Beaubourg is an expressionistic work, consisting almost exclusively of strange, unearthly sounds. Ring modulators, noise, and weird effects are unleashed in wide stereo spaces.

The album is often referred to as anti-commercial, because of its non-melodic - even consonant - nature. Vangelis however spoke with great affection about this piece in several interviews and his engineer says Vangelis took it very seriously while recording it."Beaubourg" takes its title from the street in Paris and with that also refers to the "Centre Pompidou" building in Paris, which functions as a center for innovative modern (mainly abstract) arts.