Jean-Michel Jarre's two-part
Electronica series finds the French synthesizer guru in full-on
Santana circa
Supernatural mode, collaborating with a vast array of guest musicians ranging from veterans to younger artists. The second volume, released seven months after 2015's inaugural
The Time Machine, is titled
The Heart of Noise in reference to Italian futurist
Luigi Russolo's 1913 manifesto The Art of Noises.
Jarre has a keen ear for collaborators, ranging from his '80s synth pop peers to 21st century techno artists whose work carries on the legacy of his past innovations. "Here for You" sounds exactly like what a
Jarre/
Gary Numan team-up should sound like, with a cruising midtempo synth pop rhythm and an unmistakably
Numan-esque melody. "Brick England" is a typically anthemic
Pet Shop Boys song, and
Cyndi Lauper's Tinder-inspired "Swipe to the Right" is perky, neon dance-pop. The album reflects
Jarre's visionary spirit, as well as that of his cohorts.
The Orb (who previously remixed
Jarre's iconic "Oxygene" into their 1997 single "Toxygene") mixes spoken samples from synthesizer inventors
Leon Theremin and
Bob Moog, as well as Theremin virtuoso
Clara Rockmore, into a dense yet fluid collage, which is topped by the eerie sounds of the Theremin itself.
Julia Holter makes a surprise appearance, adding her ethereal vocals to the shimmering synths of "These Creatures." Of the album's dancefloor-friendly tracks, the highlight is "Circus" (with
Siriusmo), a playful, romantic take on choppy French house. The album also features "Exit," which begins as an aggressive psy-trance track before slowing down to present a chopped-up monologue from exiled whistleblower
Edward Snowden that pertains to privacy and freedom of speech. "The Heart of Noise" bookends the album, with its first part (a cinematic version featuring
Rone) and more dissonant second part kicking it off, and the original demo concluding the release. As with the first volume of
Electronica, the second is commendable for its scope and its attempt to bridge several generations of electronic music. ~ Paul Simpson
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