Jean-Michel Jarre announces Oxygene 3 album

40 years after the release of his first Oxygene album, the father of electronica Jean-Michel Jarre announced the release of Oxygene 3 later on this year.

The release date for this masterpiece is set for December 2nd, 2016 and will present 7 new continuations of Oxygene, from part 14 until part 20. The 4 decades journey is the most consistent example of electronic music’s transformation throughout the years.

Initially released in 1976, Oxygene featured 6 parts of the track and it was best described as “an infectious combination of bouncy, bubbling analog sequences and memorable hook lines”. Some of them featured in movies such as Jackie Chan’s 1978 film Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Peter Weir’s/Mel Gibson’s 1981 film Gallipoli, as well as in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV & BBC’s micro-drama Micro Men.

What made the first Oxygene so different at the time, is probably the minimalist aspect, and the fact that there are almost no drums, and I wanted to keep this approach, creating the groove mainly with the sequences and the structure of the melodies only, through an architecture of sounds.

The second part of Oxygene was released 21 years later in 1997, featuring parts 7-13. The majority of the tracks are used as the background music of the weather broadcast of RIK1’s news program. Remix versions of those are limited, as Jarre himself did not approve edits too far from the original pieces.

Jean-Michel Jarre is undeniably one of the most influential individuals in the history of electronica. Inspiration to many, the legendary producer just recently collaborated with a number of modern day artists such as Armin van Buuren, Hans Zimmer, Pet Shop Boys to name a few.

Earlier this year, the french pioneer announced his collaboration with Gorillaz, who just announced their return.

Oxygene 3 will be released on December 2nd, 2016.

What made the first Oxygene so different at the time, is probably the minimalist aspect, and the fact that there are almost no drums, and I wanted to keep this approach, creating the groove mainly with the sequences and the structure of the melodies only, through an architecture of sounds.

See Jarre’s official announcement below.