Edward Snowden makes his debut in the electronic music scene
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has collaborated with French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre on a techno track, named Exit, after the Guardian put the artist in touch with Snowden. The track is set to appear on the French artist’s upcoming album of collaborations, and will see Snowden “speak” instead of sing lyrics over the “obsessive” track. The subject? Pretty much what you’d guess: Snowden’s the importance of privacy in the age of technology. After several Skype sessions, Jarre flew to Moscow to meet the exiled Snowden and filmed a video to be played at the artist’s festivals. ”There are tracks about the erotic relationship we have with technology, the way we touch our smartphones more than our partners, about CCTV surveillance, about love in the age of Tinder. It seemed quite appropriate to collaborate not with a musician but someone who literally symbolises this crazy relationship we have with technology,” the French artist said. Snowden, on the other hand, says that the request came as a surprise because “as an engineer, someone who’s not really cool, it was something of a treat to collaborate on a big cultural project.”