuned with Hugo the pace and the textures of the lasers. Then we had a two-hour sound check. You could tell that the sound was amazing already. I rehearsed especially all my solos. The Laser Harp was ok, like the accordion, the moog liberation and the chorus in Fin de Siècle.

I went on stage like on a boxing ring, and instantly I felt it was going to be great. The audience was really hot, the sound was perfect, the light and lasers amazing. Such an energy was coming from the stage and the audience that the whole building was vibrating with the subwoofers and you had such a space in the mix that the audience and ourselves were immersed in a storm of sounds and lights..

I dedicated Oxygene 4 to London because it is where everything started for me, when one evening Radio 1 played the entire album, Oxygene became an instant hit everywhere.. Then I dedicated the next song in the Encore, Fin de Siècle, to my father. It is a song I composed in London after having met him there after many years. I have been moved by the audience which suddenly sat down in a religious silence. Thanks to you all.
The after-show party was great, everybody was very enthusiastic about the show.

My son Barnaby, his wife Chione and their boys Roman and Gabriel were there too. It was so great to see the boys dancing and staring at the stage all along the concert.

The following morning, on Saturday we left London for Manchester by bus. We were stuck for several hours in a huge traffic jam. We arrived very late at the venue and we had the shortest sound check of the tour by far: just a few minutes.
Lots of things went wrong on stage, but apparently nobody really noticed and the audience was great.
Pierre said in our ear monitors that we should do a second Encore, which we did.

This afternoon we arrived in Birmingham, driving all the way long. We had such a great weather, summer-like. We had a lot of fun in the bus, we took some photos for Paris Match. We climbed on the roof of the bus to get some sun. Then I spent some time in my room playing on the Korg PA500, finding new ideas..
I really enjoyed the show tonight, I had a lot of fun on stage with Dominique, Francis and Claude. The audience was receptive and everybody ended the concert dancing and raving....

Malmö, the fast city

2009-05-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Flash back

2009-05-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

Flying back to Paris before the british gigs next week, I am thinking about these past few days. The concert in Helsinki yesterday night was with Oslo, probably the best one so far. The audience was great and enthusiastic, the sound. really impressive and I gave a lot ot energy on stage. Theremin, accordion, AX-S solos went well. Laser harp on Rendez Vous 3 was great but it suddenly froze in Rendez Vous 2 for unknown reasons.. The mood was so hot that we did a second encore with a reprise of Oxygène 4. Later we did a screening of the film of the show at the hotel to adjust the lights and lasers for next week.

The show changed so much since the beginning. It is much more consistent now.

So many things happened and already really good memories. Thomas stayed with us for a week. He did so many things, time lapse shots, films, photos. He is also bringing so much to the all atmosphere of the tour day after day.

My daughter Emilie and her daughter Madeleine came to see me in Denmark and the three of us had a real good time together.

On each leg of the tour finding new keyboards or synths becomes a ritual! This time I found in Malmö an Ion Alesis quite rare and handy and a Korg PA 500 for having fun in the bus.

Claude as usual is buying the most unusual stuff from Bear paws to Gravadlaks..

Next stop Glasgow on Wednesday, then London on Friday...

A few photos

2009-05-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

Finally some pictures from the tour, click on the cities for the specific concerts.

Scandinavian ellipsis

2009-05-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

In the plane on the way to Helsinki..
Finally the concert in Oslo started sounding and looking close to my expectations. There is something special with this venue, the audience (who was really great that night, many thanks to them) is really close to the stage, and it gives a feeling of proximity quite unique. In addition you don't have these far too strict regulations like in Sweden for lasers, so the audience could be truly immersed in the waves of light.

In Stockholm, yesterday the sound was really good but lasers pointed a bit too high. I am now starting to control the laser harp rather well, but maybe I should make a few intentional mistakes for people to really understand that it is live!!

I am really enjoying the touch of the AX-Synth, the prototype that Roland Europe kindly got me before its July release for the solo in Fin de Siecle. I think this instrument sounds really great. We had to cover it in black for lighting reasons, I know that Roland Japan is preparing a special version for me to fit the project. I really appreciate.

Talking about instruments, after the gig in Stockholm, with Dominique, Claude and Francis we met all the team from Clavia. We had a good time talking about new ideas for future projects. We were also impressed by the Nord Electro 3 and the Nordwave, which we really would have to get for the next leg of the tour, specially for America and Australia.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to playing Helsinki. I like this city. The Railway Station is a great piece of architecture. During the cold war, the Russians, who were not allowed to come to the West, were coming from Moscow, just to spend some time and money in the restaurant of the station transformed in a casino where they could play blackjack, roulette..etc. And then going back home by the next train. You can still imagine KGB spies being around..

After Malmö

2009-05-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, the concert in Malmö is over now, and it went rather well.
It's a strange venue, brand new, very high, and it's actually the second concert there, the first one being by Bob Dylan. The sound is interesting in the venue, it was quite all right.. We had problems with regulations for the lasers in Sweden, and particularly here, as we had to aim the lasers above the highest row of people in the balcony. So the lasers stayed quite high tonight, and we couldn't render all the effects I wanted.
Apart from that, it's work in progress, and I think each concert brings a little more confidence to the crew and the musicians. I'm looking forward to the next concert tomorrow in Gothenberg.
Good night!

Tuning the show

2009-05-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

World Tour kicks off

2009-05-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Germany concert

2009-03-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello
just to let you know that there is a new concert in Germany on the 28th of May 2009 in Koblenz

28/05/09 - Koblenz, Germany - Sporthalle Oberwerth
Time: 21:00 - Tickets: € 49/59/70/80
HOTLINE: 0180/5001812 (14CENT PRO MIN/ MOBILFUNKPREISE KÖNNEN ABWEICHEN)
www.noisenow.de - www.bonnticket.de
Tickets On Sale Now - www.eventim.de

See you soon Germany !!

Jean Michel Jarre "IN-DOORS" World Tour 2009-2010

2009-01-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Jean Michel Jarre is back on tour with a brand new production !
"IN-DOORS" World Tour 2009-2010 will start in May in Europe and will continue around the world as of September 2009 (update will follow soon).

Jean Michel Jarre est de retour sur scène avec une toute nouvelle production !
"IN-DOORS" World Tour 2009-2010 débutera au mois de Mai en Europe et continuera autour du monde dès Septembre 2009 (Plus d'informations prochainement).

Box office info

04/05/09 - Debrecen, Hungary - Főnix Csarnok (Phoenix Hall)
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: HUF
Tickets On Sale - http://www.ticketpro.hu/events.php?event=233

05/05/09 - Ostrava, Czech Republic - CEZ Arena
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: CZK
Tickets On Sale http://www.ticketpro.cz/jnp/

06/05/09 - Wroclaw, Poland - Hala Stulecia (Centennial Hall)
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: Zloty 175/195
Tickets On Sale - www.livenation.pl

08/05/09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Atletion - NRGi Arena
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: Kr 595/695/795
Tickets On Sale - www.billetnet.dk

09/05/09 - Herning, Denmark - MCH Messecenter Herning
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: Kr 550/750/775/975
Tickets On Sale - www.billetnet.dk

11/05/09 - Malmo, Sweden - Malmo Arena
Time: 19:30 - Tickets: SEK 470/570
Tickets On Sale - www.ticnet.se

12/05/09 - Goteborg, Sweden - Scandinavium
Time: 19:30 - Tickets: SEK 470/570
Tickets On Sale - www.ticnet.se

13/05/09 - Oslo, Norway - Oslo Spektrum
Time: 19:30 - Tickets: NOK 450/550
Tickets On Sale - www.billettservice.no

14/05/09 - Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet (The Court)
Time: 19:30 - Tickets: SEK 570/670
Tickets On Sale - www.ticnet.se

16/05/09 - Helsinki, Finland - Hartwall Areena (Helsinki Arena)
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: € 68.70/73.70/78.70
Tickets On Sale - www.lippupalvelu.fi

20/05/09 - Glasgow, Scotland - SECC - Clyde Auditorium
Time: 19:00 - Tickets: £40/£50
Tickets On Sale - www.secctickets.com & www.seetickets.com

22/05/09 - London, England - Wembley Arena
Time: 19:00 - Tickets: £45
Tickets On Sale - www.ticketmaster.co.uk & www.seetickets.com

23/05/09 - Manchester, England - Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: £43.50
Tickets On Sale - www.ticketmaster.co.uk

24/05/09 - Birmingham, England - National Indoor Arena (NIA)
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: £43.50
Tickets On Sale - www.seetickets.com

26/05/09 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Heineken Music Hall
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: € 59/64/69
Tickets On Sale - www.livenation.nl

27/05/09 - Brussels, Belgium - Vorst Nationaal (Forest National)
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: € 50/55/60/65/75
Tickets On Sale - www.sherpa.be

30/05/09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
Time: 20:00 - Tickets: CHF 77/88/99/110/130
Tickets On Sale - www.hallenstadion.ch

Looking forward to seeing you all again soon !

"Hanging" out in Budapest

2008-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Some images of that musician Jean Michel invited on stage in Budapest, along with his strange melodic drum.

Photos from the tour

2008-12-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know we updated the Concerts page with a best-of selection of the whole tour.

Finale in Warsaw

2008-12-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

The last concert was planned to be in Warsaw, especially because of what happened in Gdansk. I really wanted to share something special with the polish audience and I have not been disappointed.

The Torwar Theater had an ideal size for the production. It was absolutely packed. As I said, usually monday night's gigs are not the most lively, but for the last concert of the tour, the polish audience was like a a saturday night one.

I went on stage from the back of the theater and immediately, I felt it was going to be great. The warmth, the energy, the excitement of being together again was there like in the Docks of Gdansk! I went on stage. Dominique, Claude and Francis were all in good shape and I knew we were going to have a good time. All the crew was focused and I felt that every one wanted to give to me and to everyone in the hall a good show.

And I had a real good time. Oxygene 1 and 2 sounded right and I got the feeling that it will be great until the end... I loved Dominique's bass in Oxygene 4 and Claude and Francis were great in Oxygene 5 and Variation 3. I had a lot of fun with the Moog Liberation solo and I think I delivered one of the best choruses of the tour.. The audience (and us) became really hot during Oxygene 12. Oxygene 13 was a pure moment of shared emotions with the audience.

There is a tradition that for the last concert strange things happen to the artist on stage.. For the Encore, Francis went to Dominque's area and coverd his keyboards with paper, then he disapeared under the Eminent, just when i was supposed to look at him for a cue. While they were playing, Claude and especially Dominique filmed everything with one hand on their mobile phones..

Then at the end, I asked all the crew to come on stage, including accountants, truck drivers... just every one being involved in the tour. It was for me the best way to thank them and tell everybody how much I appreciate the amount of work, talent and dedication they showed. I even went down and left the stage to join the polish audience to applaud all the family...

Truck drivers had real hard times particularly in Russia and on the way to Riga driving all night in the snow through the mountains, so that all the equipment could be ready the next evening for the next show...
The crew after the load-out had to sleep in the bus, and be ready in the morning for the next load-in in another city...etc.
Chris Rowley and James Monkman did really great , organising everything, always cool and relax even with the day-to-day pressure.
Patrick Pelamourgues and Jean Paul took care of all the precious instruments day after day.
The sound team: Alain Courieux, Julien Vouillon, Vincent, Arno, Jean-Claude.. all did great, the sound was amazing with smiles..!
Ignace de Haese, Glen and all the lighting crew were always on the case to deliver a fantastic light.
All the Arpège team and the rest of the team did their best every night to deliver the best possible show.
A special mention to Thomas Alsina who stayed always connected and so helpful in spite of his other activities.
Pierre Garnier for his eye and ears..!
Dear Edith Napias and Michel Geiss for all the reasons they know...
Dear Fiona who managed the all project perfectly as usual with the help of Louis.
And Paul Charles, the secret agent who worked hard behind the curtain...

Thank you all for having contributed to make this tour a success on a human, artistic and business point of view.

Thank you also to all the bloggers / readers on the web, from all over the world, who followed the adventure and for your interesting, fun and clever comments valuable to me.

Thank you particularly to everyone in the audience in the way you have welcome us, for your unique feedback and for your interest in my work.

It is the best reward in my life.

I LOVE YOU ALL, RENDEZ VOUS NEXT YEAR .... MERRY CHRISTMAS !

All the crew on stage for a deserved round of applause

The audience in the mirror

It's raining on stage..

Francis playing the synth dialog in Oxygene 12

The Torwar theater's structures

Playing the AKS noise in Oxygene 2

With Piotr, breathing some Oxygene..

I never get enough Oxygene!

Dominique prefers water..

Patrick Pelamourgues, packing up the synthesizers for the last time in the tour

Vincent from the sound team, exhausted but happy

In the audience, applauding the crew

Dominique filming the photographer during Oxygene 4..

Standing audience during the Encore

Oxygene 13 with the mirror down

Last bow

Receiving such energy from the audience

Dominique's familiar silhouette

A great audience

Even the Theremin is impressed..

Dear James Monkman, so kind and so focused

Claude imitating a hedgehog

Focused during sound check

Sound engineer Julien Vouillon celebrating

Slovakia

2008-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Clearly you could tell that Slovakia was waiting for these concerts for a long time.. Everywhere you could feel people having big expectations about our presence and giving us such a warm welcome.

A reception was organised on monday morning at the city hall of Bratislava to meet with the Mayor and all the media. Then we had a walk, sunny but cold, with the group in the old city, a beautiful area partly destroyed by Napoleon, who clearly has not done only good things in this part of Europe, and which since has been rebuilt.

Hard times for James and the crew for loading in and out, the local production being obviously not used to that kind of production.. The Bratislava Hall was probably the most bizarre of the tour, with more seats on the sides than in the front, a low ceiling, clearly made for basket-ball rather than for concerts.

At showtime, the hall was packed, people were everywhere, even standing in the alleys. The mood was as hot as it was freezing cold outside. I was not even able to perform my entrance from the back of the arena. Every inch was occupied.
The crowd responded as soon as the concert started. The energy was high, like the temperature. We ended sweaty and excited with a continuous standing ovation on the 4 last songs..

Fred, the interpreter, got a sore throat, lost his voice and asked his wife Yvetta to replace him at the last minute. Instantly nicknamed "the voiceless interpreter", Fred brought us to his restaurant, "a french creperie" where we had delicious pancakes and cider. We had a good time with the musicians, Fred, Yvetta, Milan the head of the slovakian fan club who invested a lot of time and energy for the concerts, Richard a business man who took few days of his time to be my driver.

They explained us what my music represented to them. It has always been a symbol of evasion and dream about the outside world. Even until the late 80's, they had to climb on the mountain nearby to get and record my music on cassettes from austrian radio stations! It was really moving to listen to them. So close to us, those people suffered so much, they could be put in jail for years just for writing, listening or reading forbidden things.

It suddenly takes a different dimension to play in such a country.

Richard said to a journalist, after the concert "I know now, why I am born"! Even if it is a little overly dramatic, it means a lot to seize how Important it is for western artists to spend some time in this great country..

The following day, we flew to Kosice, the 2nd town of Slovakia, near the Ukranian border. The venue was bigger, more civilised and still packed. Saturday night in Kosice was probably even hotter than the previous evening. We were really into it and had great fun on stage in front of a fantastic audience. It was difficult to leave the stage.

Our voiceless interpreter had to be replaced by his wife one more time. We went back for dinner at the hotel where Fred having slightly recovered his voice taught the local cook how to make pancakes for us. In the meantime I tried to improve my slovakian.

Thanks to everybody in Slovakia for such a great time, especially thank you to Milan, Fred, Yvetta and Richard.

Oxygene 12

The beast..

Feeling the wind of Bratislava

With a local celebrity..

Contemplating the town hall

Red Square, Kosice..
Claude smiling at his pancakes

Dominique's familiar silhouette in Kosice
Great audience
In the arena at Kosice..
Space Domino
Dominique after landing in Kosice
With Yvetta and Fred, eating..

..crêpes flambées!

The Bratislava Arena, wide but not deep..

(posted on a mobile phone)

Planet Vilnius

2008-11-26T03:35:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your interesting comments. Some of them are fun/clever and full of information...

The concert in Vilnius was probably one of the best so far. No technical problem except a mobile phone buzz, in my ear-monitors from time to time, really disturbing. You can tell at once, when a venue works or not for a project and this one had the right proportions and vibes.

The audience was one of the warmest and I really would like to come back for a next project.
I am still impressed to see such a feedback for a rather difficult project in fact, because apart from three or four popular songs, the rest of the concert is rather experimental.. And the audience is reacting like in a rock concert. It is a real encouragement for the next project, being more ambitious on a production point of view.

Vilnius is a nice little town much more "central Europe" than Riga in its architecture.
Being in the same hotel as the rest of the crew, I organised a drink for everybody to let them know how much I appreciate their energy and dedication to make this tour as smooth as possible. Everybody is doing their job in a good mood, with the feeling of being part of the same family.

On top of it our french and our brits are going well together, a good omen for next year..

We also had a session with the musicians discussing next year projects and with James to talk about potential stage design for the future. I met with Nick H. who organised most of our shows in eastern Europe, and supervised the local promoters. He has a serious experience of the region including Russia. He's a very interesting british guy, living in Istambul, speaking lots of different languages, including fluent french. We travelled together. He organised concerts this year for Bjork, Kraftwerk and few other interesting acts. We talked about the music industry and the touring situation in eastern Europe. He also just finished his own movie in Paris. Looking forward seing him again..

With the Vilnius audience standing after Oxygene 4

A nap for the crew after sound check

Production manager, dear James Monkman, in front of the Vilnius arena.

Vilnius arena just before falling down!

(posted on a mobile phone)

A sunday in Riga

2008-11-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

In the plane from Riga to Vilnius after another exciting concert in spite of a violent snow storm outside. Few minor problems with my gear, yet the sound was really good in the hall thanks to Alain Courieux. But Julien fought all evening with the mix in our ear-monitors to get it right.. The audience was really into it. Being a young country, Latvia ("Lettonie" in french) is eager for new ideas and Oxygene seems to represent for them also, a symbol of freedom...

Earlier on we had lunch with Girts, the local promoter, a charming guy. We went in the Theater restaurant, a rather cool place in the old town, with him, Thomas and Pierre. The snow was everywhere and was giving some magic to the area.
Girts explained how special Latvia is, a small country squeezed between Germany and Russia, being independant from Germany only since 90 years ago, and then being under Soviet Union influence soon after independance. They have only been living as a free country for 20 years.. They are much closer to Germans and Scandinavians than to Russians.
During the war this situation created a lot of tragedies, such as families with two brother soldiers, one in the german army, the other one in the russian army..

Living in a such a young country everything is new for them. From extremely poor they became suddenly rather wealthy and for instance they don't know how to cope with the current crisis, not only practically but psychologically, experiencing the danger of capitalism just when they started getting a taste of it..

The Town is beautiful a mix of french art nouveau architecture with more coloured buildings, reminding also some areas of San Francisco under the snow..
A peaceful moment..

One more thing, thank you for all your comments about the russian week.
By the way, when I used the word "terrific" about the russian reviews on the concert, that was not negative!! In english, "terrific" means "excellent" as well as "terrible"... And actually all the reviews about Moscow and St. Peterburgh were really good...

Arena Riga, sideways

Our great truck drivers. Come what may, every night they drive the old ladies around while we sleep..

March of the Penguins..

Warm audience

Up...
and down...
Green Dominique
Blogging yet staying warm..
Art Nouveau, Riga style
Not so nouveau

Today I'm Žana Mišela Žāra

Even M&Ms stay warm here

(posted from a mobile phone)

Encounters in Moscow

2008-11-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Friday morning, Serafima the PR from TCI, the local production company, arrived at the hotel with a huge bag of newspapers and magazines, saying that we have terrific reviews everywhere about the concert in Moscow and St. Petersburgh, an excellent way of starting the day.

Then I met Konstantin, the musician who performed "Jarre planet", a tribute around my albums at the Academy of Science last monday. His wife Irina is a soprano, and they are both talented and sweet people. Later on I met the Minister of Culture of Russia and we discussed about some project for next year..

Friday night is everywhere warmer than monday night and it is also true in Moscow where the 2nd concert has been quite different. Even though I got some problems with my flanger pedal on the RMI, I had much more energy and feedback from the audience. People were standing and dancing in the alleys in the end, in spite of the security, which is apparently quite unusual at the Kremlin Theatre.

A lots of people were there, russian musicians, artists, friends, fans....
I met backstage with the US ambassador's wife Jocelyn Beyrle, a very pleasant and nice woman. Her husband John had to go after the concert to meet with Gorbatchev. They have been good friends of Claude for quite a while.. Everybody seemed to enjoy the concert.

Then, invited by Ed, the local promoter trom TCI, we all went for dinner to one of the trendy clubs in town, very eighties.. At one stage in the night someone told me that some guys were at the door of the club with some russian synthesizers they wanted to give me. I thought it was a joke.. Chris and Claude went out to check what was happening and actually they found two very nice guys. So I went and met Rustem and Igor who offered me (all packed!), 1 Polyvox and 1 Allussia, two great vintage analog russian synthesizers.
They told me that, since they were kids, I have been such a source of inspiration that Rustem decided to collect analog synthesizers. I was so excited and really moved by such generous gifts that I decided to go to their place to see their collection the next day (today). This morning Rustem and Igor picked us up at the hotel and we went with Claude to Rustem appt. just outside Moscow.

His place is just great, funky decoration with a large picture of Robert Moog in a golden frame in the corridor and a large room full of extraordinary russian and western analog synthesizers. His wife had prepared delicious cakes with wine and we had real good times listening and talking about all these wonders... They said they could not believe that one day I would visit their place..
We did some photos and I promised to keep the contact. Thank you Rustem (and Igor) for your generosity and dedication..

Then I went with Serafima and Pierre to visit my friend Olga in charge of the modern art museum of photography of Moscow.
She is actually THE specialist of russian photography in Moscow.
She was coming back from New-York were she has an exhibition. She is such a brilliant and excentric character. She was in the middle of the huge gallery introducing her new exhibition about russian rock artist Tsoi, preparing her next one, an extraordinary exhibition about Soljenitsine, being at the same time filmed for a film-documentary and having on top of it, our meeting together..

I needed to see her because I wanted some photos from Rotchenko, the most influential russian photographer of all times and also some informations about russian archives on different topics such as space, cosmos, architecture, technology in the 20th century, fashion, optical and atomic experimentations, etc... As usual, Olga has been great, she gave me a portfolio selected by Rotchenko's family (she is very close to them) and various useful books... We said that we'll meet again in december when she comes to Paris.

I would like to thank Ed, Serafima and everybody at TCI who worked so hard to make this russian week a total success.

Claude stays in the loop

Dominique checking the PR

Call me Жан Мишель Жарр

Robert Moog in golden frame

With Rustem (left) and Igor (right)

Russian synth, close-up
Claude carrying the russian synthesizers
Chris and Fiona grooving under the snow...

Fiona, Chris and Ed, dinner party
Dear Janet, Dominique's wife, Claude and Domino, after show en route for dinner.

No joking with bodyguards

With US ambassador's wife Mrs. Jocelyn Beyrle.

Pierre and Fiona in my dressing room after sound check and before discussing future plans with Chris and James.

Claude being searched at the airport

I am in the plane on my way to Riga, besides me, a girl is reading a russian novel on an e-book...

(posted on a mobile phone)

The Red Arrow

2008-11-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

St. Petersburg was great. The sound mixed by Alain Courieux (the front-of-house sound engineer) was amazing. The audience was really hot in spite of the security guys being quite heavy each time somebody started dancing or moving too much. We left right after the gig to go back to Moscow.

On the way to the Railway station, we crossed the city and admired its fantastic buildings beautifully lit and under the snow. So many different styles of architectures make you understand that Peter the Great commissioned a lot of different architects, french, italian, german, swedish, spanish... to make Europe consider Russia as a civilised country at last.
So St. Petersburg conceived artificially, became with time one of the most beautiful town.
Then we arrived at the station.

The Red Arrow:

The Red Arrow is the legendary train that the bolsheviks used to go from St. Petersburgh to Moscow.
It is an amazing train all red of course, with real bed rooms in first class. They are playing the St. Petersburg anthem at the departure and the Moscow one at the arrival.
I am in the train now. A rather scary woman is insisting that I choose amongst 4 types of meat and sausages which she will bring over to me at 6AM precise. After having tried to explain to the dragon lady that I really want to sleep, I had to give up in the end and she will bring me this strange mix in the middle of the night..
The decor of the train is really great. Each cabin looks like a small granny's bed room. Everything is beige and red. Through the window you can see the russian countryside by night, covered with snow under the moonlight, like in Doctor Zhivago's movie.
The restaurant is also quite decadent, very 30's, where you can eat from sausage to caviar and drink all kinds of possible Vodkas...

At six o'clock, dragon lady is knocking at my door with a military enthusiasm. Fortunately, she does not force me to eat what she left.

We arrived later in the morning and we left Moscow station while they were playing the city anthem..

Today is a day off for everybody. I had a few meetings near the red square and dinner with friends at Petrovitch, a cool place totally decorated in Soviet Union style. A rockabilly band was playing live some classics of the 50's and 60's sounding like a Tarantino soundtrack..
Tomorrow is showday, the 2nd Moscow concert at the Kremlin.
Good night!

Smolny Cathedral

Thanks to all the fans waiting in the snow after the concert

Saint Petersburg Hall

Self portrait in the St Petersburg Hall

The corridor of the Red Arrow

My bedroom

Very posh

The restaurant
The Red Arrow and the dragon lady (not our dear danish friend!)

The Arts Square

New russian food product with soviet-style packaging

The KGB building

Petrovitch Restaurant

Crossing the Red Square in russian winter

(posted on a mobile phone with cold fingers)

Cafe-Kremlin

2008-11-19T04:58:00.001-08:00

The first Moscow concert has been special. Probably the best one technically and musically speaking and the the audience was the one of a monday night at the Kremlin! Very nice and warm but probably impressed by the place.. I had to explain even more here than anywhere else that the concert had nothing to do with what I have done few years ago outdoor. Then I did a lot of TV shows and interviews. I really like russian people, rational but crazy, subtle and strong, articulate and fun, exuberant and secret.
I am on my way to St. Petersburg under the snow...

Aeroflot, my next album

(posted on a mobile phone)