Équinoxe

Équinoxe (English: Equinox) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Disques Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for worldwide distribution.

Not to be confused with Equinox.
For the song by C418, see Minecraft - Volume Alpha.

Équinoxe
Studio album by
Jean-Michel Jarre
ReleasedDecember 1978
RecordedJanuary–August 1978
Length39:02
LabelDisques Dreyfus
ProducerJean Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel Jarre chronology
Oxygène
(1976)		 Équinoxe
(1978)		 Les Chants Magnétiques
(1981)
Singles from Équinoxe
  1. "Équinoxe Part 5"
    Released: 29 December 1978
  2. "Équinoxe Part 4"
    Released: July 1979

Jarre had developed his sound, employing more dynamic and rhythmic elements, particularly a greater use of sequencing on basslines. Much of this was achieved using custom equipment developed by his collaborator Michel Geiss.[1] The album is presented as two suites of music, each consisting of four parts and taking up one side of the vinyl release of the album. The separate tracks on the record smoothly segue into each other to this effect.

The album reached number 11 on the UK Album Chart and number 126 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In 2018, four decades after the album's release, Jarre produced a sequel, titled Equinoxe Infinity.

Composition and concept

Jarre worked alongside Geiss in a "narrow, remodeled dining room in a flat next to the Champs Elysees in the heart of Paris". Jarre stated that although his previous album Oxygène was created without a concept in mind, Équinoxe was intended to represent a day in the life of a person, from waking up in the morning to sleeping at night.[2]

Artwork

As with Oxygène, the cover art for Équinoxe used a painting by Michel Granger, in this case, Le trac (Stage Fright).[3] The figure on the album was originally a very small line drawing, one of the first drawings Granger had done and it was also for the Promesses newspaper, one of the newspapers of the Bayard Presse group. "The theme was a cartoon about distance in the theater. So Michel put himself in the place of the actor, who is in front of people with binoculars, like this."[4]

Release and promotion

Two singles were released from the album, "Équinoxe Part 5" and "Équinoxe Part 4". The release was followed by a concert on the Place de la Concorde, Paris on 14 July 1979. The concert attracted over a million people, at the time the largest crowd for an outdoor concert.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Record Mirror[7]

Critical reaction to the album in the UK was negative. Davitt Sigerson of Melody Maker said "it is as slushily, pseudo-galactically crass and vapid as last year's Oxygène. The melodies are trite, harmonies predictable, textures almost determinedly hackneyed (even down to artificial 'weather' effects to generate mood). There isn't even much that's danceable."[8] In Record Mirror, Steve Gett called the album "very artificial, and as a result quite emotionless ... As far as I was concerned the effect was one of sleep inducement, basically because it seems so lifeless and infinite, never reaching a specific goal but merely drifting on."[7]

A retrospective review by Mike DeGagne of AllMusic commented, "As the follow up album to Oxygène, Équinoxe offers the same mesmerizing effect, with rapid spinning sequencer washes and bubbling synthesizer portions all lilting back and forth to stardust scatterings of electronic pastiches. Using more than 13 different types of synthesizers, Jarre combines whirling soundscapes of multi-textured effects, passages, and sometimes suites to culminate interesting electronic atmospheres... So much electronic color is added to every track that it is impossible to concentrate on any particular segment, resulting in waves of synth drowning the ears at high tide."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are composed by Jean-Michel Jarre.

Side one

  1. "Équinoxe Part 1" – 2:23
  2. "Équinoxe Part 2" – 5:01
  3. "Équinoxe Part 3" – 5:11
  4. "Équinoxe Part 4" – 6:52

Side two

  1. "Équinoxe Part 5" – 3:54
  2. "Équinoxe Part 6" – 3:15
  3. "Équinoxe Part 7" – 7:24
  4. "Équinoxe Part 8" – 5:02

Equipment

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[20] Platinum 1,500,000[21]
Germany (BVMI)[22] Gold 250,000^
Japan — 35,000[23]
Netherlands (NVPI)[24] Gold 50,000^
Sweden — 15,000[25]
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 3,000,000-4,000,000[27]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Interview with Michel Geiss (part 1)". Fairlight Jarre. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. Black, Johnny (15 April 2020). "Vinyl Icons: Jean-Michel Jarre Equinoxe". Hi-Fi News & Record Review. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  3. "Le trac - Sérigraphie épreuve pigmentaire". Michel Granger (in French). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. Baldacchino, Julien (18 January 2016). "Michel Granger : 'Le Trac', 'Oxygène' et les autres". Bav[art]dages (in French). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. Bein, Kat (16 November 2018). "Jean-Michel Jarre Contemplates the Future's Mystery on 'Equinoxe Infinity': Exclusive Track-by-Track Breakdown". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  6. DeGagne, Mike. Jean Michel Jarre – Équinoxe > Review at AllMusic
  7. Gett, Steve (9 December 1978). "Review: Jean Michel Jarre – Équinoxe". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  8. Sigerson, Davitt (2 December 1978). "Review: Jean Michel Jarre – Équinoxe". Melody Maker. p. 49.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 153. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Jean Michel Jarre – Equinoxe" (in German). Hung Medien.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jean Michel Jarre – Equinoxe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  12. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  13. "Charts.nz – Jean Michel Jarre – Equinoxe". Hung Medien.
  14. "Jean Michel Jarre | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  15. "Jean Michel Jarre Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  16. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1979". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  17. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  18. "Top Albums 1979". Music Week. 22 December 1979. p. 30.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinox". Music Canada.
  20. "Disques Dreyfus" (PDF). Billboard. 31 January 1981. p. D-5. Retrieved 16 October 2020 – via World Radio History.
  21. "Disques Dreyfus" (PDF). Billboard. 31 January 1981. p. D-18. Retrieved 16 October 2020 – via World Radio History.
  22. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Jean Michel Jarre; 'Equinoxe')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  23. "Jarre Around the World - Japan". Billboard. 13 March 1982. p. JMJ-15. Retrieved 24 May 2021 – via Google Books.
  24. "Dutch album certifications – Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Equinoxe in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  25. "Jarre Around the World - Sweden". Billboard. 13 March 1982. p. JMJ-17. Retrieved 24 May 2021 – via Google Books.
  26. "British album certifications – Jean Michel Jarre – Equinoxe". British Phonographic Industry.
  27. Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 459. ISBN 0668064595. Over 100,000 copies of "Equinoxe" were sold in Britain, the remainder of the huge sales spread around other countries, possibly three to four million
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