French electronic music pioneer Jarre shows no fatigue at 74

Genes and a dash of humility are the secrets of longevity for one of France's biggest music stars, Jean-Michel Jarre, the septuagenarian electronic music pioneer who's sold over 80 million records and is still going strong.

"My vitality is probably genetic; it's coming from my mother," he said before a Paris concert, referring to Francette Pejot, the French Resistance member and concentration camp survivor. "She was an extraordinary woman. She was a great figure in the French Resistance. And she was always thinking forward - I mean, philosophically, socially, in day-to-day life. And I think she gave me this strength."

The electronic music star spoke to The Associated Press on Oct. 26 in central Paris' Brongniart Palace without displaying any fatigue, despite constant performances, and looking younger than his 74 years. He flitted between observations on life and technical details on his new sound. His latest album entitled Oxymore, or "oxymoron," released last week, is a groundbreaking electronic album recorded in 360-degree immersive sound, accompanied by a virtual reality experience in the metaverse.

This trippy recording, his 22nd album, comes full circle in his six-decade career as it seems to reference his first major recording, the 1976 album Oxygene that catapulted him to fame, selling an estimated 18 million copies despite having been recorded in a makeshift studio at home.

That approach, huge success twinned with a down-to-earth attitude, is the signature of the man who remains humble despite being a household name in France and beyond. In 1977, he was named Person of the Year by U.S. magazine People, one year before marrying British actress Charlotte Rampling. The marriage was dissolved in 1997.

Setting records for the...