Music for Supermarkets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Music for Supermarkets | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Jean Michel Jarre | ||
| Released | July 6, 1983 | |
| Recorded | February, 1983-May, 1983 | |
| Genre | Electronic | |
| Length | 34:06 | |
| Label | Disques Dreyfus | |
| Producer(s) | Jean Michel Jarre | |
| Jean Michel Jarre chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Concerts in China (1982) |
Music for Supermarkets (1983) |
Zoolook (1984) |
Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) is a 1983 album of instrumental electronic music by Jean Michel Jarre. It is notable for having only a single copy pressed, and the subsequent, deliberate destruction of its master plates, effectively making the copy unique.
Contents |
[edit] Production
In 1983, Jean Michel Jarre was asked to compose the background music for a supermarket themed art exhibition, the Orrimbe show. Jarre agreed, recording Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) between February and May 1983. The exhibition, created by some young artists and friends of Jarre, ran at the Jean-Claude Riedel gallery between June 2 and June 30, 1983, and the works of art on display would be auctioned off afterwards. Inspired by this, Jarre decided that the music accompanying the exhibition could be a one-off piece of art as well, and thus, Music for Supermarkets would have only a single, unique copy pressed, to be auctioned for charity at Hotel Drouot. After the exhibition had ended, master tapes and plates were destroyed, making this the only existing copy in the world. It instantly became one of the most expensive and collectible albums in history. The internal cover contents consistsed of 11 polaroid photos, that step by step showed the creation of the disc, leaving one slot so that the final owner could place his photo with the album. The album owner is anonymous but some websites and books say that it was bought by a man called M. Gerard, who after a car crash woke up to the radio playing Jarre's track "Souvenir of China" (from the Concerts in China album). The album sold for 69,000 francs (10,500 euro).
[edit] The music today
Shortly after its sale, the album was played back in its full length on Radio Luxembourg. Jarre launched the album with the words "Pirate me!", and bootleg recordings of the radio broadcast do exist, providing us with the ability to listen to the album, albeit at a very poor quality (the radio station was an AM station). Nevertheless, several musical passages from the album have been reworked into subsequent Jarre albums. The following tracks were reused:
- Music for supermarkets part 1: Used in a special disc for Unesco (Cover Version).
- Music for supermarkets part 3: Used in the third part of "Fifth Rendez-Vous" from Rendez-vous.
- Music for supermarkets part 5: Used in "Blah-Blah Café" from Zoolook (1984).
- Music for supermarkets part 6: Used in the introduction of Waiting for Cousteau.
- Music for supermarkets part 7: Used in the second half of "Diva" from Zoolook.
- Music for supermarkets part 8: Similar sonority used on "Ethnicolor II" from Zoolook.
Subsequently, the album has been covered by Jarre fans and amateur artists multiple times.
[edit] Track listing
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 1" – 3:57
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 2" – 2:12
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 3" – 3:20
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 4" – 2:10
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 5" – 3:41
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 6" – 5:37
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 7" – 3:48
- "Music for Supermarkets Part 8" – 3:40
The above timing is approximate, calculated from the bootleg recordings.
[edit] References
- Details from Jarre UK
- Details on the album from The Unofficial Jean-Michel Jarre Biography, published by the Jarre fanzine Destination Jarre
- Album details from Jarrography
- Details from Danish Jarre magazine Magnetic Fields (in Danish)
