Oxygène was recorded by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre. It was first released in France in December 1976. Jarre recorded Oxygène in a makeshift studio that he set up in his apartment in Paris, using a variety of analogue and digital synthesisers, and other electronic instruments and effects.

French sound engineer Michel Geiss helped Jarre in the purchase, recording and programming of some instruments used. Jarre’s musical style was influenced by musique concrète, developed by Pierre Schaeffer.

Oxygène has been described as “one of the biggest catalysts to widespread use of the synthesizer in the 1970s” and influenced electronic artists like Moby, who collaborated with Jarre on ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ (2015).

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