The famous composer is organizing a spectacular New Year’s Eve concert, during which his avatar will perform in the Parisian cathedral.
For artists and composers in the world of music, who have been unable to perform physically in front of their audiences for several months, frustration dominates. So, some are banking on alternatives, such as the Web and social networks, to maintain a link with their community. Jean-Michel Jarre seizes these ingredients and adds a good dose of virtual reality (VR) to offer an exceptional show that will guide us into the new year.
A virtually reconstructed Notre-Dame
Jean-Michel Jarre will meet his fans and the curious on December 31, for an exceptional concert, Welcome to the Other Side, which will start at 11:25 pm French time and is scheduled to last 50 minutes, to start 2021 in music.
The show benefits from several peculiarities, which make it a world premiere and a truly original event.
First, the place. The concert-show will be held in the virtual environment of Notre-Dame de Paris, reconstructed as it was before 2019, with its spire and roof. The cathedral, seriously damaged by the fire of April 15, 2019, will be virtually in the spotlight to ” send a message of hope for what we hope will be the end of the tunnel in 2021 “, explained Jean-Michel Jarre in a live Facebook this Tuesday, delighted to “be able to celebrate this cathedral which connects us to each other “.
A live concert broadcast on television, radio, Internet, and VR
The concert, free and given live, will be accessible to all, from television (BFM Paris), radio (France Inter), and Internet (Facebook and YouTube) in real-time. But it will especially be possible to go virtually on-site thanks to VR, via the VRChat application downloadable on Steam, via Viveport, or on Oculus devices. All in partnership with UNESCO, the City of Paris, and the French VR start-up, VRrOOm.
As you can see, the composer of Oxygen IV, Calypso, and Souvenir Of China will not be physically present at Notre-Dame de Paris. On the other hand, his avatar will play in the virtual cathedral. “ The idea is to celebrate not the damaged cathedral, but that of yesterday and that of tomorrow, ” says the 72-year-old composer from Lyon. Jean-Michel Jarre will play, at the same time, from Studio Gabriel ( We are not lying, Vivement Dimanche, etc.), located a little further on the other side of the Seine, next to the Jardins des Champs -Elysées.
The man of all records will play songs from his latest original opus, Electronica, but also classics from his repertoire. The audio version of the concert will be quickly posted on the platforms of streaming, on 1 st January 2021 around 0:15.
All the information on this concert is available on Jean-Michel Jarre’s website.