For his 1984 release,
Jean-Michel Jarre created a diverse selection of
electronic music with the underlying theme of sampled
voices from around the
globe. A number of languages appear, and short spoken phrases from each were processed and shifted around by Jarre and overlaid onto electronic beats and haunting
sound effects. Zoolook was a highly original album, still one of his more
outlandish, and led many to say in retrospect that Jarre was
way ahead of his time. Having personally had the album for many years, I can vouch for its
originality as its surreal
dreamlike music and
diversity are still pretty amazing, ranging from eighties pop-style beats to completely outlandish sound effect-driven and barely musical noise. The track listing is as follows:
1 - Ethnicolor
2 - Diva
3 - Zoolook
4 - Woolloomoolloo
5 - Zoolookologie
6 - Blah Blah Cafe
7 - Ethnicolor II
Although a seemingly obscure album, the 16-bit computer game Captain Blood actually used part of Ethnicolor on its soundtrack, and the odd vocals on Diva were provided by none other than Laurie Anderson.