dimanche 30 novembre 2008

Slovakia

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)

22 commentaires:

equinoxe a dit…

Well, tomorrow (today for you) is the final concert in your tour. Thanks a lot for sharing with your fans your experiences during these two parts of the 2008 tour. It has been great to see how popular your music is after all these years (some friends of mine doubted about this, now they're clearly wrong). I think all your fans hope to hear more inspiring music and more concerts in the coming years.

Robi a dit…

Thanks JM for this nice reportage! :)

I'm glad you had great time in the neighbours! Anyway Kosice is nearer to Hungary than to Ukraine...Kosice, or Kassa in Hungarian, was part of Hungary till 1945.

Have a nice time in Varsawa! ;-)

Best regards,
Robi

logdo a dit…

Hi Jean-Michel,
very big thank you!!! for sharing Oxygene in my country, I was at concert in Kosice, standing during the whole oxy 13 somewhere in front of you and conducting the song haha, I was enjoying every second of your show, it was my dream that you visit Slovakia, and I was really moved when I heard that you will play here 2 concerts!!! I was really shocked that we could go to stage to photograph all these fantastic instruments before show, and they seemed much older haha really stradivarius instruments!!!

I will keep this experience in my heart, and as you said before encore of oxy4 that these few notes (lines) created our relation ship 30 years ago you were right!!, and I think this is the magic of your music, it connects people and tells a story...story of freedom in very dark times of my country....

please come back soon we love you.......

Anonyme a dit…

It was the best day in my whole life! I was so happy, that my idol will come to my city. Pitty, that you didn't play Oxygene 8 and/or Oxygene 10, but still it was great concert. Looking forward to your next show in Kosice.

Your BIG fan,
Peter.

Zwoekie a dit…

Hi Jean Michel and Crew!

Can we expect a great screensaver with all these awesome photo's?
I know for sure a lot of people will love it.

Bless you, Jean Michel

Au revoir

Zwoekie
www.myspace.com/zwoekiemusic (when I got some new music I'll facelift the profile)

Dominika a dit…

Yeaaah! Warsaw tonight! My dad drove all night to get me, my bro and mom to this concert :D can't wait. [I missed school today. So what? :P]

suicidaldj a dit…

I can't really express, how glad i am that you came to Slovakia. Starting artists have heroes too and you're one of mine (The other is Yuki Kajiura). Your music inspires me for years now. Too bad i wasn't down there when you walked by to shake your hand.

Anyway. Don't know if anybody mentioned, but did you have a problem with booth latency? One of your firends was playing a few miliseconds off the beat at times, so i'm thinking wether it was latency that was going into his headphones or monitor speakers, or just panorama effect, where his synth was only going into one speaker and while i was sitting near the other, the time sound travelled from the other caused the desync. Just a thought.

Marvelous concert. I hope you'll think of Slovakia when you're thinking about an Aero style concert. Oxygene is great, but still Chronologie II is my all time favourite piece of music ever.

Anna a dit…

Hi, Jean Michel! Again, this update made me feel happy - it is great to find you in good mood as usual! So, one concert left! I think you will have great success in Poland! I wish you to be always happy!
Pardon my crazy English.
Anna

Turid Elisabeth a dit…

Hello Jens Mikkel Jarre. :))

Thanks again for all the interesting information!

I feel so happy for you!:D
My dear friend Milan told me also about your fantastic time together!
He did invite me to come to the concert,but I couldn't go!
I wish I was there!:)

I believe the Oxygene tour must be something very inspiring for all of you!

It really influence me a lot to read about it all!

With love
T. Elisabeth

Epsilon a dit…

It was a concert to remember for a long time! Thank you. I travelled to Kosice from Hungary to see the show. You beamed on stage. It is towards the end of the tour and still, this concerts was like the most important station: enthusiastic. You are a true musician!
Oxygene is clearly an important stage of music history. I will be the first one to pre-order Oxygene 14-21 :-)
Or perhaps Equinox 9-16 (you know there are two equinoxes in a year... you have already gaviven us the first. What about a sequel?!)
Anyway, I wish you good luck in anything you are planning to do next.

Anonyme a dit…

Hopefully next year will be another great yr for you JM. Ive already had this years xmas present in March, at Birmingham and the Royal Albert Hall in London UK.Heres looking forward to next yr. Best regards to YOU, Dominique, Francis & Claude. Early wishes for a Happy Xmas & new yr.

Игорь Киселёв a dit…

Harmony of Equinoxe

We can imagine reaction of people when they had heard the first album of Jean Michel Jarre Oxygene. It seemed to be the top, and synthesizers will never sing with that graphic strength and power again. But it turned out that the first album is ‘only’ a breack camping of alpinists before climbing to the Pobeda Peak. When I think about human acheivements in music, I see big mountain country where Peaks are the tops of creation of different composers. Jean Michel Jarre is the mountain chain. And his second album Equinoxe glares on it with blinding light.
The beginning of the album is very similar to the beginning of Oxygene and instruments are similar too. But in Oxygene we can see the newborn world that was weak and not disigned that time, but with happy presentiment, premonition of newborn life. And in the new album the cycle repeats on the new quality level. During the 4 milliard years Earth passed all levels of geological and biological evolution. So there is some predictability in the beginning.
Thus: First rays of the Sun are breaking throught the atmosphere. After the playing of rays the Sun is rising (0.38) and heaving upper and upper. Rays are warming sky and soil. But soon on the background of murmuring water final accords are sounding. The first part of Equinoxe symbolizes leaving summer.
The second part begins with a puff of cold autumn wind. Rain is falling, or mayde there are brooks after the autumn rain. There is no clear blue sky – only memories about it. Now only gray clouds swimming through the sky and fine rain is pouring and pouring. Cool wind carrying fallen leaves through the fields. Smells like melancholy and loneliness. The music is becoming more and more slow carrying breath of autumn. Flying flocks of birds strengthens our impressions (espesially on 3.33). Animate nature gradually humbling with elements, preparing for the sleep. Day light compared with dark night. Autumn equinox. Now, on 4.15 there is frosty north wind. The wash in the third part making the feeling of freshness and the winter is coming.
Snowflakes are spinning in the air, the music taking more buoyant character, clear snow is glancing in the sunlight, and icicles are shimmering with all colors of rainbow. The Sun is overhanging low over the horizon. The lullaby blowing sensation of peace, nature is sleeping, relaxing. Since 3.24 periodical bell ringing announcing the time of the winter slostice, the Sun is setting, long polar night is beginning. All around is freezing and standing motionless, the life is plunging into hibernation. Only tireless underground thermal springs are making gurgling sounds, taking steam and hot water away to the surface of the Earth.
Part 4: Stars are coming out, northern lights are blazing. People who have seen that wonderful phenomenon understand me. The whole point is that lights don’t stands motionless. They live, flicker, shimmer, toss from one side of the sky to another, rotate and emit rays of light. It is simply impossible to divert from the sight. Salutes, fireworks and laser shows can’t give us the feeling of true space show. And at some moments there is a feeling that streams of charged particles flies in the magnetic field of the Earth with insane speed. And all this performance runs by the invisible Sun, that sends solar space wind of charged particles.
On about 47th second there is a feeling that you have been shooted by a bowman straight to the open space. Right away your body loosing its weight and you are flying like in a dream, operating your flight through meteors. On the 2.15 you are making a short landing to strange mysterious planet, maybe Mars? And on the 2.40 you can hear enigmatic sounds from the space. Maybe there are messages from extraterrestrial intellect. And maybe it is an image of extraterrestrial civilization. During the rest of this part you have time to visit all sides of our Solar system. The rage of space colors amazes, I even say tires. On the 5th minute we can see how the Earth turns around the Sun – like in the astronomy manual. Maybe you remember the image from it, where there are 4 positions of the Earth regarding the Sun. Two of them are illustrations of equinox. This moment gives me the shivers – so strong the feeling of our planet’s moving – so permanent and continuous during milliards of years, like a huge clockwork, that have been started very long time ago and carries out its creator’s order slowly and duly.
Returning to the native Earth (evidently in the day of spring equinox) is imperceptible, like awakening from the sleep. Maybe it is a feeling of a cosmonaut who is awakening on the next morning after returning from the orbit. He feels all on the Earth especially sharp. But after the space silence and long parting with the Earth there is no more delectable than sounds and feelings of spring storm in the fifth part.
Jumping up (if it is possible) from bed space traveler running headlong through rain and storm, forgotten by happiness about danger of getting wet or thunderbolt. He is running on the pools, wet, but happy. His heart is beating amuck in wild ecstasy – happiness like that is rare event. Electrified air smells like ozone. The mood is like in ‘Spring run’ of Maugly. Reread this part of Kipling’s book – you won’t regret about it.
In the sixth part tired and happy earthman is turning to regular run, then to usual pace. He has returned, completely sated of Earth energy and has become like all people. He is thanking Earth nature non-stop for existing of it – so native planet. And for that he is a part of it.
It is a theme of the seventh part. The man who recently returned from the space remember, how beautiful was his planet seen from the space, how he couldn’t admire at it to his heart's content, ready for being hanging in front of bull’s eye of a spaceship. How many different planets he has seen, but life exists only on our Earth, and we can’t find more beautiful planet in the whole Universe than our native one. This cosmic magical images and feeling of reduced union with the Earth nature overfilling soul, turning into the feeling of love and thanking to it. Tears appears on his eyes because of sweeping over feelings, and it is not clear, why the face is so wet – because of the tears or because of the rain? The man cried because of feelings after the separation with the Earth, or the Earth cried because of the long separation with its son. The heart is calming after the run.
In the eight part the man returned home, densely closed windows and doors. Gradually the heavy shower is turning into usual rain. Floods are falling from roof, big drops clearly splashing through water in pools, water from drainpipe is pouring in strong stream. We still can hear leaving storm, how glasses in windows are clinking by thunderclaps. The man is starting his old gramophone and listening to old music (It is genius boon! The melody has been set into like matreshka.). Think - how powerfully it contrasts with the flying of the fourth part! The melody is like lullaby but in fact it is an old tango, that causes a painful nostalgia and a childish smile the same time. The man insensibly and calmly falling asleep lulled by the sounds of the rain and the gramophone. In dream he is seeing space that is sown with stars and in the centre our planet is revolving slowly, gradually moving away. Continents and oceans, overextended by white clouds here and there, are sailing. The show is beautiful and sad because of realizing that there will be a time when we will have to leave this cradle of life forever.
The final theme is blowing thoughts about our wonderful Earth, how it is beautiful, and now all beauties of it are in our hands. If we could save it, not break it and keep it for our descendants.

***
Epilogue:
Oxygene symbolizes clear air, clear atmosphere. Equinoxe is permeated with the smell of ozone. I.e. it is the same oxygen, but more concentrated (O3). We can breathe it with pleasure, but only a few minutes without any harm to our health. – Just for the time after a storm, or for the time of playing Equinoxe. Listening to this album is making the same effect of depuration, catharsis. So, we can use this music like a background. But it carries away and excites properly. The album is worth to be called not only the best of Jean Michel Jarre’s discography but in all synthesizer music of the world for all times too. I think there will be investigations of Jean Michel Jarre’s music like investigations of a lot of poets. For example, poems by Pushkin ‘Evgeny Onegin’ and ‘Boris Godunov’. Preparing and ‘checking the harmony by algebra’ of classical work, scientists finds a lot of curious regularities, and there are dozens (!!!) of researching. The second album of Jean Michel Jarre is asking for being on the table of expert in music, because the album wasn’t simply created about equinox only as an equality of day and night, but about synthesis, harmony of contrasts too. And in its inner construction it is undoubtedly beautiful and harmonious.


Author: Alexander Burganov.

Unknown a dit…

Salut Monsieur Jean-Michel,

Thank you for your short meet on Bratislava AirPort... I'm waited this moment 12 years. And thank you for your sign to my project NiTROGENE...

I promise, that you will be first human being who will be hear my project...

thanks a lot that you exists, you is big motivation for me..

thanks monsieur Jarre a lot..

MARTiN

Anna a dit…

Wow! After this comment about Equinoxe you have nothing to do but make also "Equinoxe in our living-room" :) By the way, this is my favourite albom too.

Cathy a dit…

Just been listening to Magnetic Fields, would be nice to hear MF1 again!
Am really really looking forward to next year now... thank you!

Cathy
x

Cathy a dit…

MF! - full version ;-)

Martin Safranek a dit…

Hello Dear Jean Michel,

I would like to thank you and your team (musicians, sound engineers, support)for an extraordinary Oxygene Concert in Bratislava. Much better sound than in Prague and much more intimate in spite of sitting in the first row forcing the photographers taking the pictures! I was amazed and almost all time my eyes were full of tears. Mostly when Oxygene part 5 started!

Otherwise I would like to send huge acknowledgements to PIERRE for his kindness and willingness!!

Once again, thank you very much indeed! This evening was extremely happy moment for me in my life!

PS: Hope you enjoyed the wine:-)

Best Regards

Martin Safranek

kubie a dit…

Hello Jean-Michel! Have you received a disk which i handed over to you in Moscow (11.21.08)? Did you like it? I have cried all beginning of your concert - my children~s dream came true thanks to you. Thanks with all my heart for arrival to Moscow and your magic!Kubie (Sergey Shvachkin)

Richard a dit…

THANK YOU Jean Michel for the most amazing 4 days in my life.
PS. I can not forget to send a big THANK YOU also to Roman for his great support and help within this event.

Guillaumedu76 a dit…

Salut Jean michel,
On ne se connait pas, mais peu importe, j'espère que la tournée se passe bien et que le moog modulaire fonctionne bien...c'est quand même moi qui est réparé son alimentation....Patrick t'en dira d'avantage...
Sinon à quand la tournée Equinoxe ?
je pensais à un truc aussi, un concert sur le sixième pont de Rouen serait grandiose, une scène à au moins 55 mètres de hauteur juste au dessus de la seine, ça serait génial ?!

Bonne continuation à toi et à toute l'équipe !

Guillaume du 76, un ami de Nicolas...

Dominika a dit…

Polish fans are waiting for your description of Warsaw concert :) It was an amazing show, the best night of my life. Thank you!

Turid Elisabeth a dit…

Hi dear Jean Michel Jarre! :)

Since you are such a generous person,I believe you will give us a sign now and then on your blog after your vacation!:)

You are a real artist!;)

I am happy i have a ticket to the concert in Oslo the 13th of May!

See you again then!

All the best for you and your team..

Yours
T.Elisabeth