Intuitive Music

Vangelis

Vangelis Papathanasious is one of the most creative, productive and talented composers and musicians in the 20th century.

Born Evanghelos Odyssey Papathanassiou in Vòlos, Greece, on the 29th of March 1943, Vangelis started playing piano self-taught at the early age of 4 and at the age of six he performed an improvised piano concert in Athens in front of 3,000 people.

As teenager, Vangelis got involved in rock bands and in 1963 formed a school band called The Forminx. The band was a national phenomena in Greece, selling thousands of copies of their “Jeronimo Yanka” single and being nicknamed “the Greek Beatles”. The Formix didn’t see any album released during it’s life, but several compilations were later released on CD, such as “The Forminx” (1999) and “Ultimate Greek Pop, the Formidable Forminx” (1999). During the Forminx days, Vangelis already showcased his talent for composing commercial songs which drove him to collaborate with Greek performers cusha as Maria, Zoitsa ‘Zoe’ Kouroukli and Aleka Kanellidou.

In 1967, Vangelis formed his own band The Papathanassiou Set, featuring guitarist Silver Koulouris, vocalist Demis Roussos and drummer Lucas Sideras. The Papathanassiou Set worked in as a support band for several singles of the artists Ricardo Credi, George Romanos and Vilma Lado.

In 1968, the band decided to move to London to launch their music career and scape from the military dictatorial remige established in Greece, but
they were not allowed to enter U.K. due to a lack of work-permits. In continuation, due to a strike at the airport, the band got trapped in Paris where they finally decided to stay. In Paris, they signed a record deal with Mercury records and changed the band’s name to Aphrodite’s Child. In May 1968, the new project released the single “Rain and Tears”, a mellow pop ballad based in the famous Johann Pachelbell’s “Canon” and influenced by the Moody Blues reached nº 29 in the UK charts. The single was followed by the release of the debut album “End of the World”.

Aphrodite’s Child

In 1969, Aphrodite’s Child released their second album “It’s Five O’Clock”. At this stage, following the same decision than the Beatles took in three years before, Vangelis started refusing to play live with the band and he would rather stay in the studio to work on new material. During his studio work, Vangelis composed the musical score for the movie “Sex Power” directed by Henry Chapier.

In 1970, Aphrodite’s Child recorded the double conceptual double album “666″, one of the most advanced and innovative albums of the time, which was released two years later when the band had actually split up. The album was originally conceived by Vangelis and Costas Ferris, and composed, arranged and produced by Vangelis and was based on the New Testament’s Apocalypse of St. John. The production of the album was accompanied by numerous problems due to the differences in the band’s members during the recording sessions and the pressure from Mercury records to remove some tracks. Some of these tracks would get the album banned in several countries, like in the case of “Infinity”, an experimental song where actress Irene Papas performs the hypnotic mantra “I am, I am to come, I was” during five minutes going through different states of mind from anger to orgasmic pleasure. “666″ is considered today a classic progressive rock and psychedelic rock master piece, totally ahead of it’s time.

In 1971, right before the release of the album “666″, the Aphrodita’s Child split and Vangelis started his solo career as a producer and composer with the release of the debut album “Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit”, based on the historic Paris student riots in May 1968. During this period Vangelis started experimenting with synthesizers.

In 1972, Vangelis started a series of long-lasting cooperative works for the French director Frédéric Rossif with the soundtrack for the wildlife documentary series “L’Apocalypse des Animaux” (1972). Following works for Rossif includes “Georges Mathieu ou la Fureur d’Etre” (1971), “Au Pays Des Visages” (1972), “Georges Braque Ou Le Temps Different” (1974), “La Fête Sauvage” (1975), “L’Opera Sauvage” (1979), “Pablo Picasso Peintre” (1981), “Sauvage et Beau” (1984), “Pasteur Le Siecle” (1987), “Morandi” (1991) and “De Nuremberg a Nuremberg” (1991).

In 1973, Vangelis wrote the progressive rock score for Henry Chapier’s movie “Amore”, which was released in the UK as “Earth”. He also recorded with Greek singer Melina Mercouri. A year later, he also arranged an album for the Italian singer Claudio Baglioni and eventually decided to move to London to build his Nemo studios, where he became one of the first European keyboardists who explored and based his work in the electronic devices. Apart from being a pioneer and an expert in the use of synthesizers and sequencing, Vangelis has an unique talent as an arranger an orchestrator, who has developed a very personal style by fusioning electronic sounds with symphonic arrangements, despite he has not been formarly schooled in music.

Vangelis played his debut in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on the 27th of May 1973. The show, supporting progressive rock band the Tempest, was held shortly after the release of the “Earth” album. On February 25, 1974 he performed a new concert to promote the album at Olympia theatre in Paris. In 1975, during the period of working of his Nemo studios in an old school building at Hampden Guerney Street in London’s Marble Arch. There Vangelis started producing albums for the Greek rock band Socrates and the Greek singer Mariangela at Orange Studio in London. At the same time, he signed a record contract with RCA records and released the “Heaven and Hell” album, which is considered one of his masterworks. The album contains a pioneering fusion of electronic music, classical orchestrations, and ancient music. The album featured the collaboration of Jon Anderson of the progressive rock band Yes on vocals on the song “So Long Ago, So Clear”. On February 11, 1976 Vangelis performed live at the Royal Albert Hall, London to present the album.

Vangelis

In 1974, Vangelis was invited by Jon Anderson to replace Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had quit the band at the end of the band’s tour. Vangelis met the band but the plan was turned down as Atlantic Records’ president Phil Carsons recalls: “Jon and I went to Paris to try and get him to join the group. He was an amazing character. As I recall, he has a Daimler limousine with a female chauffeur. We had a great meeting with him in this bizarre apartment where he was surrounded by young women. He also had an archery target set up in the living room of this huge room. During the conversation he kept loosing off arrows which flew across the crowded room and always hit the centre of the target! Anyway we talked him into giving it a try. He came over to London and tried out with Yes but it didn’t really gel. One of the problems was Vangelis wouldn’t get on a plane and wouldn’t fly anywhere and Yes were about go on tour”.

In 1975, Vangelis got involved in the production of the third album, “Phos”, of Socrates, and he also wrote one song and played keyboards. This was one of the few involvements of the keyboardist with bands, who has been always stood for his creative independence when is about making music. In September 1977, Vangelis, regarding his involvement with Yes, he explained on an interview: “Our musical directions were not the same. And it wouldn’t have progressed. I feel too claustrophobic in a band, because the band is an obstacle with less flexibility within the industry: it’s a product that you are afraid to change every hour.” Vangelis followed about his independent spirit: “The band is a solution for amateurs, one helping another to exist as a duo. It’s to your advantage to circulate ideas, but it must be said that this advantage is rare when put together with profit-making and the fact that a band contents itself with a single idea.” (Best magazine, September 1977).

In 1976, coinciding with the opening of the new Nemo studios, Vangelis attracted to numerous artists during the following years, including Patty Pravo, Richard Cocciante, Panda and I Nuovi Angeli. During the mid 70’s, Vangelis produced some of the most pioneering albums of electronic and ambient music, starting with “Albedo 0.39″ in 1977, where Vangelis created a completely new form of electronic music due to his unique talent for combining electronics with percussions and classical orchestral arrangements. The album contains tracks such as “Pulstar” -a master work of sequencing and programming-, and “Albedo 0.39″ -a beautiful piece of spacial music-. Other tracks, like “Freefall” -featuring western harmonies and percussions- or “Sword of Orion” represent some of the most pioneering ambient music from the 70’s. Tracks like “Mare Tranquillitatis” and “Nucleogenesis” feature the jazz side of Vangelis. “Albedo 0.39″ was followed with another 70’s electronic masterpiece, the album “Spiral” released in the same year. On June 19th 1978, Vangelis performed live in Paris in an improvised concert featuring the violist Michel Ripoche, coinciding with the release of the album “Beabourg” (the name of his neighborhood in Paris) where the artist shown his most experimental side in an avant-garde abstract work based in the manipulation and creation of electronic tones.

Vangelis has also kept through the years a friendship and professional relationship with his partner from Aphrodite’s Child, the vocalist Demis Roussos, who has one of the most personal and beautiful male voices in the world. For Roussos, Vangelis arranged and produced two albums “Magic” (1977),”Ainsi soit-il” (1977), “Demis” (1982) which features a pop version of “Chariots of Fire” entitled “Race to the End”, and “Reflection” (1984).

In 1979, Vangelis signed a new contract with Polydor that lasted through the 80’s. That same year he released “China”, a wonderful collection of world music and ambient electronic songs inspired in the millenary traditional music from the country. In this album, Vangelis also played all the percussion instruments. The album coincided with a live improvised concerts in London’s Drury Lane theatre on April 22nd 1979 featuring in the avant-garde style of the album “Beaubourg”, and at Brussels Cirque Royale on May 17th 1979, featured Vangelis and a symphonic orchestra with choirs performing extracts from “Pulstar” and “China”.

Jon Anderson and Vangelis

“L’ Opera Sauvage”, released in 1979, was originally the music for a series of TV documentals directed by Frédéric Rossif, but the album itself became one of the most appreciated Vangelis works from the 70’s. With tracks dedicated to different cultures in the world, the music is a nice mixture of ambient electronic passages and world music. The song “Flamant Roses” features Jon Anderson playing the Irish harp. Precisely that same year Anderson and Vangelis formed the vocal electronic duo Jon and Vangelis, coinciding with the singer’s eventual departure from Yes. Their debut album “Short Stories” was wrote and recorded in one week at Vangelis Nemo studios in London and it provided the hit “I’ll Find My Way Home”. Jon and Vangelis recorded some of the most personal and unique electronic music works ever, mostly based in the improvisation and characterized by the fusion of Jon Anderson’s lyrical vocals and Vangelis’ electronic and sequencial work.

The next Vangelis solo album “See you later” (1980) was a curious incursion of the keyboardist in the new electronic trends, with tracks like the pre-electro piece “Multitrack Suggestion”, and “See You Later” that featured Jon Anderson on vocals. The album also featured the collaboration of Peter Marsh, Cherry Vanilla, Krisma, Michel Ripoche and Argyris ‘Silver’ Koulouris. During this period some of the works of Vangelis became extremely popular after being featured in the soundtrack of the documentary series “Cosmos” directed by Carl Sagan.

On April 12th 1980, Vangelis offered a new concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, featuring the percussion by Vassilis Constantinides and a string ensemble conducted by Guy Protheroe. Four months later he performed again at Sophia Antipolis in the south of France, this time completely solo and playing different musical styles from the avant-garde improvisations of “Beaubourg” to the “Pulstar” sequential works.

Apart from having recorded a massive number of solo albums, Vangelis has also produced numerous works for theatre, ballet, films and TV. After having written some movie soundtracks since 1972, in the 80’s he developed a very successful career as sountrack composer which started in 1981 with the music for Hugh Hudson’s film “Chariots of Fire” which provided Vangelis with an Oscar award. On the other hand, the album caused a negative impact in Vangelis career when, in 1987, he had to go to court after having been issued by the Greek composer Stavros Logaridis of plagiarism for the “Chariots of Fire” main theme. Vangelis won the case, but still the allegations affected him greatly and eventually he decided to close the Nemo studio’s in London, which was demolished a few years later, and moved back to Athens.

That same year, he also wrote the music for Costa-Gavras’s film “Missing” (1981). A year later, Vangelis wrote the music for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic film “Blade Runner”. The music was recorded at the keyboardist’s Nemo studios in London and was composed, arranged, produced and performed by himself, featuring the collaboration of Mary Hopkin (vocals), Don Percival (vocals), Dick Morrisey (sax), and his old friend Demis Roussos (vocals) who singed in the track “Tales of the Future”, one of the most breathtaking vocal ambient works ever produced. Regreatfully, the soundtrack released in 1982 was missing a great part of the music that Vangelis originally wrote, and it has been pointed out, that it was due to a difference of view between Vangelis and Ridley Scott which lead to a dispute with Warner Bros over various artistic aspects of the movie related with the production of the sample voices. In the booklet of the original soundtrack released in 1994, the Greek artist explains his decision to release the music with additions of new pieces because they were “unable to be released at the time”. Blade Runner is based on the novel by cult science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and is considered one of the top all-time classics in science fiction. Vangelis’ soundtrack is considered a masterpiece of electronic music and one of the most accomplished works of the musician.

In 1981, Jon and Vangelis released their second album “The Friends of Mr Cairo”, which included the track “State of Independence” that was later covered by Donna Summer. The following work from the duo, “Private Collection”, was released in 1983, coinciding Jon Anderson’s comeback to Yes with the release of the band’s album “90125″. In 1983 Vangelis composed “R B Sque”, the first of a series of works for the British ballet-director Wayne Eagling. Forthcoming works for Eagling were the music for ballet “Frankenstein” (1985) and “Beauty and the Beast” (1986). Inspired by nature Vangelis’ solo album “Soil Festivities” was released in 1984, which was followed by “Invisible Connections” (1984), “Mask” (1985) under the influence of ancient music, and “Direct” (1988) crated with the aid of a revolutionary new ‘Zyklus’ tool.

On November the 7th 1986, Vangelis performed for the very first time in the U.S., in Los Angeles. The improvissional concert featured parts from some of his works, including “Pulstar”, “Blade Runner, “Chariots of Fire” and “China”. It also featured Jon Anderson’s, appereance to perform some material from the duo, like “Long Ago, So Clear”, “Italian Song” and “One More Time”. Another concert was held a year later at the Herodium theater in Athens, on September 25th and 27th, where Vangelis performed live for two evenings in his birthland Greece, to raise money for the Acropolis Preservation Fund. Vangelis also invited to perform live in 1988 at the Flame ceremony of the Olympic games celebrated at the Panathinaiko stadium, which was broadcasted live on Greek national television.

Vangelis

In 1989, Vangelis wrote the score for Liliana Cavani’s movie “Francesco” and performed a beneficial concert in Rome for research against cancer. The next year he released one of his most reputed electronic albums “The City”, which was the first of many releases on the East-West label. Back in Athens, Vangelis worked for numerous Greek artists. In September 1990, Vangelis performed a concert in front of 80,000 spectators at the Olympic “Panathinaikon” stadium in Athens for the promotion of the candidature of Athens for the 1996 Olympic games.

The next year, Vangelis performed at the “Night of Poetry” in Athens, an event held for “the World Society of Poetry, Drama and Literature”, featuring recited poetry in various languages by actors like Alan Bates and Fanny Ardant. In 1991, he also recorded for the Greek singer Maria Farantouri’sr album “17 songs” and wrote and performed live the music for the mini-opera Antigoneand. This was followed by other three concerts, including in Rotterdam, an improvisation at the Night of Poetry in Athens, and at the docks in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, at the “Eureka the Event of Excellence” where he was accompanied by Jon Anderson. The last concert attracted about 150,000 spectators and coincided with the release of a new album from the duo, “Page of Life”, which fussioned electronic music, jazz, and world music. Jon Anderson later in 1994 produced a revisited version the album, apparently without the approval of Vangelis, which caused a certain acrimony between the artists.

After the Greek period, Vangelis moved to Paris in 1992 to build the Epsilon studio, where he produced the music for the movies “1492 Conquest of Paradise” directed by Ridley Scott, “The Plague” directed by Luis Penzo, and “Bitter Moon” directed by Roman Polanski. The next year, Vangelis composed a tribute to the 14th century painter El Greco entitled “Foros Timis Ston Greko”, which was originally released as a limited edition in and repackaged in 1998. Since the opening of the Epsilon studios, Vangelis had the producer assistance and engineering of the French synthesizer expert Frederick Rousseau, who had already made important contributions to some of the Vangelis works. Rousseau had worked before for Jean Michel Jarre and he also performed keyboards on his legendary tour in China in 1981.

On July 13, 1993, Vangelis presented live “Mythodia” at the Herodium theater of the ancient Acropolis in Athens. The work was a piece in 7 movements featuring the performers Markella Hatziana, Luccienne Deval and a chorus, directed by Yvan Cassar. This work was released later in 2001 and performed live at the historical Temple of Zeus in Athens, featuring the London Metropolitan Orchestra, the Athens Opera Choir and sopranos Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. The concert was attended by 2000 people.

In 1995, the album “Voices” shown once again the interest of Vangelis for the combination of electronic music and vocals, featuring the collaboration of the vocals by Jon Anderson, Caroline Lavelle, Stina Nordenstam and Paul Young. This album was followed by “Oceanic”, released in 1996. That same year, he also wrote the music to the Greek movie “Kavafis” and a number of songs for the Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé which are published on her albums “Friends for life” (1997) and “With all my heart” (1998). Vangelis and Caballé performed together at the opening ceremony of the 1997 World Championship Athletics in Athens to which Vangelis composed the music.

Apart from his celebrated work as a musician, Vangelis also paints and sculpts regularilly, having done different exhibitions of his works around the world. Other collaborative works of Vangelis are Richard Anthony’s “Richard Anthony Gold” (1974), Suzanne Ciani’s “The Velocity Of Love” (1986), Michael Hoppé’s “Solace” (2003), Vicky Leandros’s “Vicky” (1983), Raymond Lefevre Et Son Grand Orchestre’s “Concerto Pour Une Voix” (1970), Stavros Logarides’ “Se alli gi” (1980), Mariangela’s “Mariangela” (1975), Vanessa Mae’s “Choreography”, Melina Mercouri’s “Si Melina m’etait contee” (1974), Elaine Paige’s “Love Hurts” (1985), Patti Pravo’s “Tanto” (1976), George Romanos’ “In concert/studio” (1968), and Julian Lloyd Webber’s “Encore!” (1986) and “Harmony” (1991).