Jean-Michel Jarre’s Listening Chair

French composer Jean-Michel Jarre is a pioneer of electronic music renowned for his groundbreaking use of synthesisers and tape loops as well as his innovative audio-visual performances. He sits in the Unclassified Listening Chair to share music from his latest release Oxymore, a tribute to the great Pierre Henry, one of the trailblazers of musique concrète, a sound collage and compositional method in which music is created from the cutting, splicing, stitching and manipulation of raw recorded materials.

Elsewhere in the show, Elizabeth serves up music from a range of artists who also take inspiration from similar creative techniques. The selections include abrasive work from the legendary William Basinski, the wonky and playful electronic sounds of Bernard Parmegiani (a protégé of the late Pierre Schaeffer), and the emotive musical results of a collaboration between the Californian sound artist Claire Rousay and composer Emily Harper Scott.

Produced by Alexa Kruger
A Reduced Listening Production for BBC Radio 3