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This article is about the composer. For the Buffyverse fan film, see Vangelis (Buffyverse). Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου) IPA: ɛvæŋɛlɪs ɔðɪsɛɪæs ɔpæpæθænæsiu, artist name Vangelis Papathanassiou (Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου) or just Vangelis (Βαγγέλης) IPA: væŋɛlɪs, is a world-renowned new age and electronic composer and musician, best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots of Fire, and scores for the films Blade Runner and 1492: Conquest of Paradise. (1943-1960) Formative years On March 29, 1943, Vangelis (a diminutive of Evangelos) was born in Volos, Greece. He began composing at the age of four, and is largely a self-taught musician. He refused to take traditional piano lessons, and throughout his career did not have substantial knowledge of reading or writing musical notation. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Athens, an art he also practices. (1961-1972) Work in bands In the early 1960s he was one of the founders of pop group The Forminx (or The Formynx), which became very popular in Greece. Based in Thessaloniki in the north of the country, the five-piece band played a mixture of cover versions and their own material, the latter written mostly by Vangelis but still sung in English, something which was unusual for original material in Greece at that time. The Forminx released nine hit singles and a Christmas EP before disbanding in 1966 at the peak of their success. A film being made about them at the time was never finished. Vangelis spent the next two years mostly studio-bound, writing and producing for other Greek artists. Around the time of the student riots in 1968, Vangelis founded progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child together with Demis Roussos and Loukas Sideras. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the UK, they found a home in Paris, where they recorded their first single, a hit across much of Europe called Rain and Tears. Other hit singles followed, and two albums, but when the record company demanded a third album, Vangelis conceived the ground-breaking double-album 666, based on Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and now considered pivotal in the development of progressive rock and concept albums. Tensions between members during the recording of 666 eventually caused the split of the band in 1971, but the album was still released in 1972. Despite the split, Vangelis has since produced several albums and singles for Demis Roussos as well as Roussos contributing vocals to the Blade Runner soundtrack. (1970-1972) Early solo works Even while still in Aphrodite's Child, Vangelis had already been involved in other projects which strongly hinted at a future career as a solo musician. In 1970 he had composed the score for a little-known film called Sex Power (Demis Roussos provided some vocals). In 1971 some jam sessions with a group of musicians at Marquee Studios in London had resulted in two albums' worth of material, unofficially released without Vangelis' permission in 1978, titled Hypothesis (aka Visions of the Future), and The Dragon. Vangelis took action to have them withdrawn. A far more successful project was his scoring of wildlife films made by French filmmaker Frédéric Rossif. The first, and probably the best known, was L'Apocalypse des Animaux, released in 1973 though it may have been recorded as early as 1971. In 1972, the student riots of 1968 provided the inspiration for an album titled Fais que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long que la Nuit (Make your dream last longer than the night), comprising musical passages mixed with news snippets and protest songs - some lyrics were based on graffiti daubed on walls during the riots. (1973-1980) Solo career In 1973 Vangelis' solo career began in earnest. His first "official" solo album was Earth, though it did actually feature a group of musicians including ex-Aphrodite's Child guitarist Silver Koulouris and also vocalist and songwriter Robert Fitoussi (better known as F.R. David of "Words Don't Come Easy" fame). This line-up, later briefly going out under the name "Odyssey," released a single in 1974 titled "Who," but that was Vangelis' last involvement with them. Later in 1974, Vangelis was widely tipped to join another prog-rock band, Yes, following the departure of Rick Wakeman. After a couple of weeks of rehearsals it became clear that things were not going well and he never did join the band (they ended up hiring Swiss keyboard player Patrick Moraz, who later joined the Moody Blues). Vangelis did however become friends with Yes' singer Jon Anderson, and later worked with him on many occasions, including as the duo Jon & Vangelis. After moving to London, Vangelis signed a deal with RCA Records, set up his own studio, Nemo Studios, very close to Marble Arch, and began recording a string of well-regarded electronic albums, such as the acclaimed Heaven and Hell (1975), Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), Beaubourg (1978), and China (1979). Parts of Heaven and Hell were later used as the theme to the PBS television series by Carl Sagan. Another part (the song So Long Ago, So Clear), featured guest vocals by Jon Anderson, marking the start of that successful partnership. Vangelis also contributed as a producer and keyboard player to the album Phos, which was perhaps the most important recording by Greek rock band Socrates Drank the Conium. (1981-1999) Film works and success
(2000-present) Later days In 2001, Vangelis performed live and released Mythodea, a predominantly orchestral rather than electronic piece that was originally written in 1993, and used by NASA as the theme for the Mars Odyssey mission. In 2004, Vangelis released the score for Oliver Stone's Alexander, continuing his involvement with projects related to his homeland. On an interview he gave about that release, Vangelis said he was working on other films but, as of 2006, there were no news yet . Vangelis' website, "Vangelis Information World" , is under construction as of October, 2006, like it has been since at least 1998 . The "Direct" Technique Vangelis uses a technique of recording all tracks simultaneously on tape, using a device especially manufactured for him which he calls the "Direct box". "He explains his customary method of approach. As soon as the musical idea is there, as many keyboards as possible are connected to the control-desk, which in turn are directly connected to the applicable tracks of the multi-trackmachine. The idea now is to play as many keyboards as possible at the same time. That way as broad a basis as possible develops which only needs fine-tuning. After that it’s a question of adding things or leaving out things." — Vangelis interview to ''Music Maker'' magazine, September 1982 Discography Studio albums Soundtrack albums Limited edition releases Collaboration albums Compilation albums Promotional albums Unofficial albums Strictly not bootleg recordings, as they appeared on a "proper" label, but they were released without Vangelis' permission, and he took action to have them withdrawn from the market. EPs/Singles with exclusive material Similar Artists In popular culture Footnotes See also | |||||||||
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