THERE can be no nicer person in the upper rungs of the music industry than Jean-Michel Jarre who headlines the opening celebrations of the new Hong Kong Stadium on Friday.
On meeting the engaging Frenchman, one doesn't come away with one's head reeling with the mindless pap that's the staple diet of most pop interviews.
Jarre is passionate towards his art and deeply caring about his audience. ''Maybe it's not the attitude that prevails generally in the pop business,'' he asserts, ''but I really do care that people who come to my concerts go away with a special experience.'' With this in mind, Jarre's performances which take months to prepare and rehearse - what with employing synthesisers, lasers and other hi-tech wizardry - are geared towards the specific audience.
Thus for Hong Kong he has devised a show which (though the contents are still a secret) will, he told Keeping Posted, draw on images of the territory going back to the 1930s and '40s.
He will also use the Hong Kong concert to introduce to the world a laser harp - an instrument he has invented together with the help of a team of engineers.
With the zeal of a latter-day missionary, Jarre talks fervently of using music to open frontiers.