The AERO years

In 2002, Jarre performed a concert called AERO at Gammel Vr? Enge wind farm, just outside Aalborg in Denmark, to a rather wet audience of approximately 50,000. AERO was studio-album of mostly retooled Jarre classics was later released in 2004, in combined DVD and CD forms. The DVD featured 5.1 sound, with DTS and Dolby Digital tracks. Jarre affirmed that this was the first ever musical work conceived for 5.1 sound. The video to accompany the musical tracks was a fixed very close-up shot of Anne Parillaud's eyes reacting in real time to the music. The album also featured inside the sleeve notes a collection of various pictures and artwork of Jarre's fans from around the world.

2002 would also mark the release of Sessions 2000, a set of experimental synth-jazz pieces that were stylistically distinct from anything Jarre had previously released. The work on this album is decidedly less rhythm-oriented than Jarre's previous work from Equinoxe on. It is also rumoured to have been a quick ditch effort album for Jarre to get out of his contractual terms with Francis Dreyfus.


AERO (2004)In 2003, Jarre released the album Geometry of Love for dance club VIP Lounge, in Paris, taking the 'inspired by the club generation' all the way. While Jarre's contemporary albums found themselves drawn to the pulsing rhythms of the dancefloor, Geometry of Love had its spiritual home in the chill-out room at the back, with lush, sprawling, sublime works washing over the listener.

On October 10, 2004, Jarre performed two consecutive concerts, first in the Forbidden City, followed immediately by a smaller concert in Tiananmen Square in China, to commemorate open China’s Year of France cultural exchange season. Choosing a picturesque location at Wumen Gate in the Forbidden City, Jarre performed with both modern and traditional Chinese orchestras, choir, opera singers, and several guest musicians including Chen Lin, and guitarist Patrick Rondat. Jarre was prevented from performing with China’s Cui Jian whose songs were sung by student demonstrators in 1989. While it is the first section of the performance that is of historical significance (the Forbidden City being very much as its name suggests - the audience comprised of about 15,000 spectators, most of them special guests), the second half had a more muted stage arrangement, providing the closest Jarre had ever had to an 'after-gig' show - with an audience of 9,000 expectant Chinese. This concert was broadcast in HDTV with 5.1 sound by some satellite channels. 5.1 sound was also used on the stage. A combined DVD/CD of these concerts, Jarre In China was released in 2005 with THX-mastered sound.

On August 26, 2005, Jarre performed a long-form concert called Space of Freedom in Gda?sk, Poland to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Solidarity. Around 170,000 people attended the paid-entry concert. Lech Wa??sa was present on stage.

On September 10, 2005 Jarre made a short-form concert at the LinX Live Show for the official opening of the Eurocam Media Centre, containing Belgian HDTV Company Euro1080s new HDTV Studios, in Lint, Belgium.

In September, 2006 Tadlow Music released a special symphonic album, titled The Symphonic Jean Michel Jarre with 20 cover versions of Jarre tracks on 2 CDs. Jarre has supported this album, including his voice in one track. There is also a special limited 3-disc set with a bonus DVD containing 5.1 surround mixes of all the tracks.

In his role of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Jarre performed a concert named Water for Life in the Sahara Desert, near Merzouga, Morocco on December 16, 2006, to celebrate the year of desertification in the world.

Jarre has released a new original studio album, being his first real studio album since Metamorphoses. This new studio album, entitled T?o & T?a, was released by Warner Music and iTunes on March 26 2007. There are two singles planned to be released for this album, with the first single promoted on YouTube around the end of January. A web site was created to promote this album. Jarre has stated that this album comes after a dark period in his private and professional life.

During 2006, Jarre was stated to produce an experimental TV series titled Mort-Mouvance, directed by Ellibert Mozart Fuzzkhan, who also produced a fake website of AeroProd, the company which produces Jarre's projects. The TV series and web sites turned out to be a hoax, and Jarre is pressing legal charges against the owners of those sites.

In 2007, Jarre arranged the soundtrack for a movie directed by Volker Schl?ndorff, using old material The movie is named Strajk - Die Heldin von Danzig , its international English title is Strike.