You may have done a double-take a moment ago when you saw Edward Snowden on the list of people who'll be receiving Electronica 2 royalty payments. Seeing as he couldn't come to him, Jean Michel travelled to Moscow to meet the NSA whistleblower who features on the in-yer-face 'Exit'. "Saying that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different to saying you don't care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say; it's a deeply anti-social principle because rights are not just individual, they are collective. If you don't stand up for it who will?" ponders Snowden as all techno hell breaks loose behind him. "He's living in the centre in Moscow, but exactly where I don't know for obvious reasons," Jarre told Hot Press. "It was quite complicated to meet him, but we really do need people like Edward. He's the real modern hero. Part of the reason for doing these Electronica records is the relationship we have nowadays with technology. On one hand, you literally have the world in your pocket with smartphones. On the other, we feel as if we're being spied on by the outside world. My mom was in the French Resistance and told me that at the time in 1941, many French people considered them to be troublemakers and traitors. History tells us different, but that's how they were perceived at the time in certain quarters. You know what resistance is really about in Ireland; you've been raised with the same values as us."
"In 50 years time, Edward Snowden will be recognised as the great human being he is. I was really impressed with his integrity, honesty and humour. I didn't know that he was out in the field so much. He went into the CIA at 21 and at 24 was in the NSA. He's a super-gifted brain and geek. We're all geeks in this project but he's special. Edward Snowden did what he did to improve his country."
Watch the video for "Exit" below.