Sony Music Jean Michel Jarre - Zoolook

1984

Bass – Marcus Miller
Electronics, Keyboards, Technician [Ethnic Vocals Processed By] – Jean-Michel Jarre
Drums – Yogi Horton
Guitar, Effects – Adrian Belew
Vocals [Diva] – Laurie Anderson


A study in sampling and perhaps Jarre’s most experimental album to date, Zoolook was created in collaboration with musicians such as Laurie Anderson. Constructed from disparate sampled fragments of songs and speech in more than 30 different languages, Zoolook moves from avant-garde to electro and funk.

[ Sputnik ] One of the best electronic composers ever creates a very experimental album, that surpasses expectations with it's ingenious use of complex vocal samples and a very broad soundscape.

I've always regarded Jean Michel Jarre as a composer who is often overlooked; a musician with great talent and a pioneer in electronic/new age music. Oxygene was an album that was the prime example of how electronic music can portray an emotion so deep with its dreamy, euphoric atmosphere. "Oxygene (Part IV)" became one of the best known pieces of electronic music ever with its ever moody and oxymoronic melodies. The album "Equinoxe" was a more cheerful and pleasant experience, reflecting a human's life from day to night, the aura around the album's pace was exciting, reinforcing Jarre's natural ability to create soulful and emotional music that people can relate to.

"Zoolook" is an album that really is different to "Oxygene" and "Equinoxe".A much more experimental sound brings a whole new perspective, making it a very interesting listen. There is extensive use of sampling and there are plenty more vocal work, adding a much more surreal sound, and even the addition of acoustic drums and bass guitar. The album has an impressive back-up crew as well, consisting of Adrian Belew (King Crimson) on guitars and effects and Marcus Miller on bass. There are elements of 'Musique concrete', which is a style of avant-garde music that relies on natural environmental sounds to create music, a complex concept that really brings out the uniqueness of the sound in this album. Another interesting aspect on
"Zoolook" is that the album's vocal work consists of over 20 languages: including Arabic, Japanese, Polish, Tibetan, Eskimo etc. This furthermore extends the surrealness of the album, but adds that interest of how this factor works; and it creates a kind of 'universal' feel, if you know what I mean.