''Musique pour Supermarché'' (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
title: ''Music for Supermarkets'') is the sixth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic c ...
musician and composer
Jean-Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...
. Only a single
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
copy was ever pressed. It was sold at an auction, where its master plates were deliberately destroyed. However, later Jarre albums such as ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from samples of singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded ...
'' (1984) or ''
Rendez-Vous'' (1986) sample/reuse several parts of the album.
Composition and recording
In 1983, Jarre was approached to create background music for a supermarket-themed art show Orrimbe, to be held in Paris during June 1983. Jarre recorded the album between February and May.
Comparing the album to a painting, "not just a worthless commercial product", he chose to auction it along with other art pieces.
The auction was held on July 6, 1983, at the
Hôtel Drouot
Hôtel Drouot is a large auction venue in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot.
The firm's main location, called D ...
auction house in Paris,
and raised about 69,000
franc
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...
s (equivalent to 8,960 dollars at the time) for charity.
Jarre explained this was his protest at the "silly industrialisation of music".
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 their photo with the album. The album owner was kept anonymous at first, but later revealed to be real estate dealer M. Gérard.
Shortly after the auction, Jarre allowed
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
to broadcast the album once, in its entirety, and encouraged listeners to record the broadcast with the words "''Piratez-moi!''" (Pirate me!).
Various parts of this album would be reworked for later Jarre projects such as ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from samples of singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded ...
'' (1984) or ''
Rendez-Vous'' (1986).
A demo version of "Musique pour Supermarché (Part 1)" was included on the 2018 compilation ''
Planet Jarre: 50 Years of Music''.
Track listing
The duration of the tracks is calculated from bootleg recordings, as the album has never officially been released internationally.
See also
* ''
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' is the seventh studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Only one copy was created, with no ability to download or stream it. Feeling the value of music had been cheapened by the internet, the produc ...
'', an album by American hip hop artists Wu-Tang Clan of which only one copy was released
*
List of most valuable records
The following is an attempt to list some of the most valuable records. Data is sourced from ''Record Collector'', eBay, Popsike, the Jerry Osborne Record Price Guides, and other sources.
* Wu-Tang Clan's ''Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' CD (of w ...
References
1983 albums
Jean-Michel Jarre albums
Electronic albums by French artists
Lost musical works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musique pour Supermarché