Jean-Michel Jarre Enlists M83, Pete Townshend, Air, Laurie Anderson, Fuck Buttons, More for New Album

French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre has announced Electronica 1: The Time Machine, the first LP in a planned two-part series. He’s enlisted quite the assortment of collaborators for the album, which is out October 16 via Ultra Music. M83, Pete Townshend, Massive Attack’s 3D, Laurie Anderson, Vince Clarke (Erasure/Depeche Mode/Yazoo), Moby, Air, Little Boots, Tangerine Dream, Fuck Buttons, Gesaffelstein, director/composer John Carpenter, Boys Noize, Armin van Buuren, and Lang Lang all appear on the record.

The video for “If…!”, his collaboration with Little Boots, is out tomorrow. Below, watch a trailer for the album.

In a press release, Jarre said:

I’ve wanted to tell a story for a while regarding electronic music history and its legacy from my point of view and experience, from when I started to nowadays. So I planned to compose for and collaborate with an array of artists who are, directly or indirectly linked to this scene, with people I admire for their singular contribution to our genre, that represent a source of inspiration for me over the last four decades I have been making music, but who also have an instantly recognizable sound. At the outset, I had no idea how this project would evolve, but I was delighted that everybody I reached out to accepted my invitation.

We’ve already heard Jarre’s collaborations with Gesaffelstein on “Conquistador“, with Massive Attack’s 3D on “Watching You”, and with Tangerine Dream on “Zero Gravity”. (The latter was recorded before the death of founder Edgar Froese.) Below, revisit the video for “Glory”, his collaboration with M83.

Electronica 2, the follow-up record, is set for a spring 2016 release.

Electronica 1: The Time Machine:

01 The Time Machine [ft. Boys Noize]
02 Glory [ft. M83]
03 Close Your Eyes [ft. Air]
04 Automatic (part 1) [ft. Vince Clarke]
05 Automatic (part 2) [ft. Vince Clarke]
06 If..! [ft. Little Boots]
07 Immortals [ft. Fuck Buttons]
08 Suns Have Gone [ft. Moby]
09 Conquistador [ft. Gesaffelstein]
10 Travelator (part 2) [ft. Pete Townshend]
11 Zero Gravity [ft. Tangerine Dream]
12 Rely on Me [ft. Laurie Anderson]
13 Stardust [ft. Armin van Buuren]
14 Watching You [ft. Massive Attack’s 3D]
15 A Question of Blood [ft. John Carpenter]
16 The Train & the River [ft. Lang Lang]

“Glory”: