Jarre brings politics back to electronica

West sued by Hungarian over song sample

NEW YORK, May 26, (AFP): One of the pioneers of electronic music, Jean-Michel Jarre has roused crowds through some of history’s biggest concerts. Yet at the root of the genre, he says, lies a political dimension.

For his latest album, Jarre has enlisted major names in music including Cyndi Lauper and Pet Shop Boys but also a more unlikely guest artist — Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor turned privacy activist.

The French artist traveled to Moscow, where Snowden lives in exile to avoid prosecution in the United States for leaking documents, and recorded with him the song “Exit” which appears on Jarre’s new album, “Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise.”

“Exit” is driven by a frantic and ominous techno beat before breaking to unaccompanied spoken word by Snowden, who speaks of technology’s pernicious effect on privacy.

Jarre described Snowden as a patriot defending US values and said he had a strong interest, if not a background, in electronic music.

“He is for me what the soul of a soldier is,” Jarre told AFP on a visit to New York.

In an era of right-wing populists such as Donald Trump in the United States and Marine Le Pen in France, Jarre voiced hope that Snowden instead “could be a very powerful reference for the youth” who reject the political order.

Jarre, a professed admirer of the United States, said Snowden’s willingness to take personal risks had reminded him of his own mother, who joined the resistance against Nazi German occupation of France in 1941.

“In those days, people don’t want to remember this, but a majority of people were against the resistance. They were considering them troublemakers

Last month, the 18-year-old revealed a different tattoo that says “Queen of My Heart” in her father’s handwriting. She or even traitors,” he said.

Jarre’s 1976 album “Oxygene” ushered in a new mainstream acceptance of electronic music. He has put on several of the biggest concerts ever, including a 1997 show for Moscow’s 850th anniversary that drew 3.5 million people and included a message from cosmonauts in space.

Rebellion

Electronic dance music, or EDM, is now a top pull for partying youth the world over, but Jarre, 67, said that initially it had an element of rebellion.

“There is the hedonist part of electronic music, linked to the dance floor and having fun and all this. It is also linked, like all big art and musical forms, to politics,” Jarre said.

“When I started electronic music it was during the student revolution in Europe when we were rebelling against the establishment.

“And in music, electronic music was for me a rebellion against the establishment of classical music — and even the rock ‘n roll establishment because it was already an established style,” he said.

His latest album is a companion to “Electronica 1: The Time Machine” last year, in which Jarre returned after an eight-year recording absence to chart the history of the genre through collaborations with artists whom he sees as pivotal.

Jarre also sees the project as reflecting on the era’s “ambiguous relationship with technology.” While Snowden is the most obvious example, tracks on the latest album include “Swipe to the Right” with Lauper, who delves into the world of smartphone dating sites such as Tinder.

“You know my appetite / With just a moment of a swipe / To the right,” the 1980s pop star sings in her sweeping

wrote on Instagram : “To everyone else he was the King of Pop. To me, well, he was the king of my heart.” voice over a dance beat.

Jarre said he was especially eager to work with Pet Shop Boys for the duo’s influence and signature sound.

The resulting track is “Brick England,” in which Neil Tennant sings of the dreary London landscape.

Other collaborators on the second “Electronica” album include the sexually provocative Canadian artist Peaches, prolific film composer Hans Zimmer and dark New Wave singer Gary Numan.

The first volume featured electronic greats such as Tangerine Dream, Moby and Massive Attack but also less obvious choices such as Pete Townshend of The Who, classical pianist Lang Lang and experimental artist Laurie Anderson.

Jarre said he would have happily pursued more “Electronica” albums but instead is focused on a world tour that starts in June.

Jarre said he planned a 3D show — without glasses. He said he would offer “depth” rather than just playing a series of videos.

“These days lots of the EDM production reminds me of what I was doing 30 years ago — the same lights and laser things. Now I want, with the technology we have, to propose something else.”

NEW YORK:

Also:

A Hungarian artist is seeking more than $2.5 million from Kanye West, saying the rap superstar’s track “New Slaves” sampled his music without permission or royalties.

Gabor Presser, who described himself as a “living legend” in Hungary, said that West’s lawyers put “extraordinary time pressure” on him to sign off quickly on use of the song which appeared on his 2013 “Yeezus” album.

In a lawsuit filed this week in a New York court, Presser asked for a jury trial

Next month marks the seventh anniversary of Jackson’s death. (AP) and sought a minimum of $2.5 million in damages plus legal expenses.

“New Slaves,” a political track with a critique of contemporary racism that features singer Frank Ocean, was the first single of “Yeezus,” on which West pursued a harder-edged sound inspired by the drill scene in his native Chicago.

To promote the album ahead of its release, West projected a video of “New Slaves” on 66 buildings around the world.

Presser said that around one-third of “New Slaves” is a sample from the 1969 song “Gyongyhaju Lany” by Omega, the leading Hungarian rock band in which he was then the keyboardist.

West acknowledged use of the song but, in the lawsuit, Presser said that the rapper’s lawyers tried to force him to give permission within 24 hours, apparently due to the timeline for the video projections.

Presser said he needed more time and that West’s lawyers refused to negotiate “in good faith,” instead sending him a $10,000 check as an advance with the expectation of an agreement.

The Hungarian artist said he did not accept the advance and had continued trying to reach an arrangement with West’s lawyers.

“Defendant Kanye West knowingly and intentionally misappropriated plaintiff’s composition for use in ‘New Slaves.’ After his theft was discovered, defendants refused to deal fairly with plaintiff,” the lawsuit said.

West has not responded to the lawsuit. “Yeezus” went to number one in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States, meaning it has sold more than one million copies.

The lawsuit said that West’s tour in support of “Yeezus” generated some $35 million.

SOUTH HAVEN, Ind:

Misdemeanor marijuana possession charges against Chicago rapper Twista and two others also arrested in northwestern Indiana in March have been dropped.

The (Munster) Times reported Tuesday that Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel says the charges were dropped when the vehicle’s driver admitted it was his marijuana and pleaded guilty.

The arrests happened while Twista, whose legal name is Carl Mitchell, and others were headed to a show in South Haven.

Police said a half-ounce of marijuana was found hidden in a fake can inside the vehicle.

Twista issued a statement at the time saying police should focus on more serious crimes, comparing being arrested for marijuana to being arrested for jaywalking. (AP)

KEY WEST, Fla:

An Irish author has won a 10-day writing stint in Ernest Hemingway’s former Key West study in Florida.

Organizers of the Florida Keys Flash Fiction Contest announced Thursday that Denyse Woods of Inniscarra, County Cork, beat more than 2,100 contestants who submitted entries not exceeding 500 words.

Her story, “Wallpaper,” depicts a woman so enthralled by a stranger’s letters that she papers her walls with them. (AP)