lundi 31 mars 2008

Very quick update

London, Royal Albert Hall, unique and impressive venue, people everywhere very receptive and warm. More details later..
(posted on a mobile phone)

vendredi 28 mars 2008

When Shakespeare meets the Sex Pistols


Manchester Opera House, best venue and gig so far.
The balance was at last what I wanted, Francis was very focused, precise and with me all the time. Claude did really good impros with the choir parts and was really precise with all the bass parts with the Taurus Moog. Dominique was really inspired all the way long, great presence and amazing parts on the Mellotron strings and Voyager.
I explored new impros with " Arlette" AKS and Moog Liberation, I felt really relax on stage. Great audience, Let's hope it is a good omen for London. Playing London is always special and the Royal Albert Hall a challenge, we'll see...
(posted on a mobile phone)

Manchester Opera House

A few hours before the show. I'm trying to look like a star.

The BBC article

The BBC article is up online, check it out here.

jeudi 27 mars 2008

Interference

The concert in Birmingham went OK, except that Claude forgot to switch off his cell phone before the concert and we had a lot of interferences. We still have some work to do on stage before London. I did an interesting interview with Mario Cacciottolo from BBC web; he is writing an interesting article on BBC website, let's see if I can create a link when it's published (he is mentioning Jarreblog in the article, hope that's going to touch a lot of people). Interestingly, Mario came to my concerts at the Docklands (1988), at Paris La Defense (1990) and at Wembley stadium (1993).
After the concert I met with Jim Heinz who designed Kikaxxe, a great virtual sequencer and synthesizer. We discussed about the possibility of developping a new sequencer together. He loved the concert, he is going back to California and we said we'll keep in touch.

The Daily Telegraph ran a good review here. They compare me to a french cheese :)

(published on a mobile phone)

The past and the future

Birmingham Center:

mercredi 26 mars 2008

Crazy Musicians


Brussels had an eerie effect on the musicians...

mardi 25 mars 2008

Amsterdam


Tonight Amsterdam. We arrived by train under a crazy snow. Best venue so far: the theater looked great, with a lot of big chandeliers and red velvet, quite decadent... The audience was really into the music and the show. We had a lot of fun.
The crew is exhausted as we played in Brusssels and Amsterdam back-to-back, and they couldn't really sleep. Disassembling all the instruments, lighting, sound systems and reassembling it is a feat they accomplish everyday. Meeting with the fans after the concert is always a special moment. I finallly checked the merchandising. All the gear for sale is quite fun and very close to what I wanted. Time to head to the UK now.

(posted on a mobile phone)

lundi 24 mars 2008

A long trip

Monday night, concert in Brussels went really well. The venue had an ideal size, the sound was good and the audience really warm. I have a few adjustments to do to get a better balance in my ear monitors in Amsterdam. I left Paris for 3 weeks and took a lot of stuff with me: books, music, instruments... The new book from William Gibson, "Spook Country", "Code Source" in french. An interesting author I know since "Neuromancer". He is like the Philip K. Dick or the Arthur C. Clarke of cyberspace. 



Talking about Arthur C. Clarke, he died few days ago and I have been really sad about it. We became good friends along the years and all his work, especially "2001 a Space Odyssey", have been a great source of inspiration for me. I remember reading 2010, the sequel to 2001, and discovering my name in the aknowledgments saying that my music helped him write the book and I felt so honoured that I wrote him and he replied by giving me his planning for the following years. I visited him in Sri-Lanka; he explained to me the stars beyond the solar system. We spent a few nights on the roof of his house observing space through a fantastic telescope. Memories...



(posted on a mobile phone)

The audience in Munich


Impressive audience in Munich

samedi 22 mars 2008

A note about fan videos

After Munich


Just finished the first german concert in Munich, the egg chair was perfect for Easter. I have been really impressed by the feedback and the energy of the audience. The sound balance is improving every night: the sounds of the individual instruments don't just add, they really merge, and it lets me focus on the interpretation. I really enjoy the feeling between the 4 of us on stage. Afterwards I had an exciting meeting with Dieter Doepfer, one of the only analog synthesizer manufacturers nowadays. He's a passionate man, faithful to the analog tradition with a modern approach. He offered me a very interesting sequencer called the Schaltwerk, the last production unit actually. Now heading back to Paris. See you in Brussels.

A day off

Hello blog. Yesterday in Paris photo session with Viviane, interesting photographer who uses only black and white backgrounds. Bought a new book about A. Warhol writings. Just landed in Munich with musicians, Louis and Pierre; Thomas is joining us by train later on. We are going to prepare other things for the blog. I am curious to see how it goes tonight on stage. Promo and TV show this afternoon. Meeting also with people from Doepfer and Ludwig Rehberg, from EMS, both makers of great instruments.
(published on a mobile phone)

mercredi 19 mars 2008

Getting the right sound


First time tonight in Dublin that we got the right sound balance in the ear monitors, after two afternoons of exhausting rehearsals and then we played much better. I improved also a lot of things in the lighting and the scenography. We'll see how it goes in Munich. The audience was really great and warm. It is pity that Fiona could not be there. My friend Jean Louis. was there and we had really good time together. We missed Thomas; the good news is that he is coming to Munich. 

(posted on a mobile phone)

Dublin Video


A day off in Dublin, with a stop at the pub.

Glasgow Video


Just a short video to show you what a race it is before and after every show.

Digico / Professional Digital Console

Here is the article of Digico who came at my studio last month.

Pro Sound News Europe / Professional Audio

My friends from Pro Sound News Europe made an article today.
Check it out here !



Dublin first gig

Yesterday night was the first Dublin gig, in the National Concert Hall. Playing in this venue was like playing in a churh. People were so focused on the music and the show, it was really impressive.

It was also the first time I played in Ireland, a special country to me as Fiona my friend PA and manager is Irish. It was also a very special night yesterday as Fiona couldn't assist to the show, because she had to bury her father in Galway.

For the Encore I dedicated the song to her father. The crowd honored him lighting up their mobile phones and lighters creating a fantastic reflection in the mirror behind me.

dimanche 16 mars 2008

Jarreblog is coming soon!

Hello. This is just to announce that Jarreblog.com will start very soon, and we encourage you to start subscribing right now so you don't miss out on updates.

Currently, Jean Michel just arrived in Glasgow, the first date of the tour. Things are a little bit crazy with all those instruments, but as soon as he gets everything under control, he will start providing his insight here. Mostly as text, pictures, and sometimes videos.

Stay tuned!