Equinoxe (, ) is the fourth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in December 1978 on the Dreyfus record label, licensed to Polydor Records for its worldwide distribution in 1979. The album featured two singles: "Equinoxe Part 4" and "Equinoxe Part 5", the latter having more success reaching No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart. It reached number 11 on the UK Album Chart and number 126 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Composition and recording
The album was recorded from January to August 1978 in the makeshift recording studio set up in Jarre's 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, Equinoxe was intended to represent a day in the life of a person, from waking up in the morning to sleeping at night.
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. The main sound of "Equinoxe Part 1" was created using Eminent's SUST string configuration. The Rhythmicomputer designed by Geiss also was used. The album was mixed at Gang Studio by Jean-Pierre Janiaud with assistance from Patrick Foulon.
Artwork
As with Oxygène, the cover art for Equinoxe used a painting by Michel Granger, in this case, ' (English: Stage Fright). 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 ' was immediately chosen by Jean-Michel.
Release and promotion
Equinoxe was released in December 1978 by Disques Dreyfus and internationally by Polydor Records, The album was promoted in London, UK. Two singles were released from the album, "Equinoxe Part 4" and "Equinoxe Part 5", the latter having more success reaching No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart and was described as a "synth-pop primer." 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, and also by a February 1979 promotional tour in the United States.
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. 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. 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. Along with its 1976 predecessor, both sold more than 1.5 million copies in France and in 1981, it would be certified platinum,