Exclusive: Jean Michel Jarre for Irish concerts

The concerts – his first ever in Ireland – have been lined up as part of an intimate European tour to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the seminal album, Oxygene. The gigs, which take place on Tuesday March 18 and Wednesday March 19 are being promoted by Raglane Entertainment.

The French composer will be performing the entire Oxygene masterpiece at the concerts, with the help of three musicians, and using more than fifty of his legendary analogue synthesizers.

Tickets, which are €85 and €80, go on sale from the NCH box office only, from 10am on Friday, January 25th. His only London date, at the Albert Hall on March 30, sold out in a few hours.

Jarre has been featured in the Guinness Book of Records four times, for the biggest live concerts in the world – the biggest being in Russia, where he played to 3.5 million people. In his career to date, Jarre has sold in excess of 80 million albums.

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In 1977 French composer and pioneer of electronic music, Jean Michel Jarre achieved worldwide fame with an album that seduced both music fans and critics across the globe. Oxygene is timeless masterpiece and it's visionary album cover image focused attention on global environmental problems, long before the environment became a mainstream issue.

Oxygene was a milestone album in electronic music, recorded with cutting edge instruments, many of which can now only be purchased second hand. Jarre's approach was groundbreaking, paving the way for today's generation of electronic musicians.

Jarre, who usually performs to millions with spectacular outdoor shows, at historic locations around the world, has chosen the National Concert Hall in Dublin to perform the complete score of Oxygene. These concerts will be a rare moment in his career and are part of a limited number of intimate live dates across Europe.

As Jarre says: "I've composed Oxygene on extraordinary instruments, part of electronic music mythology, as Stradivarius was for classical music or Fender Telecaster was for rock music. These legendary instruments are truly amazing and not at all known to the general public. The synthesizers are all analogue, and to perform a full live concert, with no digital tools, will give a nice edge to the performance and ensure that each night is a different experience. I wanted to perform Oxygene in intimate spaces – an opportunity to be closer to the audience – the music itself, and the staging I have imagined, lend themselves to this special project."