Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
Download on the App StoreLoopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.
What is/are your favourite Jean-Michel Jarre album(s)?
Jean-Michel Jarre has had (and continues to have) an amazing career spanning decades being one of the most influential Electronic musicians out there (I mean, he is one of the biggest pioneers of Electronic music). So lately, I've been diving back into his catalogue while working on visual arts. My top three favourite albums of his are...
Waiting for Cousteau. I used to disregard the Calypso tracks, especially the first one, and just go straight to the 40+ minute piece of Ambient. However, recently relistening to the Calypso tracks, I hear a lot of amazing musicality, key changes, and mood swings. The first Calypso track is indeed peppy and upbeat, but then it evolves into slower, anthemic territory before going right into the titular piece of music.
Équinoxe. It sounds like two long jam sessions divided into four parts each (given the original release was on vinyl), with a lot of musical variety. Equinoxe IV is definitely my favourite. Strange enough, the DJ Quicksilver remix of Equinoxe IV was my introduction to Jean-Michel Jarre back in...was it 2004?
Yeah, that remix. Amazing supersaw lead, but he used those shitty Vengeance drums. 
I used to prefer this Trance remix back in the day over the original, but these days it's quite the opposite.
- Magnetic Fields. Part one is a masterpiece of Electronic music creation. It evolves into various movements of a singular whole. But parts 2-5 are equally as interesting and musically satisfying.
Of course, it was difficult to choose just three, as every album offers something unique and interesting to listen to, from "Les Granges Brûlées" (yes, JMJ made an electronic movie soundtrack before "Oxygène") up to "Oxymoreworks", to his collaborations with various artists ("Electronica 1" and "Electronica 2" come to mind), and everything inbetween. I don't think the man ever released a bad album to be honest.
What are your thoughts on JMJ? What are your favourite album(s) and why? Let's discuss. 
Comments
The live shows have always been my favourites, especially the Rendezvous Houston one.
I remember lying on the floor listening to Equinoxe and Oxygene over and over - totally mesmerised.
That one was amazing! So was Versailles 400. Saw it streamed live last year, and I was blown away!
That's me right now as a matter of fact of speaking. Oxygene is just simply wonderful.
Definitely difficult to pick favourites, as I have certain tracks on each of the albums that remind me of things happening in my life at the time I heard them, same as I do with Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk. I suppose pretty much all music I like reminds me of something lol
I’m going to say Zoolook and Rendezvous, as they were the first ever CDs I bought!
That's a good way to pick two favourites is based on what first two CDs you purchased.
Excellent choices mate.
AH! I haven't gotten into Kraftwerk much yet, just Tangerine Dream, Eno, and JMJ. I need to get into Kraftwerk and Boc (Boards of Canada).
I have to admit I’ve still never listened to any Boc!
As for Eno, it has to be My life in the bush of ghosts with what’s his name from Talking Heads
Tangerine Dream would be Ricochet, Stratosphere, Force Majeure and Exit for me mostly
Oxygene because it is just the daddy.
Waiting for Cousteau - something very different and yet he handles such different material like a master.
Zoolook for similar reasons, plus the unusual Laurie Anderson collab.
Special mention to Revolutions - under the workstation sounds and Gallic cheese there are some real anthems struggling to get out.
I've listened to some, but not a lot. I must change that! Deadmau5 inspired me much of late Spring and early Summer, then Paul Van Dyk took that throne. Now it's the above artists I mentioned, and I must get into Kraftwerk and BoC to complete my "training" into this foray into genuine music rather than the repetitive EDM music I usually produce. 😂 I want to be a more well-rounded musician and am always expanding my horizons.
Nice! Great albums indeed.
I must revisit them.
Oxygène is class. ❤️
Exactly why I love it.
I need to give Zoolook...another look. 😏 (Bad pun. Yeah I'm getting older. 😂 )
Cool.
Same here! I still have those LPs (and “Magnetic Fields”) even though I no longer have anything to play them on. I have the CDs too though. It was these LPs and also Isao Tomita and, of course, “Switched On Bach” that got me interested in synths back in the 70s.
I still tap out the theme of Oxygène IV whenever I get a new iPad synth as a kind of “homage” to those days.
Equinoxe was actually the album that got me into synthesizers and electronic music.
Way back when I was maybe 6 years old, my dad took me with him to the stereo store to check out some Bose speakers. The sales guy there stuck that album on to demo them…and I was absolutely enthralled by it. I begged my dad to buy that album and made him play it over and over.
I don’t know what it is about that particular sound, but none of Jarre’s other albums touch and inspire me in the same way. Ever since I first heard it, though, I’ve felt driven to explore the infinite sounds one can create with synthesizers.
I’ve discovered many other amazing synthy influences since…Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Future Sound of London, too many to name…but Equinoxe remains The Source. I still treasure and listen to it to this day.
That's actually really cool! I'd like to see a video of you doing that with any synth of your choosing (software or hardware).
Oxygene for me. I prefer his older music generally over his newer, more poppy sound.
That's so cool.
I think it was Trance music that got me into synths myself, but now I'm starting to really dig into synthesis, not just as a means to an end (like "Trance lead" this and "Brostep bass" that), but really get into the creation of timbres and such.
Perhaps nostalgia is playing a role into that, but then again, if it drives your creativity, then it's definitely worthwhile.
I'm going to check these others out! So many great artist name drops here.
I'm somewhat in the same camp to be fair. I like his 70s and 80s music more than the more modern stuff, but I still like everything the man does.
Also, I watched this video here...
...and found out JMJ started with a VCS synth, which is what he used on Oxygene. So I went to purchase iVCS3 from Apesoft, only to find out...I've already purchased it?! When?! How?! 🤪 That's the fun part about having ADHD - I pleasantly surprise myself sometimes. 😂
Also Equinoxe and Magnetic Fields were part of the soundtrack of my teenage years.
David Byrne.
As for JMJ, the Oxygene, a revelation.
For me, probably Revolutions and Zoolook. Zoolook primarily because of Laurie Anderson, who is a genius. Well, IMHO.
On the whole I’m not a huge fan of JMJ, I’m more of a Klaus Schulze and early Tangerine Dream person, the latter basically up to the departure of Peter Baumann. After which, as one of my friends put it, “it’s all just shiny tunes”. YMMV, and probably will.
Recommendations, if you’re interested:
KS: Cyborg, really minimal, does things to your brain!
KS: Mirage (relax in a darkened room and let your mind paint the pictures!)
KS: Live, particularly the first two tracks, Bellistique and Sense
KS: Audentity, particularly the tracks Cellistica and Spielglocken
A lot of people hate his infamous sampling period - I’m OK with it, if I’m in the mood, but it’s probably not a good entry point.
He did a few things much later on with Lisa Gerrard, which are wonderful, too.
TD: Zeit, arguably the first dark ambient album (not how I’d personally describe it, though)
TD: Atem
TD: Ricochet, probably my favourite of this period, but don’t ignore Phaedra and Rubycon - all three are great
TD: Encore
Just revisted "Oxygene" last night and "Equinoxe" this morning, and what masterpieces they are! Ah, I'm (re)working my way up through JMJ's catalogue again, on a rabbit hole.
And seems the rabbit hole has deepened even further thanks to @bygjohn 's suggestion of Klaus Schulze. I also need to revisit those earlier Tangerine Dream albums while working on visual arts.
Right now, I'm not creating any music. I'm not in a burnout or block but rather in the "absorption" phase of music creation, whereby I listen and absorb music like a starved guy at a buffet. So much wonderful music to absorb that isn't Pop or EDM. And it's fun to work on visual arts while listening to these wonderful pieces of music. The music helps me concentrate on the visual arts, and the visual arts helps me absorb and focus on the music I'm listening to. Win-win scenario.
I'm curious to hear more thoughts from you wonderful lot, whether they pertain strictly to JMJ, or about other artists of a similar vein.
I'm surprised there's been no mention of Vangelis yet - sure a lot of his output is pretty cheesy, but for every Antarctica or Chariots of Fire there's something more 'pure synth experimentation' like Juno to Jupiter... and even his cheesiest output is classic in its own way (bit like Mike Oldfield in that respect).
Bladerunner would be a superb place to start.
I'm surprised Vangelis wasn't mentioned either. His use of the CS-80 is superior to Paul McCartney's usage of it.
After this, I got my Tangerine Dream out again and it wasn't Exit I meant but Logos Live...not that it really matters as all the Virgin era records are great!
Fourth Rendezvous was the most influential song for me and I started synth music because of it
I'd have to say Oxygene...it totally blew me away when I first heard it and made me long for a synthesizer of my own...
If it wasn't for those 2 albums I never would have got into electronic music. I honestly believe they are a work of genius.
For me, this is very much tied to when I became aware of his work. During a visit to a friend's house he played the Houston concert on his cassette player and eventually interrupted me as I rewound side A for the third time, saying there was a Side B too. Revolutions, along with Destination Docklands were at the height of my fandom, but there are highlights everywhere. Oxygene, Equinox, Rendez vous, Zoo look (Ethnicolor). Rendez Vous 4 was a particular influence, and I even got 'caught' in the school music room blasting it at full volume while I played along using the school's precious Roland D 20 :-). Years later I thought of a line from the radio broadcast from Destination Docklands that Jarre had 'something of the returned hero about him' as he played Rendezvous 4 in the wind and rain, and used this as inspiration for my own 'Return of the Exile'. Astonishing that he's kept innovating and long may it continue!
I was listening to Klaus today ("In Blue") and thought I'd mention him to Jim (as he likes J-MJ) but I see you beat me to it.
Out of interest, when was the sampling period? What albums?