Équinoxe

The album was recorded from January to August 1978 in the makeshift recording studio set up in his apartment in Paris. The making of the album was done with a 16-track MCI tape. 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.{{cite magazine |last=Black |first=Johnny |title=Vinyl Icons: Jean-Michel Jarre Equinoxe |magazine=Hi-Fi News & Record Review |date=15 April 2020 |url=https://www.hifinews.com/content/jean-michel-jarre-equinoxe |access-date=26 December 2021}}{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=45-47}}

The aquatic, rain, storm and thunder sounds that play on various tracks were designed by French sound engineer Michel Geiss. Apart from using the ARP 2600, Jarre also used liberal echo whips in the various sound effects generated by the EMS VCS 3 synthesizer.{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=45-47}} Both the Eminent 310 Unique organ and the VCS 3 went through an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone guitar phasing pedal in order to provide the string pads used on the album.{{citation |last=Thévenin |first=Patrick |title=Jean-Michel Jarre's Favorite Synths |date=3 May 2012 |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2012/05/jarre-synth}}{{cite web |last1=Music |first1=Future |title=9 essential tips for using stompboxes in your studio |url=https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/9-essential-tips-for-using-stompboxes-in-your-studio-623530 |website=MusicRadar |access-date=26 September 2022 |language=en |date=22 June 2015}} The main sound of "Équinoxe Part 1" was created using Eminent's SUST string configuration. The album also used the Korg Mini Pops drum machine.

Jarre's musical ideas were initially recorded on a small cassette recorder, "as an audio scratch pad". Jarre considered discarding one of the recordings as he did not think that it was good enough, but Geiss convinced him to keep it, and the track later became "Équinoxe Part 7". Jarre also told Geiss that one of his wishes was to get a sequencer based on a matrix. Geiss designed the Matrisequencer 250, an 2x50 note instrument which "became one of the main instruments in Équinoxe."{{cite web |title=Interview with Michel Geiss (I) |url=https://en.jeanmicheljarre.es/2014/03/25/interview-with-michel-geiss-i/ |website=Fairlight Jarre |access-date=24 August 2022 |date=25 March 2014}}{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=45-47}} The Rhythmicomputer designed by Geiss also was used.{{cite web |title=Michel Geiss Rythmicomputer at SynthFest 2022 |url=https://www.synthfestfrance.com/michel-geiss-rythmicomputer-at-synthfest-2022/ |website=SynthFest France |access-date=24 August 2022 |language=fr-FR |date=23 March 2022}} The album was mixed at Gang Studio by Jean-Pierre Janiaud with assistance from Patrick Foulon.{{Cite AV media |title=Équinoxe |publisher=Disques Dreyfus/BMG/Sony/Warner |year=2014 |type=booklet |id=88843089322}}

As with Oxygène, the cover art for Équinoxe used a painting by Michel Granger, in this case, Le trac (Stage Fright).{{cite web |title=Le trac - Sérigraphie épreuve pigmentaire |url=http://www.granger-michel.com/project/le-trac-serigraphie-epreuve-pigmentaire/ |website=Michel Granger |access-date=22 December 2021 |language=fr-FR}} Granger visited Jarre's private mansion in Croissy to present him with different paintings that would illustrate the album cover. Each of the canvases was projected by light cannons, and Le trac was immediately chosen by Jean-Michel.{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=45-47}}

Équinoxe was released in December 1978 by Disques Dreyfus and internationally by Polydor Records,{{cite book |last1=Whiteley |first1=Sheila |last2=Rambarran |first2=Shara |title=The Oxford Handbook of Music and Virtuality |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-932128-5 |page=550 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C1wFCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22disques+motors%22+equinoxe+jean+mcihel+jarre&pg=PA550 |access-date=28 September 2022 |language=en}}{{cite magazine |title=UA extends Shirley B campaign |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Business-UK/1978/Record-Business-1978-12-04.pdf |magazine=Record Business |page=4 |date=4 December 1978 |via=WorldRadioHistory}} The album was promoted in London, UK.{{cite magazine |title=From The Music Capitals Of The World |magazine=Billboard |date=9 December 1978 |page=126 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-12-09.pdf |access-date=30 October 2022}} Two singles were released from the album, "Équinoxe Part 4" and "Équinoxe Part 5", the latter having more success reaching No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart{{cite web |title=Official Singles Chart Top 75: 21 January 1979 - 27 January 1979 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19790121/7501/ |website=Official Charts Company |access-date=28 September 2022 |language=en}} and was described as a "synth-pop primer."{{cite book |last1=Christopher |first1=Michael |title=Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band |date=28 December 2020 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-5400-8 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKgKEAAAQBAJ&dq=equinoxe+synth-pop&pg=PR7 |access-date=28 September 2022 |language=en}} The release was followed by a laser show and fireworks directed by Disques Dreyfus outside the Palais des Festivals, Cannes where the album was broadcast at high volume on the public address system,{{cite magazine |title=Midem Jottings |magazine=Billboard |date=10 February 1979 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=equinoxe+jean+michel+jarre+charts&pg=PT57 |access-date=28 September 2022 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}} and also by a February 1979 promotional tour in the United States.{{cite magazine |last=Lichtman |first=Irv |title=Calm Jarre 'Oxygene' Success |magazine=Billboard |date=17 February 1979 |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=jarre+oxygene&pg=PT80 |access-date=12 July 2022}}

A concert on the Place de la Concorde, Paris was held on 14 July of that year. The concert attracted over a million people, at the time the largest crowd for an outdoor concert.{{cite magazine |last=Bein |first=Kat |title=Jean-Michel Jarre Contemplates the Future's Mystery on 'Equinoxe Infinity': Exclusive Track-by-Track Breakdown |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8485436/jean-michel-jarre-equinoxe-infinity-breakdown/ |magazine=Billboard |date=16 November 2018 |access-date=27 September 2021}} Although it was not the first time he had performed in concert (Jarre had already played at the Paris Opera Ballet), the 40 minute-long event, which used projections of light, images and fireworks, served as a blueprint for Jarre's future concerts.{{cite AV media | people=Powell, Aubrey (director) | date=1997 | title=Making the Steamroller Fly | type=TV documentary}}{{Harvnb|Hughes|Reader|2003|p=303}} Its popularity helped create a surge in sales—a further 800,000 records were sold between 14 July and 31 August 1979—and the Frenchman Francis Rimbert featured at the event.{{Harvnb|Remilleux|1988|p=48}}{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=52}} Along with its 1976 predecessor, both sold more than 1.5 million copies in France and in 1981, it would be certified platinum, in November 1979, both sold 11 million worldwide.{{cite magazine |last1=Anthonissen |first1=Juul |title=Ariola Adds Dreyfus For Benelux Market |magazine=Billboard |date=24 November 1979 |page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=jean+michel+jarre+oxygene+mexico&pg=PT56 |access-date=17 October 2022 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}

| rev2 = Mojo

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev3 = Record Mirror

| rev3score = {{Rating|2|5}}

}}

Contemporary critical reception for 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."{{cite magazine |first=Davitt |last=Sigerson |title=Review: Jean Michel Jarre – Équinoxe |magazine=Melody Maker |page=49 |date=2 December 1978}} In Record Mirror, Steve Gett called the album "very artificial and as a result quite emotionless." He continued saying that, "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."{{cite magazine |first=Steve |last=Gett |title=JEAN MICHEL JARRE: 'Equinoxe' |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/Record-Mirror-1978-12-08.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror |page=18 |date=8 December 1978 |via=WorldRadioHistory}}

In the US, Cashbox wrote that "the result is a complex, starkly-toned album which is surprisingly accessible and invigorating. Although even liberal AOR stations may hesitate to place this LP on steady rotating, Jarre's sizable following plus adventurous rock fans will find this LP fascinating."{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox40unse_28/page/20/mode/2up |magazine=Cashbox |page=19 |date=9 December 1978}} The Pittsburgh Press described the album as "a moody, melodic, masterful synthesizer symphony" and "a dazzling musical poem, a pleasure to listen to, a delight to experience."{{cite magazine |title=Disc Roundup |magazine=The Pittsburgh Press |date=24 January 1979 |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXkqAAAAIBAJ&dq=jean+michel+jarre+oxygene+review&pg=PA61&article_id=4735,3104895 |access-date=9 September 2022 |publisher=The Pittsburgh Press |language=en}} In The Bulletin, William D. Loffler commented that the "titles are meaningless because the music is something like a stretched-out electronic tone poem."{{cite book |title=Jarre uses electronics for his caus |date=15 February 1979 |publisher=The Bulletin |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T1FYAAAAIBAJ&dq=jean+michel+jarre+equinoxe&pg=PA85&article_id=4412,3233199 |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en}} Retrospective reviews of the album have been more favourable. Phil Alexander of Mojo listed it as one of Jarre's three key albums, noting the influence of abstract art and classical composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Nino Rota on Équinoxe, and wrote that "Jarre attempted to trace the human experience from morning to night across eight tracks on an album that is sensual and, in places, deeply melancholic."{{cite magazine |last=Alexander |first=Phil |title=Electric Dreams |magazine=Mojo |date=November 2015 |issue=264 |page=45 |url=https://ia804508.us.archive.org/24/items/mojo-november-2015/Mojo%20-%20November%202015.pdf |access-date=25 August 2022 }}

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."{{AllMusic |first=Mike |last=DeGagne |id=r83190 |label=Jean Michel Jarre – Équinoxe}}

"Équinoxe Part 1", and "Équinoxe Part 2" were used in the Mexican telenovela "Los Ricos También Lloran" starring Verónica Castro, and Rogelio Guerra.

A segment of "Équinoxe Part 1" was used in the final ident of Programme One.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=BcAG-CsCda0psXri&v=-mrDCSUk-5M&feature=youtu.be |title=Заставка 1 программы ЦТ СССР (1991) |date=2021-08-04 |last=STV-ANDREY-VHS |access-date=2025-04-28 |via=YouTube}}

"Équinoxe Part 1", "Équinoxe Part 3" and "Équinoxe Part 4" were used in Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan, however they were not included on the series' soundtrack albums.{{cite web |title=The Complete Music of Cosmos |url=http://cosmic_voyager.tripod.com/cosmosindex.htm |website=cosmic_voyager.tripod.com |access-date=9 October 2022}} In the 1984 computer game for Commodore 64, Loco,{{cite web|title=The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers|url=https://dadgum.com/giantlist/|last1=Hague|first1=James|access-date=February 18, 2021}} a remake of "Équinoxe Part 5" and "Équinoxe Part 6" by Ben Daglish was used.{{cite magazine|title=Loco|magazine=Retro Gamer|publisher=Imagine Publishing|issue=70|pages=84–89}}{{cite magazine|title=The Making Of: Loco|magazine=Retro Gamer|publisher=Imagine Publishing|issue=196|page=44}} In 2018, four decades after the album's release, Jarre produced a sequel, titled Equinoxe Infinity.{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Christina |title=Jean-Michel Jarre previews upcoming album 'Equinoxe Infinity' with new single, 'Robots Don't Cry' |url=https://dancingastronaut.com/2018/11/jean-michel-jarre-previews-upcoming-album-equinoxe-infinity-new-single-robots-dont-cry/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |work=Dancing Astronaut |date=7 November 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Lesprit |first1=Bruno |title="Equinoxe Infinity" : retour au rétro-futurisme pour Jean-Michel Jarre |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/musiques/article/2018/11/22/equinoxe-infinity-retour-au-retro-futurisme-pour-jean-michel-jarre_5386849_1654986.html |access-date=16 September 2022 |work=Le Monde.fr |date=22 November 2018 |language=fr}}

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

Personnel listed in album liner notes:

• Jean-Michel Jarre – production
• Jean-Pierre Janiaud – mixing engineer
• Patrick Foulon – mixing assistant
• Michel Granger – artwork
• Helmut Newton – back photography

Adapted from the liner notes of the 2014 remastered version.

• ARP 2600
• EMS VCS 3
• EMS Synthi AKS
• Yamaha CS-60
• Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer
• RMI Harmonic Synthesizer
• ELKA 707
• Korg Polyphonic Ensemble
• Eminent 310 Unique
• Mellotron
• ARP Sequencer
• Oberheim Digital Sequencer
• Geiss Matrisequencer 250
• Geiss Rhythmi-computer
• Korg Mini Pops
• EMS Vocoder 1000

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre |title=Equinox |award=Gold|relyear=1978|certyear=1985}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=France |award=Platinum |salesamount=1,500,000 |certref={{cite magazine |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-01-31.pdf |title=Dreyfus Philosophy |magazine=Billboard |via=World Radio History |pages=41–54 |date=31 January 1981 |access-date=18 September 2022}}|salesref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=album|artist=Jean Michel Jarre |title=Equinoxe|award=Gold|relyear=1978|certyear=1983}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|type=album|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre |title=Oxygène|nocert=true|relyear=1978|salesamount=35,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0UEAAAAMBAJ&dq=jarre+france+oxygene+billboard&pg=RA1-PA32-IA1|title=Jarre Around the World|magazine=Billboard|via=Google Books|page=32|date=13 March 1982|accessdate=24 May 2021}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Netherlands|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre|title=Equinoxe|award=Gold|certyear=1979|relyear=1978|salesamount=75,000|salesref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|type=album|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre |title=Équinoxe|nocert=true|relyear=1978|salesamount=15,000|salesref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|title=Equinoxe|award=Gold|relyear=1978|certyear=1979|id=2080-622-2}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Worldwide|type=album |artist=Jean Michel Jarre |title=Equinoxe |nocert=true |relyear=1978|salesamount=3,000,000|salesref={{cite book|title=Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985|publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=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|isbn=0668064595|page=459}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Citation | last = Duguay | first = Michael | title = Jean Michel Jarre | year = 2018 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JJB5DwAAQBAJ | publisher = Books on Demand | isbn = 978-284-993-324-4}}
• {{Citation | last1 = Hughes | first1 = Alex | last2 = Reader | first2 = Keith | title = Encyclopedia of contemporary French culture | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=getDruRAaqgC | publisher = CRC Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-203-00330-6}}
• {{Citation | last = Remilleux | first = Jean-Louis | title = Jean-Michel Jarre | publisher = Futura Publications Ltd. | edition = English | year = 1988 | isbn = 0-7088-4263-1}}

• [http://www.discogs.com/Jean-Michel-Jarre-Equinoxe/master/49172 Équinoxe] at Discogs

{{Jean Michel Jarre}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Equinoxe}}

Category:1978 albums

Category:Jean-Michel Jarre albums

Category:Dreyfus Records albums

Category:Polydor Records albums

Category:1970s concept albums

Category:Electronic albums by French artists

Category:Ambient albums by French artists

Category:Space music albums by French artists

Category:New-age albums by French artists