Article Contributed by Falcon Publicity
Published on 2026-07-28
Jean-Michel Jarre has announced his first-ever book, Machines: A History of Electronic Music, a rich and detailed exploration of the genre’s past, present, and future through the eyes of one of its defining visionaries. The book will be released November 24 and distributed by Thames & Hudson.
With layer upon layer of rich content, Machines: A History of Electronic Music invites readers into Jarre’s formidable archive, one of the world’s largest and most significant collections of electronic and electro-acoustic instruments.
Through these machines, Jarre traces a century of sonic experimentation, examining the ideas, technologies, and cultural movements that shaped electronic music as it is known today.
The book features 130 curated and specially photographed examples, ranging from iconic modular synthesizers to rare prototypes and bespoke one-offs. It maps the trajectory of Jarre’s prolific career alongside each major technological progression.
Machines: A History of Electronic Music also includes contributions from Armin van Buuren, Vince Clarke of Erasure, Yazoo, and Depeche Mode, Gillian Gilbert of New Order, Nicolas Godin of Air, Richie Hawtin, Johnny Marr, Gary Numan, Benjamin John Power, and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran.
Beginning with Luigi Russolo’s 1913 Futurist manifesto The Art of Noises, the book journeys through Surrealism and the Bauhaus, into avant-garde radio laboratories, and inside pioneering studios including Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Radio France, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Along the way, Jarre charts the creative and technological breakthroughs that transformed modern music, from tape manipulation and analogue synthesis to the digital revolution, 3D recording, immersive multimedia, and AI-assisted performance.
At once lively, insightful, and deeply personal, Machines presents the account of an artist whose life and work are inseparable from the history of electronic music itself.
Jarre reflects on his childhood fascination with reel-to-reel tape machines and his studies in Paris under Pierre Schaeffer at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales. Personal anecdotes and expert commentary are interwoven with rare archival material, technical schematics, recreations of sonic experiments, and sequenced stills from legendary live performances.
Machines: A History of Electronic Music will be available November 24 in hardcover. The 368-page book features 400 illustrations and is priced at $65.
Pre-order Machines: A History of Electronic Music HERE.
Book Details
368 pages
400 illustrations
$65 hardcover
ISBN: 9780500031506
About Jean-Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel Jarre is one of the defining pioneers of electronic music and a visionary artist whose work has continually explored the relationship between sound, technology, and the future.
Across more than five decades, the composer, performer, and producer has pushed the boundaries of musical creation, using each new technological wave not simply as a tool, but as a creative language in itself.
From his early experiments with analogue synthesizers and tape manipulation to his groundbreaking use of multichannel sound, spatial audio, virtual reality, and immersive digital environments, Jarre has consistently anticipated the next frontiers of music and culture.
Long before terms such as immersive audio, virtual performance, and AI-driven creativity entered the mainstream, he was reimagining how music could be composed, experienced, and shared.
His landmark 1976 album, Oxygène, helped transform electronic music from avant-garde experimentation into a global cultural force, influencing generations of artists across electronic, pop, ambient, and experimental music.
Since then, Jarre’s catalog has grown to more than 20 studio albums, selling more than 85 million copies worldwide, while his live work has redefined the scale and ambition of music performance.
Renowned for monumental concert events staged at some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, Jarre has used cities, architecture, and landscapes as part of his artistic canvas, merging music with light, design, and technological innovation.
His performances at locations including the Eiffel Tower, Moscow, the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Forbidden City, and the Dead Sea have attracted vast audiences and set multiple Guinness World Records. More recently, he headlined the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony and performed at Coachella and historic sites including Pompeii.
Throughout his career, Jarre has remained deeply engaged with the future of sound and image, from his early studies at Pierre Schaeffer’s Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris to his recent work with AI, spatial audio, virtual reality, and metaverse performances.
His work has consistently been driven by the belief that technology is not the opposite of emotion or artistic expression, but a means of expanding it.
A UNESCO Ambassador for Education, Science, and Culture, Jarre is also an internationally respected voice on cultural innovation, artists’ rights, and the responsible evolution of creative technologies.
The 50th anniversary of Oxygène in 2026 and 2027 will mark not only a milestone in Jarre’s career, but also the enduring legacy of an album that helped change the course of modern music.
