{{Infobox album | name = Zoolook | type = studio | artist = Jean-Michel Jarre | cover = Zoolook Jarre Album.jpg | alt = | released = 16 November 1984 | recorded = 1983–1984 | venue = | studio = * Jean-Michel Jarre's home studio (Paris) * Clinton Studio | length = {{duration|m=37|s=58}} | genre = * Electronic * electropop<ref>{{cite journal |title=Various Artists |journal=New Sunday Times |date=8 September 1985 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-FHAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22+jean+michel+jarre&pg=PA8&article_id=5321,2018374 |access-date=10 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> * new-age<ref>{{cite web |last1=Utomo |first1=Nugroho Wahyu |title=Tembang Nostalgia - Zoolook, Komposisi Instrumental Breakdance yang Tampil Beda |url=https://www.suaramerdeka.com/hiburan/pr-04421535/tembang-nostalgia-zoolook-komposisi-instrumental-breakdance-yang-tampil-beda |website=Suara Merdeka |access-date=17 October 2022 |page=2 |language=id |date=21 June 2021}}</ref> * collage<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |page=238 |volume=7 |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-19-531373-9 |edition=4th}}</ref> | label = * Disques Dreyfus * Polydor | producer = Jean-Michel Jarre | prev_title = Musique pour Supermarché | prev_year = 1983 | next_title = Rendez-Vous | next_year = 1986 | misc = {{Singles | name = Zoolook | type = studio | single1 = Zoolook | single1date = 30 November 1984<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1984/Music-Week-1984-11-24.pdf|title=Music Week}}</ref> | single2 = Zoolookologie | single2date = 31 May 1985<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1985/Music-Week-1985-05-25.pdf|title=Music Week}}</ref> }}}} '''''Zoolook''''' is the seventh studio album by the 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 and edited in the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer. The album spawned two singles: the title track and "Zoolookologie".
== Composition and recording == ''Zoolook'' was greatly influenced by Jarre's former mentor Pierre Schaeffer and Schaeffer's musique concrète, taking samples from everyday life and human voices in 25 different languages from all over the world.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Jean-Michel Jarre – 10 of the best |journal=The Guardian |date=5 October 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/oct/05/jean-michel-jarre-10-of-the-best |access-date=19 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Space-shuttle deaths add to impact of Texas symphony |journal=Ottawa Citizen |date=2 May 1986 |page=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jaQyAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22+jean+michel+jarre&pg=PA71&article_id=2538,1024202 |access-date=10 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The sample-based approach, which had been initiated on ''Les Chants Magnétiques'' (1981) and continued on ''Music for Supermarkets'' (1983), was expanded on this album. Some fragments were recorded digitally by Jarre and then played back and edited on the Fairlight CMI.<ref name="Steamroller">{{cite AV media | people=Powell, Aubrey (director) | date=1997 | title=Making the Steamroller Fly | type=TV documentary}}</ref> This process was done together with Frederick Rousseau for three months.{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=72–74}}
{{blockquote|I've always been involved in ethnic music, though I thought the way a lot of people have been using ethnic music was a little superficial. Sometimes it works, like the Brian Eno stuff, it worked the first time, but for me what was more interesting was not making a particular statement about recording in Africa or in China, but taking some sounds and having exactly the same attitude as when you were in front of a Moog 55 or a modular system, replacing the oscillators with a bank of actors or people, treating them through the Fairlight or the EMS synth, and establishing an orchestration using only voices.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jenkins|2007|p=161}}</ref>}}
Some of the vocals were recorded during Jean-Michel's travels, while others are instead the result of his work with Xavier Bellanger, a French ethnologist who during his travels recorded "a large collection of tapes". For this album, Jarre used synthesizers like the Moog 55, ARP 2600, some by EMS, the LinnDrum machine, the Yamaha DX7,<ref name="zoo2000">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/zoo-2000/1804 |title=Zoo 2000 |magazine=Electronics & Music Maker |pages=42–46 |date=February 1985 |oclc=606328143}}</ref> the Matrisequencer 250 designed by French sound engineer Michel Geiss for ''Equinoxe'' (1978),<ref name="zoo2000" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Interview with Michel Geiss (I) |url=https://en.jeanmicheljarre.es/2014/03/25/interview-with-michel-geiss-i/ |website=Fairlight Jarre |access-date=24 August 2022 |date=25 March 2014 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810163710/https://en.jeanmicheljarre.es/2014/03/25/interview-with-michel-geiss-i/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the E-mu Emulator.<ref name="connection3774">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/the-french-connection/3774 |title=The French Connection |magazine=Electronic Soundmaker & Computer Music |pages=30–31 |date=March 1985 |issn=0268-5264 |oclc=498742683}}</ref> The different languages as listed in the album's liner notes are: Aboriginal, Afghan, Arabic, Balinese, Bengali, Chinese, Dutch, English, Eskimo, French, German, Hungarian, Indian, Japanese, Malagasy, Malayan, Pygmy, Polish, Quechua, Russian, Sioux, Spanish, Swedish, Tibetan, and Turkish.<ref name="Zoolook 823 763-2" />
Much of the album's recording took place in Jarre's makeshift studio in Croissy-sur-Seine, France (credited as Croissy Studio).<ref name="Zoolook 823 763-2" /> Sound engineer Denis Vanzetto joined Jarre's team, and later went to the Clinton studio, New York for recording American musicians chosen by Jean-Michel, among them guitarists Adrian Belew and Ira Siegel, bassist Marcus Miller, and percussionist and drummer Yogi Horton.{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=72–74}}<ref name="billboard90s" /> After Jarre read in the American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' about an exhibition held by the avant-garde singer Laurie Anderson in a New York gallery, he called and invited her to the studio to listen to his demos. Seduced by Jarre's proposed idea of speaking a completely imaginary language, she agreed and provided the vocals for the track "Diva".{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=72–74}}<ref name="connection3774" /> Parts of the album, like the track "Blah Blah Café" and the second half of the track "Diva", were reworkings of material that had already appeared on the 1983 album ''Musique pour Supermarché''.{{Sfn|Duguay|2018|p=72–74}} The album was mostly mixed by David Lord: final mixing began at Trident Studios in London, but Jarre wasn't satisfied with the results, so he and Lord finished mixing at Jarre's home studio in France.<ref name="Zoolook 823 763-2">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Zoolook |date=1984 |type=booklet |publisher=Disques Dreyfus |id=823 763-2}}</ref><ref>[https://aerozonejmj.fr/interview-de-jean-michel-jarre-par-francois-grapard-en-1984/ Interview de Jean-Michel Jarre par François Grapard en 1984] {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref name="connection3774"/>
== Release == ''Zoolook'' was released in November 1984,{{Sfn|Andresen|2022|p=197}}<ref name="mojo2015" /> with a second edition, containing remixes for Zoolook and Zoolookologie, in September 1985.<ref name="billboard38">{{cite magazine |title=Other Cities |magazine=Billboard |date=28 September 1985 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vCQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22&pg=PT38 |access-date=17 October 2022 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hoos |first1=Willem |title=Dutch Industry Honors Ronstadt, U2 |magazine=Billboard |date=11 May 1985 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22&pg=PT8 |access-date=17 October 2022 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}}</ref> More aurally challenging than Jarre's previous works, the album was also somewhat less successful, reaching only number 47 in the UK album charts.<ref name="Warwickpp558559">{{Harvnb|Warwick|Brown|Kutner|2004|pp=558–559}}</ref> Two singles from the album were released{{snd}} the title track and "Zoolookologie". Both had a music video in 1985. The title track video was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet<ref>{{cite web |last1=Delgado |first1=Jérôme |title=Les réalisateurs Marc Caro et Jean-Pierre Jeunet, éternels associés |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/arts-visuels/516301/entrevue-marc-caro |website=Le Devoir |access-date=3 October 2022 |language=fr |date=28 December 2017}}</ref> and featured twelve robots designed by Marc Caro, of which only one was kept after filming.<ref>{{cite news |title=lyon – exposition. Les secrets de l'hallucinant cabinet de curiosités de Jeunet & Caro |url=https://www.leprogres.fr/rhone-69-edition-lyon-metropole/2018/11/17/les-secrets-de-l-hallucinant-cabinet-de-curiosites-de-jeunet-caro |work=www.leprogres.fr |date=17 November 2018 |language=FR-fr}}</ref> The video of "Zoolookologie" was directed by Rod McCall and produced by Frank Coppola in London, UK.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Rod McCall has directed Jean-Michel Jarre in his new music video, "Zoolookologie" |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1985/Music-Week-1985-06-08.pdf |date=8 June 1985 |magazine=Music Week |page=31}}</ref> It "shows three models flirting with the artist in a provocative fantasy".<ref name="billboard38" />
In 1984, the album won the Grand Prix du Disque award by L'Académie Charles Cros,<ref name="oxygeneconcert">{{Citation | title = Oxygène Live in Concert 2008 | publisher = Hill Shorter Ltd (printer) | pages = 10–11 | year = 2008}}</ref> and in April 1985 it won the best instrumental album of the year award at the Victoires de la Musique.<ref name="billboard90s">{{Cite magazine |title=Starlife |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-07-27.pdf |date=27 July 1991 |magazine=Billboard |page=57}}</ref> In 2016, a contest called ''Zoolook Revisited'' was organized, in which amateur or professional producers were invited to share a piece using samples taken from the SoundHunters app. Tracks from winners such as Luke Vibert, Zeka Lopez, Mikael Seifu, Simonne Jones and KIZ were chosen by Jarre and included on the disc of the same name.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tsugi |first1=rédaction |title=Zoolook Revisited : la compil' hommage au sampling de Jean-Michel Jarre |url=https://www.tsugi.fr/zoolook-revisited-la-compil-hommage-au-sampling-de-jean-michel-jarre/ |website=TSUGI |access-date=19 October 2022 |language=fr-FR |date=27 July 2016}}</ref>
== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Allmusic">{{AllMusic |first=John |last=Bush |id=r597053 |label=Jean Michel Jarre – ''Zoolook'' Review}}.</ref> | rev2 = ''Mojo'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="mojo2015" /> }} At the time of its release ''NME'' said: "Strangely simplistic, this LP is like a union between ''Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' and Kraftwerk on speed".<ref name="NME19841201">{{cite journal |first=Rachel |last=Wilde |title=Review: Jean Michel Jarre – ''Zoolook'' |periodical=NME |publisher=IPC Media |location=London, England |page=28 |date=1 December 1984}}</ref> Australian newspaper ''The Evening News'' commented that "is a phonetic symphony laced with catchy, funk-rock rhythms based on the intonations of various exotic languages".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Jarre is an electronic sculptor of sound |journal=The Evening News |date=13 April 1986 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TAVHAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22+jean+michel+jarre&pg=PA12&article_id=1661,1298117 |access-date=10 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
In Montréal (Québec), ''Le Devoir'' felt that the beginning of the album was "a musical background both morbid and grandiose".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Les fleurs du mal poussent bien au zoo |journal=Le Devoir |date=25 June 1988 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixsjAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22zoolook%22+jean+michel+jarre&pg=PA23&article_id=1246,7200277 |access-date=10 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In ''Mojo'' magazine, Phil Alexander listed it as one of Jarre's three key albums and wrote that "Jarre's rumination on internationalism also boasts a deliberate melodic focus that acknowledges the influence of synth pop, while pointing the way forward to greater experimentation{{snd}} both in his own work and that of others".<ref name=mojo2015>{{cite magazine |last=Alexander |first=Phil |title=Electric Dreams |magazine=Mojo |date=November 2015 |issue=264 |page=45 |url=https://ia804508.us.archive.org/24/items/mojo-november-2015/Mojo%20-%20November%202015.pdf |access-date=25 August 2022 }}</ref>
AllMusic's John Bush stated that "Jean Michel Jarre combined an actual band and processed vocal samples{{snd}} recorded in 25 different languages{{snd}} with his rich, melodic synthesizer pop", described the album as "interesting throughout" and added that "the tracks with Jarre alone are often the best, reprising the classic ''Oxygène'' sound".<ref name="Allmusic" /> "Zoolookologie" was described by Thom Holmes as a "fascinating exploration of samples both of voice and drums".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holmes |first1=Thom |title=Drum Machines: A Recorded History, Part 2: Digital Drum Machines |url=https://www.thomholmes.com/post/drum-machines-a-recorded-history-part-2-digital-drum-machines |website=Noise and Notations |access-date=17 October 2022 |language=en |date=11 October 2021}}</ref> In ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' (2006), Colin Larkin named it a key moment in the history of sampling in popular music, writing that it "used sampled speech from all over the world, arranged into a musical collage, using the Fairlight."<ref name="Larkin" />
== Track listing == === First edition – original track list (1984) === {{Track listing | headline = Side one | title1 = Ethnicolor | length1 = 11:41 | title2 = Diva | length2 = 7:33 }} {{Track listing | headline = Side two | total_length = 37:58 | title1 = Zoolook | length1 = 3:50 | title2 = Wooloomooloo | length2 = 3:20 | title3 = Zoolookologie | length3 = 4:20 | title4 = Blah Blah Cafe | length4 = 3:21 | title5 = Ethnicolor II | length5 = 3:52 }}
=== Second edition (1985) === {{Track listing | title1 = Ethnicolor | length1 = 11:41 | title2 = Diva | length2 = 7:33 | title3 = Zoolookologie | note3 = Remix by François Kevorkian and Ron St. Germain | length3 = 3:46 | title4 = Wooloomooloo | length4 = 3:18 | title5 = Zoolook | note5 = Remix by René Ameline | length5 = 3:51 | title6 = Blah Blah Cafe | length6 = 3:21 | title7 = Ethnicolor II | length7 = 3:52 | total_length = 37:22 }}
=== Third edition (1997 remaster) === {{Track listing | title1 = Ethnicolor | note1 = new edit | length1 = 11:47 | title2 = Diva | note2 = new edit | length2 = 7:20 | title3 = Zoolook | note3 = new mix | length3 = 3:58 | title4 = Wooloomooloo | length4 = 3:17 | title5 = Zoolookologie | note5 = new mix | length5 = 4:14 | title6 = Blah Blah Cafe | note6 = new edit | length6 = 3:26 | title7 = Ethnicolor II | length7 = 3:54 | total_length = 37:56 }}
=== Fourth edition (30th anniversary, 2015 remaster) === {{Track listing | title1 = Ethnicolor | note1 = 3rd edition edit | length1 = 11:48 | title2 = Diva | note2 = 3rd edition edit | length2 = 7:22 | title3 = Zoolook | length3 = 3:52 | title4 = Wooloomooloo | length4 = 3:18 | title5 = Zoolookologie | length5 = 4:21 | title6 = Blah Blah Cafe | length6 = 3:21 | title7 = Ethnicolor II | length7 = 3:52 | total_length = 37:54 }}
=== Fifth edition (40th anniversary - new mastering) ===
The following is a track listing of the initial release on streaming platforms on November 8th, 2024, closely following the first edition from 1984 (both with regards to track lengths and the mixes of Zoolook and Zoolookologie). Due to multiple production errors (most notably audible in Ethnicolor) it was withdrawn and replaced in December 2024 with a remaster done from a different source.
{{Track listing | title1 = Ethnicolor | length1 = 11:41 | title2 = Diva | length2 = 7:31 | title3 = Zoolook | length3 = 3:52 | title4 = Wooloomooloo | length4 = 3:18 | title5 = Zoolookologie | length5 = 4:21 | title6 = Blah Blah Cafe | length6 = 3:21 | title7 = Ethnicolor II | length7 = 3:52 | title8 = Moon Machine | length8 = 2:58 | total_length = 40:54 }}
Track listing as of December 2024. The source material used is the same as the third edition from 1997 (different edits of Ethnicolor and Diva, and a different mix of Zoolook)
{{Track listing | title1 = Ethnicolor | length1 = 11:44 | note1 = 3rd edition edit | title2 = Diva | length2 = 7:20 | note2 = 3rd edition edit | title3 = Zoolook | length3 = 3:58 | note3 = 3rd edition "new mix" | title4 = Wooloomooloo | length4 = 3:14 | title5 = Zoolookologie | length5 = 4:17 | title6 = Blah Blah Cafe | length6 = 3:25 | title7 = Ethnicolor II | length7 = 3:54 | title8 = Moon Machine | length8 = 3:00 | total_length = 40:52 }}
== Personnel == Personnel listed in album liner notes.<ref name="Zoolook 823 763-2" /> * Jean-Michel Jarre – keyboards, electronic devices * Daniel Lazerus – sound engineer * Laurie Anderson – vocals on "Diva" * Adrian Belew – guitars, effects * Yogi Horton – drums * Marcus Miller – bass guitar * Frederick Rousseau – additional keyboards * Ira Siegel – additional guitars * Xavier Bellenger – research * David Lord – mixing engineer (all except "Zoolookologie") * Rene Ameline - mixing engineer on "Zoolookologie"
== Equipment == Adapted from album liner notes.<ref name="Zoolook 823 763-2" /> * Linn LM-1 * LinnDrum * Simmons SDSV * Eminent 310 Unique * Garfield Electronics Doctor Click * E-mu Emulator * Geiss Matrisequencer 250 * Fairlight CMI * ARP 2600 * EMS Synthi AKS * Moog 55 * Oberheim OB-Xa * Prophet-5 * Yamaha DX7 * EMS Vocoder
== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style=text-align:center" |- ! Chart (1984) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{album chart|Austria|28|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|Germany|24|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|id=204|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|Netherlands|27|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|21|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|30|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|UK2|47|artist=Jean-Michel Jarre|date=1984-11-25|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- {{album chart|New Zealand|35|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=24 August 2022}} |- ! Chart (2024–2025) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{album chart|Wallonia|140|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|album=Zoolook|rowheader=true|access-date=4 November 2025}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|43|date=20250228|rowheader=true|access-date=4 November 2025}} |- {{album chart|UKDigital|32|date=20241115|rowheader=true|access-date=4 November 2025}} |- {{album chart|UKProgressive|8|date=20250412|rowheader=true|access-date=4 November 2025}} |}
== Certifications == {{certification Table Top}} {{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Jean Michel Jarre|title=Zoolook|award=Silver|certyear=1985|relyear=1984|id=8472-622-2}} {{certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == * {{Citation | last = Duguay | first = Michael | title = Jean Michel Jarre | year = 2018 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JJB5DwAAQBAJ | publisher = Books on Demand | isbn = 978-284-993-324-4}} * {{Citation | last = Andresen | first = Willi | title = Rock & Talk: Band 2 | year = 2022 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KGtcEAAAQBAJ | publisher = Books on Demand | isbn = 978-375-579-632-9}} * {{Citation | last = Jenkins | first = Mark | title = Analog synthesizers | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c3EHIpo0DKwC | publisher = Elsevier | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-240-52072-8 }} * {{Citation | last1 = Warwick | first1 = Neil | last2 = Brown | first2 = Tony | last3 = Kutner | first3 = Jon | title = The complete book of the British charts: singles & albums | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ib4MyAIpe3MC | year = 2004 | publisher = Omnibus Press | edition = 3rd | isbn = 1-84449-058-0 }}
== External links == * {{discogs master|54204}}
{{Jean Michel Jarre}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoolook}} Category:1984 albums Category:Jean-Michel Jarre albums Category:Electronic albums by French artists Category:Electropop albums Category:New-age albums by French artists Category:Disques Dreyfus albums Category:Polydor Records albums Category:Sound collage albums