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Jean Michel Jarre has recently anounced the sequel of his Electronica project where he ambishously collaborates with the elite in electronic and contemporary music. Here at Stereoklang we took a deep dive into the previous album Electronica to get a sense of what we can expect from the upcoming album Electronica2 – The Heart of Stone. Jarre has some pretty interesting guests on board for the sequel including Cyndi Lauper, Peaches, Primal Scream, Gary Numan, Jeff Mills, Yello and The Orb, so on paper Jean Michel’s ‘Electronica 2′ looks like it’s going to be interesting. As he says about the process of travelling the world, meeting with collaborators and working on the two albums: “I learned that electronic music has a family, it has a legacy, and it has a future.”

maxresdefaultBut coming back to the previous album what did we actually get and how much does it reflect a family, a legacy and a future? Well short answer is it certainly has a legacy but we are a bit more worried about its future. The old album starts of with Boys Noise making a really slick modern intro, unfortunately this promising start is soon degraded on the following vocal track featuring M83 – not a happy marriage. Then again Air comes in and adds what they do best to Jarre´s compositions, those well balanced ambient soundscapes although they do seem to get somewhat lost in translation after a minute or so when being fully meshed up in some symphonic adventures that do not play with our appetite.

Vince Clarke is always a trusted soldier and a reliable composer and this track is really nice, although it would be too much to say that Vince, or Jarre for that matter, is ever leaving their comfort zone. Moving on Little Boots flirts with folk music and ethnic rhythms, while Fuck Buttons continues on a classic Jarre journey with no surprises. But then comes a refreshing voice when Pete Townshend dares to throw off the legacy and bring the album in a new direction. This can of course not continue since upcoming track is a collaboration with ambient masters Tangerine Dreams, and yes they know their craftmanship inside and out, but in 2016 it sounds more like Jarre and Tangerine Dreams has gone to bed with Kitaro in the lonely Japanese mountains than a leap into the future. Speaking of the future Laurie Anderson was always, in our mind, ahead of her time but why does she need to record the same track all over again – we’ve heard this before, but perhaps that is the whole point?

Anyhow with the new line up perhaps we can hope for more than a big happy family and legacy recordings, and instead making a giant leap into the furture of electronic music. Below is a teaser from the upcoming album and all the info you need before it is available in the shops and on streaming media channels.

‘The Heart of Noise’ is a tribute to Luigi Russolo, Italian composer and builder of experimental musical instruments, who proposed in 1913 in his Futurist manifesto ‘Art of Noises’ a number of conclusions about how electronics and other technology would allow futurist musicians to “substitute for the limited variety of timbres that the orchestra possesses today the infinite variety of timbres in noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms”. Russolo predicted the dawn of the synthesiser and Electronic Music.

“I’ve wanted to tell a story for a while regarding electronic music history and its legacy from my point of view and experience, from when I started to nowadays,” says Jarre. “So I planned to compose for and collaborate with an array of artists who are, directly or indirectly linked to this scene, with people I admire for their singular contribution to our genre, that represent a source of inspiration for me over the last four decades I have been making music, but who also have an instantly recognisable sound.”

Full Tracklisting for ‘Electronica Vol 2: The Heart of Noise’ is:

1. The Heart of Noise Pt. 1: JM Jarre & Rone
2. The Heart of Noise Pt. 2: JM Jarre
3. Brick England: JM Jarre & Pet Shop Boys
4. As One: JM Jarre & Primal Scream
5. Exit – JM Jarre & E.S
6. These Creatures: JM Jarre & Julia Holter
7. Here For You: JM Jarre & Gary Numan
8. The Architect: JM Jarre & Jeff Mills
9. What You Want: JM Jarre & Peaches
10. Circus: JM Jarre & Siriusmo
11. Why This, Why That, Why: JM Jarre & Yello
12. Switch On Leon: JM Jarre & The Orb
13. Gisele: JM Jarre & Sebastien Tellier
14. Electrees: JM Jarre & Hans Zimmer
15. Swipe To The Right: JM Jarre & Cyndi Lauper
16. Walking The Mile: JM Jarre & Christophe
17. Falling Down: JM Jarre
18. The Heart of Noise (The Origin): JM Jarre

Electronica Vol 2: The Heart of Noise” is now complete and will be released on May 6th 2016! Like Vol 1 the album will feature 15 collaborations.
You can now officially preorder:
► iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Electonica2_iTunes
► Amazon: http://smarturl.it/Electronica2_AmaCD
► AmazonMp3: http://smarturl.it/Electronica2_AmaMp3
► AppleMusic: http://smarturl.it/Electronica2_AppleMu
► Spotify: http://smarturl.it/Electronica2_Stream

Preorder as digital download and receive „The Heart of Noise Pt 1 & 2″ right away.

For more informations please visit:
http://jeanmicheljarre.com