Edward Snowden, the world’s most notorious whistleblower, formerly of the CIA and the NSA, is perhaps best known for exposing thousands of documents to the public which evidenced global surveillance carried out by the US government. Now, however, he can add producer to his title, having dabbled in the world of electronic music.
Snowden has now collaborated with legendary French producer Jean-Michel Jarre to create the song Exit, to be featured on Jarre’s upcoming album Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise, dropping in May. Jarre and Snowden met through The Guardian, one of the two key publications Snowden worked with to publicise the documents, having allegedly asked the publication for help contacting the 32-year-old who is reportedly residing in Russia. The track features spindly, panicked production,with Snowden’s voice heard throughout.
In a press release, Jarre states, “I wrote a speedy techno track evoking the constant and hectic production of data and the obsessive quest for more information… I then linked the music with this mad hunt and chase in order to get hold of people like Edward Snowden.”
He goes on to explain that this track, described in an interview as a “hectic, obsessive techno track, trying to illustrate the idea of this crazy quest for big data on one side and the manhunt for this one young guy by the CIA, NSA and FBI on the other,” is important on many levels: not just for musical entertainment, he hopes to spread Snowden’s message to his audience. “It seemed quite appropriate to collaborate not with a musician but someone who literally symbolises this crazy relationship we have with technology,” he told The Guardian.
Below is the song and the accompanying video Jarre shot while in Moscow.
Jean-Michel Jarre’s new album will also feature collaborations from the Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Gary Numan and many more.
Image: The Guardian