For this tour you have been using only vintage gear. Old analog synthesizers can be a bit sensitive sometimes. Have you had any problems during this tour?

Yeah, during the concert tonight I had some problems and had to turn off one of the synthesizers several times. Did you notice that?

Well, actually not. I didn’t notice a thing.

Sometimes there have also been a bit of a problem with the tune drifting. We start each concert tuning the synthesizers but sometimes things happen during the show. But in all things have worked fine given the age of the synthesizers. Actually the first synthesizer I ever bought is with me on this tour. It was the EMS VCS 3. I bought back in 1967 in London and I had to sell a guitar and a lot of old toys from my childhood to afford it. I have not had to repair it ever. Touch wood…

Before you started the concert tonight you told the audience about the imperfections that might occur during the show. How important are imperfections to your music?

Very important! Old analog equipment is like more human than machines. Each instrument has its own character, just like a person. It is like working with other musicians. So yes, mistakes are very important. That’s one thing I really like about the Elektron gear, they allow for such creative mistakes. The interfaces are very friendly but they can take you in directions you never thought of. The Monomachine has the perfect analog approach to synthesis, but with digital means. And the Machinedrum Userwave is probably going to be my favorite drum machine.

You have quite some musical background. Back in the days you studied for Pierre Schaeffer, a man that is regarded as the founding father of Musique Concrète. What impact did his teachings have on you?

He changed both my life and my perception of music. I studied three years for him as a part of Groupe de Recherche Musicale, or GRM. He taught me that music is not only made by notes or chords, but out of sounds. The difference between noise and a musical sound lies only in the hand or gesture of the artist or musician.

You also studied for another legendary musician – Karl-Heinz Stockhausen. How was that?

From Stockhausen I learned, in a modern way, about the idea of relation between time and space within music. He also passed on his knowledge about the subtleties of mixing frequencies, how to combine very raw frequencies with complex textures. You could say he told me about composition concepts. In many regards Schaeffer and Stockhausen were the opposites of each other so the combination of their teachings was invaluable.

How does the process of making music look for you today?

Making music for me is a very human process. It is a physical interaction, something very special happens in the meeting between man and machine. I must say I prefer hardware instruments. A software emulation often looks like the original synthesizer with the front panel, layout of the knobs and all. But if there is a knob, why not use it directly in real life? I also see composing electronic music a bit like cooking. It is like mixing spices and ingredients to make a dish. Actually, a DJ for me is someone in front of an oven, cooking frequencies.

This naturally leads to the question of how you would define your music.

I’m totally interested in the emotional approach of instruments. It is almost sexual in a sense. If you take Kraftwerk as an example they are on another side of the spectrum. Their music is more robotic, which is also a big part of their image. They make excellent music in their own right but one of the differences between them and me is that my approach, I think, is more human.

You have been active within the electronic music scene for several decades now. What are your thoughts about contemporary electronic music?

There exists a lot of interesting electronic music today. In France we have for example Justice, Daft Punk, Air and Sebastian Tellier. They’re great! I consider electronic music totally timeless. There is a long tradition of electronic music in France and Germany. Because of the nature of electronic music, and how it often takes the shape of long instrumental pieces, I think it is very similar to classical music. Germany, France and Italy are countries where a big part of the tradition of classical music was defined, we more or less have it in our genes. Therefore it is quite natural that we also have a long history of electronic music.

Time for the final question, I heard that you’re building a new studio outside of Paris?

It is actually not a new studio, I am rather rebuilding the studio I currently have there. I’m going to build two rooms. One will be digital oriented, using a 192 kHz/24 bit interface as the means of recording. The other room is full of old analog gear so it is really the best of both worlds!

Be sure to check out Jean Michel Jarre's official website here.