French composer Jean-Michel Jarre's tour of China

"The Concerts in China" - This is the name not only of the live album but also of the concert tour of the outstanding French composer, multi-instrumentalist and one of the pioneers of electronic music Jean-Michel Jarre! His trip to China 1981 of the year was groundbreaking, for he brought with him to the Celestial Empire the Western rhythms of Beijing and Shanghai - two major cities, hosting 5 live shows for more than 100,000 spectators! This tour is also notable because it was the first time that Jarre used a laser harp.

Western rhythms in China - what it was like

Today this tour is spoken of as a legendary event in music history. It was a time 1981 year, October. Since the untimely death Mao Zedong(a 20th-century Chinese revolutionary, statesman, politician and party leader, passed through 5 years. Three years since the new economic course was introduced. China was still under the dark haze of recent events... People were full of hopes and doubts, looking to the future. And the arrival Jean-Michel Jarre was a kind of holiday amidst all of the above.

Thor "The Concerts in China" gave thousands of Chinese people the chance to forget their dilemmas and enjoy Western music, if only for a few days! For the first time...

Arrival Jarre was a special one, because in the history PRC it was the first visit of a western pop idol! It was strange and unusual for people, because only 5 years ago electronic music was forbidden! And now - please: go and enjoy. And if Jarre's live audience totalled approx. 120,000 peoplehalf a million Chinese watched the broadcast on TV!

The allure of the album

"The Concerts in China" - is also a great live album. It includes tracks recorded during performances in Beijing and Shanghai. It also includes the first release of "Night in Shanghai, Laser Harp, Arpegiator, Orient Express, Souvenir of China.. The latter composition became a regular number of Jarre's subsequent live shows, and an old Chinese song . "Fishing Junks at Sunset" has been given a beautiful modern arrangement.

https://youtu.be/D0QBMhEPg6E

The album was first released on LP and later released in CD format. В 1997-м a remaster has been released Scott Hull. It's worth noting that "The Concerts in China" is quite different from the usual live recordings. At least one important difference is that the record was recorded not in one concert performance, as it usually happens, but in several different cities at once! It is also noteworthy that some compositions from the disc were written especially for this tour.

A little bit about the film

Jarre's tour in the Middle Kingdom also served as the basis for a concert film "Jean-Michel Jarre - China Concerts 1981". It was taken Andrew Piddington for British Central Television. The documentary, which includes speeches and stories about life in China, was broadcast only once in the UK. At the end of 80-х it came out on cassette.

Why the record is so important these days

In fact, this album 80-х has a lot of weight these days. In fact, audio-documented speeches serve as a kind of aural illustration that transports the listener back to the China of those years.

For example, in the song. "Souvenir of China" we can hear the sound of a camera shutter. This automatically transports us to the eve of Jarre's departure from the country, when one seeks to capture as much of what one sees around one as possible....

Interesting facts

• Due to terrible sound quality, some tracks have been re-recorded for release live album and film. The thing is, the crowd noise was interrupting the music itself.
• Curiously enough, during his dazzling shows, Jarrah performed all of his tracks from the disc "Magnetic Fields"but the audience didn't get to hear the legendary "Oxygène, Pt. 4".
• The record, inspired by the tour, went into the UK top 10and reached number 6! In Portugal, it topped the chart at number one.
• Song "Arpégiateur" was a worthy addition to the soundtrack of the film Nine and a Half Weeks. It is also heard in several episodes of the famous American soap opera Santa Barbara.