Music For Supermarkets - Production

Production

In 1983, Jean Michel Jarre was asked to compose the background music for a supermarket themed art exhibition, the Orrimbe show. Jarre agreed, recording Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) between February and May 1983. The exhibition, created by some young artists and friends of Jarre, ran at the Jean-Claude Riedel gallery between June 2 and June 30, 1983, and the works of art on display would be auctioned off afterwards. Inspired by this, Jarre decided that the music accompanying the exhibition could be a one-off piece of art as well, and thus, Music for Supermarkets would have only a single, unique copy pressed, to be auctioned for charity at Hotel Drouot. After the exhibition had ended, master tapes and plates were destroyed, making this the only existing copy in the world. It instantly became one of the most expensive and collectible albums in history. In the inside cover, 11 polaroid photos show the step by step creation of the disc, leaving one slot so that the final owner could add his photo with the album. The album owner was first kept anonymous, but later revealed to be a certain M. Gerard, who after a car crash woke up to the radio playing Jarre's track "Souvenir of China" (from the Concerts in China album); this album cost him 69,000 francs (10,500 euro). As of 2007, the album has been sold two times, the second owner being a certain Ducroix; its current owner is unknown.


Read more about this topic:  Music For Supermarkets

Famous quotes containing the word production:

    The problem of culture is seldom grasped correctly. The goal of a culture is not the greatest possible happiness of a people, nor is it the unhindered development of all their talents; instead, culture shows itself in the correct proportion of these developments. Its aim points beyond earthly happiness: the production of great works is the aim of culture.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    The repossession by women of our bodies will bring far more essential change to human society than the seizing of the means of production by workers.
    Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)

    ... if the production of any commodity necessitates the sacrifice of human life, society should do without that commodity, but it can not do without that life.
    Emma Goldman (1869–1940)