Several sources are reporting that Vangelis departed this earth to continue his cosmic voyage, rest in peace. https://www.ot.gr/2022/05/19/englis...inning-composer-passes-away-at-the-age-of-79/ (Also reported at: National Post, BBC) I can not put this into words, here was a legend who's music has followed me almost all through my life.
The main reason I'm into Electronic Music both as a listener and amateur producer! Your Music conquered death long before you die! You've earned the Immortality! Rest in Peace Vangelis!
When I saw his name in a thread in the last weeks, I was worried we had lost him. From his photos, he was not in the best shape. Now, it has come to pass. Along with Schulze, we have lost another titan
Discovered him in my early teens through the series "Cosmos". Still sends tingle down the spine listening to that soundtrack. What a loss.
Gosh, the second from my list of heroes who suddenly pass... First Klaus Schulze (RIP) now him... They were both from the same generation, but their respective cultures were certainly different. But the artistic richness of these guys!... Both touched different domains, explored different areas, revealing this way how their talents are vast and varied... Can't believe they're no more present in this plan of existence! What I admire the most in Vangelis: his incredible, intuitive genius for orchestrations! He's a real, deep, "classical" composer, many of his works sound in my ears like symphonies, he was a real master in this field, I don't know any pop songwriter capable to magnify, beautify a "simple" melody to sound like a lyrical opera! His famous soundtrack for the film "1492: Conquest of Paradise" is a perfect illustration of this aspect of his talent: A "detail" that we often forget, the guy is a completely self-taught musician and composer! Can you believe that? With Jon Anderson, it was a very intimate, very delicate aspect of his artistic landscape that is revealed, one could say that it's a totally different universe. Despite not being a pop fan, very far from that, I completely fall for this song: I don't would like to end this afflicted message without an absolute masterpiece, please listen to this 5mn song in its entirety, you will understand why I love this guy so much: Good bye Grand Chief, hope to see you again, somewhere, somewhen! Last edited: May 19, 2022
wow... sad, sad day! There goes another One from the Great Souls... Rest In Peace, Maestro! Thank you for the trips! Also, @Olymoon - could you move this (maybe pinned) in the AudioSEX Memorial section? Last edited: May 19, 2022
Vangelis, composer of 'Chariots of Fire' score, dies at 79 By James Mackenzie, Karolina Tagaris ATHENS (Reuters) -Vangelis, the Greek composer whose rousing electronic theme music for the Oscar-winning 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” became one of the most loved movie scores, has died at the age of 79. The law firm representing the composer said he died late on Tuesday, without giving a cause of death. In a post on Twitter, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Vangelis “a pioneer of the electronic sound.” “He began his long journey on the Chariots of Fire,” Mitsotakis wrote. “From there he will always send us his notes.” Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou in 1943, the young Vangelis developed an early interest in music and experiments with sounds produced by banging pots and pans or fixing nails, glasses and other objects to the strings of his parents’ piano. He absorbed the tones of Greek folk songs and Orthodox Christian choral music, but he had no formal musical training, which he later said had helped save his sense of creativity. After a start with local rock bands, Vangelis left for Paris at the age of 25, joining an exodus of young artists following a 1967 coup that installed a military junta in Greece. Away from home, he was attracted by the then-new field of electronic synthesizers that allowed him to create the lush melodic colours that became his trademark sound. Despite enjoying success in the European “prog rock” scene of the early 1970s with Aphrodite’s Child, a band he formed with fellow Greek musician Demis Roussos, Vangelis was uncomfortable with the expectations on a commercial performing artist and largely retreated to the recording studio he created for himself in London. It was there that he wrote the score for “Chariots of Fire”, the story of the triumph of a group of British runners at the 1924 Olympic Games. Unashamedly non-contemporary, its pulsating synthesizer beats and soaring melody made the slow motion opening sequence of a group of athletes running along a beach a model for the way the cinema portrayed sport. Vangelis once said the score, which earned him an Academy Award and topped the charts for weeks, was in part a tribute to his father, who had been a keen amateur runner. But he was also slightly dismissive of the enormous popularity it enjoyed. “It’s only another piece of music,” he told an interviewer. The success of “Chariots of Fire” overshadowed his other scores, but he wrote the music for a number of major films including “Missing”, directed by his compatriot Costa-Gavras, and Ridley Scott’s futuristic thriller “Blade Runner”. He was a prolific composer over many decades, his work ranging from advertising music and film scores to elaborate symphonic-style compositions and “Jon and Vangelis”, his duo with Jon Anderson, lead singer of the prog rock group Yes. But he remained wary of commercial success, once telling an interviewer he never saw music as just an entertainment. www.reuters.com/article/us-vangelis-obituary-idUSKCN2N51L8
RIP I know it's part of everyone's life, passing away. And he wasn't young. But I'm lamenting when these exceptional musicians are leaving because what does remain, who are the successors in contemporary music? What genre? I'm not going to put any infamous name here, I let you imagine. The inevitable daily torture of 5 minutes in the dressing room of my gym makes me wonder what (small) are the chances for these kind of talents to come up again and influence others in a real meaningful way. For my taste, since the first half of the '90 there have hardly been created any long-lasting masterpiece in jazz, rock and even pop music. That's why I also don't really care what Spotify suggests as new releases or fresh artists.
