Jean-Michel Jarre's impact on electronic music during the last 50 years is huge, not least because of his thrilling live performances. His concerts are the focus of our cover story, with Jarre detailing how his shows have evolved over the decades and guiding us through some of the events he's most famous for. His picks include Paris, Beijing and Houston, plus his Docklands sets in London in 1988. Expect highly entertaining tales of epic staging and equally epic rainfall, as well as several billion lasers. Remarkably, at the age of 76, there's no sign of Jarre starting to slow down yet, with more live extravaganzas scheduled for 2025. All power to his VCS 3, we say.

It’s been another magnificent 12 months for electronica in its various guises, so we've also devoted a chunk of the magazine to our Albums Of The Year – 100 of the very best – while still finding room for plenty of other good reads. Stand by for Kruder & Dorfmeister, GLOK, Timothy Clerkin, Dean & Britta, Pete “Sonic Boom” Kember, Utah Saints, Cate Brooks, Cornelius, Wavemaker, Auntie Flo, Gaister and more. So now you'll just need a comfy chair, an endless supply of mince pies, and a bit of time to yourself... 

We're very excited to have an exclusive Jean-Michel Jarre seven-inch to accompany this month's magazine. The single is pressed on green vinyl and features two awesome live tracks, both of them recorded at the Palace of Versailles in France on Christmas Day 2023. The A-side is 'Epica Oxygène', a radical reworking of 'Oxygène 4' that edges its central musical motif into a gleaming new context. The flip is another terrific overhaul, an uptempo update of 'Équinoxe 7' initially developed by Jarre with his touring band.

“When I was asked to do a seven-inch single for this issue of Electronic Sound, I thought it could be nice to give readers a chance to discover these other interpretations of pieces they probably know," says Jarre. 

As with all our music releases, this record is strictly limited and is only available to readers of Electronic Sound, so make sure you get your copy right away.