BlahBlahCafe - Jean-Michel Jarre forum

How many of your have experienced chills, shivers down your spine, hairs standing on end, etc. when listening to any piece of JMJ's music? It's usually a short lived experience, maybe the transition between one section and another, the entry of a main melody, a sudden change in key or volume.

I'm currently studying this 'chill' response people have to music in relation to music composition and would appreciate if you could reply with specific examples of where in JMJ pieces you have experience this type of response. I'm going to use them to help identify the characteristics of JMJ's music that evoke these kinds of responses.

These responses may be something you experience every time you listen to the piece, or has just happened once.

Here are a few of mine do give you an idea of what I mean:
- Oxygene (Part 1). When the big bass part enters at 4:26
- Oxygene (Part 2). When the bass drops out at 6:15
- Magnetic Fields (Part 1). The transition between the first main section and the drop to the first breakdown section (Ab minor chord) at 2:07
- Arpegiateur. The change from C minor to Bb minor at 2:45

I look forward to reading your responses.
Many thanks
Nino

Very good topic! I do get what you mean, but for the life of me I can't really come up with any examples... except for one.



When PLD was aired on Finnish TV, my father missed the first few minutes of it and thus the recording starts from that point. It wasn't until 2003 when I first heard what had preceded that and only in 2004 did I actually see the full VHS.

In other words, every time I listen to the radio broadcast/any other version of the concert and the intro track reaches that part... well, I'm instantly being thrown back into what might be the first conscious memory I have (I was 3 years old in 1991 when I first saw the concert video).

Of course, the more I listen to the concert, the less chills I get from that part but in 2003 when I became a JMJ fan once again (after more or less stopping listening to his stuff in early 1998) and put in the PLD VHS tape, well, those were some great chills

... also, I did come up with some other chilly moments!

* The end of Rave-O-Lution on the Electronic Night CD (despite the lacklusterish concert and much of the material) - the sound effects disappearing into the night and the noise of the audience and fireworks marks (to me) the moment when JMJ's grand concert era dies for good, never to be seen again
* I also agree about the big bass part in Oxygene 1. Hearing it live during the Oxygene 30th anniversary tour in 2008 was just excellent.

Oxygene part 1 at the bass part:

Equinoxe part 4-6 pretty much the whole time.

Ethnicolor at its "grand finale":

Oxygene part 9 at about 1:46 into the track at a certain transition:

Electric Flesh, Miss Moon...
and ofcourse standing infront of the stage watching JMJ playing laser harp and feeling the wibes at a live concert.

The best opening tracks to an album. 1 continuous track

Ron's Piece



Millions of Stars Aero Concert



Journey to Beijing
Forbidden City China Concert

Thanks for all the responses people.

Finaero, yes. When I saw him at Marigny Paris in 2007 and the bass kicked in at the start of Oxy1 it was incredible. Such a strong chill. I had this feeling that I'd been waiting all my life to hear that moment.

Oxygene 12, the first time the sequencer transposes, that gives me chills.

yes

Velodynamic wrote: Ethnicolor at its "grand finale":

Dammit, how the hell did I forget the favorite part from my favorite JMJ track ever? The studio version nearly always gives me the chills, which is why actually avoid listening to it that often so that there would be more of those for each listening

(Wouldn't count the Grand Finale of the track to start from that part, tho')

Some (not all) of my Jarre Shivers moments. Do excuse the lack of technical language, I can't speak Music very well

1\ The start of Oxygene 7. From the sparse 5 notes that oh so mischieviously hint at Oxygene 4, to when the main bass/rhythm kicks in and you know this is going to be AWESOME.

2\Chronologie 4, at 02:11 when it all goes vocal and calms down and there's a synthesiser tune going up the scale (no idea what the techincal word for this is)

3\ Chronologie 5 intro, before the main beat. This was made 1000x more special for me just recently when I discovered that it's just a slowed down version of the sub-synth in Chronologie 4.

4\ Pretty much all parts of Revolution, including the Ouverture. But, perhaps my most shiver-inducing one is in part 3 at 02:08 when that synth goes "wooooooooooooooooo" like some guitar. I can't describe it better but my oh my it makes me happy.

5\ Revolutions, at 03:15 when Jarre says "Revolution!" and that complicated synth tune kicks in.

I probably have at least another 20 examples but I won't bore you any more now

PS: sorry for necro-replying.

Definitely the whole Equinoxe album, especially :

- Equinoxe 3 Eminent 310 intro fade IN
- Equinoxe 4 (favorite one ), just after the well known ARP sequence get octave up, before start of snare
- Equinoxe 7 ; the start of the "crying" Eminent theme, which remembers me my dear past away uncle


- Magnetic Fields 1 (the last part)

- Calypso 3 ; the solo part

And so much more

What an awesome thread ! Here are my chill moments :

Oxygene 1 - the aforementioned majestic bass section

Equinoxe 2 - the second part with the solo and those "crow effects" behind it

Equinoxe 7 - the bass intro sequence blows my mind every time

Magnetic Fields 2 - Images version - pretty much everything

Ethnicolor - the brass solo section, before the big finale

Souvenir De Chine - its magic chords (the symphonic version showcase those chords effectively too with more emotion)

Oxygene 7 - the flowing phased eminent chords interlude between the end of the main theme and its little reprise.

Absolutely yes, I feel a lot of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) from JmJ's music and other things too.

~~~~~~~~~~~
With JarrEmotion

The opening bars of Second Rendevous Pt1 and the choral parts in Second Rendezvous Pt2 played live always send a shiver down my spine. Incredible feeling - so emotive!

I think being at Destination Docklands has a lot to do with the affect these pieces of music have on me

When I first heard Equinoxe Infinity Movement 1, The Watchers.

I do get shivers (not just with JMJ) but it needs to be loud enough. As far as JMJ music is concerned - definitely the tom hits in Ethnicolor at the end of the brass section and subsequent repetitions of those.