Music for Supermarkets

Music for Supermarkets
Studio album by Jean-Michel Jarre
Released	July 6, 1983
Recorded	February, 1983-May, 1983
Genre	Electronic
Length	34:16
Label	Disques Dreyfus
Producer	Jean-Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel Jarre chronology
The Concerts in China (1982) Music for Supermarkets (1983) Zoolook (1984)

Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) is a 1983 album of instrumental electronic music by Jean-Michel Jarre. It is notable for having only a single copy pressed, and the subsequent, deliberate destruction of its master plates, effectively making the copy unique.

Production

In 1983, Jean Michel Jarre was asked to compose the background music for a supermarket themed art exhibition, the Orrimbe show. Jarre agreed, recording Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) between February and May 1983. The exhibition, created by some young artists and friends of Jarre, ran at the Jean-Claude Riedel gallery between June 2 and June 30, 1983, and the works of art on display would be auctioned off afterwards. Inspired by this, Jarre decided that the music accompanying the exhibition could be a one-off piece of art as well, and thus, Music for Supermarkets would have only a single, unique copy pressed, to be auctioned for charity at Hotel Drouot. After the exhibition had ended, master tapes and plates were destroyed, making this the only existing copy in the world. It instantly became one of the most expensive and collectible albums in history. 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 his photo with the album. The album owner was first kept anonymous, but later revealed to be a certain M. Gerard, who after a car crash woke up to the radio playing Jarre's track "Souvenir of China" (from the Concerts in China album); this album cost him 69,000 francs (10,500 euro). As of 2007, the album has been sold two times, the second owner being a certain Ducroix; its current owner is unknown.^[1]

The music today

Shortly after its sale, the album was played in its full length on Radio Luxembourg. Jarre launched the album with the words "Piratez Moi!" (Pirate Me), and bootlegs of the radio broadcast do exist, although at a very poor quality (the radio station was an AM station). Some of the music, however, has been reworked into subsequent Jarre albums, so the music from the album is not completely lost for the public. The following tracks were reworked:

• Music for supermarkets part 2: Used in "Fifth Rendez-vous part 3" on "Rendez-vous" (1986).
• Music for supermarkets part 3: Used in "Fourth Rendez-vous" on "Rendez-vous" (1986).
• Music for supermarkets part 4: Used in "Blah-Blah Café" on "Zoolook" (1984).
• Music for supermarkets part 6: Used in the second half of "Diva" on "Zoolook" (1984).

Track listing

1. "Intro to Side A" - 0:51
2. "Music for Supermarkets Overture" - 4:09
3. "Music for Supermarkets 1" - 2:18
4. "Music for Supermarkets 2" - 3:30
5. "Music for Supermarkets 3" - 2:17
6. "Music for Supermarkets 4" - 3:52
7. "Intro to Side B" - 0:18
8. "Music for Supermarkets 5" - 5:53
9. "Music for Supermarkets 6" - 3:59
10. "Music for Supermarkets 7" - 3:51^[2]

The above timing is approximately calculated from bootleg recordings, as the original record is not available.

References

1. ^ BlahBlahCafe :: View topic - Photo of the real MFS winner
2. ^ Original Label of Music For Supermarkets. Side B

• Official Jarre UK discography
• Details on the album published by the Jarre fanzine Destination Jarre
• Remilleux, Jean-Louis Jean-Michel Jarre, The Official Biography; Macdonald Futura 1987, ISBN 0708842631

External links

• pictures from sleeve
• pictures of auction catalogue