Talk:Vangelis

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How can Vangelis have written the score to Blade Runner (1982) in 1994? David.Monniaux 22:20, 30 May 2004 (UTC)

I have a feeling the soundtrack wasn't released until 1994. --Gene_poole 23:07, 30 May 2004 (UTC)

Yup. The score was released on vinyl and cassette in '82, but not on cd until '94. Also, the '94 release was more complete, with some parts that had been removed in the initial release included for the re-release. --Benn 06:20, 18 November 2005

Contents

[edit] Reading music?

Something does not add up. You cannot study classical music at college level without knowing how to read music. Either he majored in something else and maybe took a music appreciation class on the side, or he is better at musical notation than he pretends to be. On a different subject, Keyboard Magazine ran a cover story interview with him just after he won the Academy Award for the "Chariots of Fire" score. He specifically mentioned them rehearsing "Sound chaser" (which later got recorded on the Relayer album with Patrick Moraz on keys).

[edit] Discography

Has anyone considered updating the discography, perhaps by looking at the Elsewhere site? I happen to know the creator personally and I doubt he'd object.

It's just that I think there's quite a few things missing. I have a bootleg of Blade Runner (that came out in 1993, and lo and behold, less than a year later the official version comes out), plus a bootleg of The Bounty. Also, I used to have a 3" single of Missing (which I gave away).

Because otherwise, my Vangelis collection would be remarkably complete, which is something I doubt... SeverityOne 21:43, 18 February 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Blade Runner Sample

In 1996 the British ambient dance duo Future Sound of London sampled the track 'Rachel's Song' from the Blade Runner soundtrack for use on their My Kingdom EP.

What's special about this particular sample? Blade Runner has been sampled so many times it's practically a cliche. ~ 24.168.57.47 04:12, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Bounty

Important to mention the score for this film - it's some of Vangelis' best music, but I've moved it so that it doesn't come in the middle of the section on Chariots of Fire.

[edit] Is this artist similar to Vangelis?

Should Ariaphonics (no WP article) be included in the "Similar artists" section? (Someone added it to the article and I removed it for discussion here. My answer follows but additional input is welcome/required to settle the matter.)

  • Oppose - a) non-notable artist (band?); b) self-described as "space-rock-opera". Vangelis is not "rock-opera" (in the classical opera sense), maybe "space" (and even then, it's contentious, as Vangelis' music is nothing like Hearts of Space, for instance). --maf 19:22, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] TOC and image placement

Mafmafmaf (talk · contribs) tried to position the image on the left and focrce a TOC on the right. While there are certainly precedents, I dispute that this article needs such a deviation from general formatting. There are articles with a much longer TOCs that do not rely on _TOCRIGHT_ (e.g. The Holocaust). What is your logic, Mafmafmaf, and can we reach consensus here? JFW | T@lk 21:26, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't really care about the TOC placement. I see and apply what I like in other articles, instead of innovating. That's why I invoked the precedents. Anyway, having returned to the article a month later, I see the TOC is still on the right, and I still like its placement, visible but not cutting into the flow of reading. But, as I started saying, I don't really care in the sense that if it is reverted, I won't fight it. --maf 23:28, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 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"."

This is misleading. While he may have used this technique in 1982, I find it hard to believe he is still using the same (presumably analog) method these days. Does anyone have additional information regarding this? If not, I don't feel that a recording technique he used a quarter of a century ago is notable enough to be in the article unless someone can establish the relevance and provide context. CarlosCoppola 14:38, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

As far as I'm aware the device in question didn't appear until at least 1987 or 88, and was a digital - not analogue - piece of equipment. I believe the album "Direct" was the first to use it. It should certainly remain in the article, as it was considered fairly ground-breaking at the time, if I recall correctly. Obviously if he's not still using it, the article needs rto reflect that too. --Gene_poole 12:03, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Right. I assumed that because the source of the Direct box section was an interview from 1982, the device would have to be as old. Turns out the whole article makes no mention of a "Direct box", just a "multi-trackmachine". I wonder, was he referring to the Direct box at all? I feel that until someone has actual solid information on this, the section should go as it is only serves to confuse at the moment, especially as it is not even sourced. I agree thought that if someone can provide context and sourced information on when the technique was used and some basic information about it (e.g. analog or digital, who manufactured it, etc), it is definitely worth a mention in the article. CarlosCoppola 11:53, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
The Vangelis "gurus" could certainly elaborate more on the Direct device, but where are they? What little I can contribute from memory is that the Direct thingy was developed on V.'s specifications and has always been kept secret (but not hidden). Even after its creator/builder talked about it, and even after we saw it in action, we still don't know exactly the extent of what it does. We even don't know if the custom-built boxes full of knobs last seen on the Mythodea video, on top of the synths, may still be called the "Direct box", a successor of the Direct box or even who built them or, even worse, what their purpose was during the concert. --maf 23:35, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed section: Vangelis Sings!

I just removed the following subsection from the article. The examples of Vangelis singing do not show enough relevancy to characterize Vangelis as either a singer or even as someone who uses his own vocals regularly. This is more like just a curiosity (but not terribly original) than something core to Vangelis. --maf 18:32, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the removal. Vocal contributions are discussed on some of the album-specific pages. Some aren't, which is why I included a "citations" marker when I tidied-up 84.217.109.107's entry.
Gardener of Geda 22:11, 19 January 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Vangelis Sings!

Vangelis contributes his own voice to some of his albums [citation needed] ....

  • Earth - backing vocals.
  • Spiral - lead vocals on "Ballad" and "Devish D".
  • See You Later - backing vocals on title track and supposed lead vocal in the middle-section of "Not a bit, all of it".
  • Blade Runner - lead vocal harmonies on "Damask Rose".
  • Page of Life - backing vocals on end section of "Change we must". (On the 1998 re-issue of the 1991 Jon & Vangelis album).

[edit] Pop culture

I believe a segment of "Chung Kuo" from China was used in a Mercury Cougar commercial in the US. I'm also thinking this was 1976 or so, but China wasn't released until 1979. This was thirty years ago, but I had never heard music like that in the commercial, and I recognized it a few years later when I discovered Vangelis. --Gadget850 ( Ed) 12:03, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Someone should add that Vangelis recorded the lovely "La Petite Fille De La Mer" for the Stranger than Fiction soundtrack. The song plays during the climax of the film, and is wonderful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.59.20.216 (talk • contribs)
He didn't. He recorded it for his album L'Apocalypse des Animaux over 30 years ago. They just used it on the soundtrack. Gardener of Geda | Message Me.... 18:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)


I remember the car commerical being around 81-82? It would show the car and then a cougar or lynx or something crossing stage in front of the car...and I remember the song being The Long March not Chung Kuo...unless there were different versions of the commerical or a different commercial altogether.(MrSleestak)

[edit] Singing in English

In the 1960s biographical section, there was a change from singing in English "not usual .. for the time" to "usual for the time". Which is it? We need references, please. --Otheus 08:00, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

  • The "Elsewhere" Vangelis site has a good section on the Forminx, which states that most of their songs were either Vangelis compositions or written by the band collectively, with just a few by outside contributors. Most significantly it says that the lyrics were sung in English, which "certainly helped set them apart from the rest of the Greek artists". This confirms that singing in English was not usual for the time. I have put it back into the article. (Tony the Pixel, 1 Apr 2007)

[edit] vangelisworld.com

The article states that the "official" site has been abandoned since "at least 1998". I can personally state that it has been abandoned since at least 1996, as I can remember it going live during the run-up to the release of either Voices (1995) or Oceanic (1996). (I'm fairly sure the latter, actually.) Unfortunately, I have no external reference to back this up. --JohannVisagie 20:05, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

According to the Wayback Machine, the site went online with a second page announcing the release of Oceanic, and then it was changed somewhere between Feb 08, 1999 and Oct 21, 1999 to remove the link for that page. I'll change the article. --maf 23:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
I should've thought of that - thanks! (Glad to see my memory is still somewhat functional.) --JohannVisagie 10:24, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] IPA transcription

The IPA transacription of V's name has an extra 'o' in front of his surname. I now nothing about how to pronounce Greek, but this strikes me as a bit odd. Should it be removed? Jalwikip 08:32, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Furthermore, there are no stress indicators to help with pronunciation. Personally I have heard his name pronounced two different ways; /væŋ gɛl' ɪs/ or /væn jɛl' ɪs/ neither of which match the transcriptions shown here. Are we sure we have transcribed them correctly? LogicalOctopus (talk) 04:42, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
Start from the Greek pronunciation: with a hard g (as in Gulf), accent in the middle syllable, AND NO N (ie vaGHElis). Then modify it to accomodate other languages. The IPA transcription in the article merely follows the MOST USUAL pronunciations in English, with the added N and both the hard and the soft G, although there is a consensus that the most usual pronunciation is English is with the hard G. In the Blade Runner DVD commentaries, ONLY Ridley Scott says it with a soft G (as in Juliet). The pronunciation with the soft G, by the way, is about the only way you'll hear it among French or Portuguese speakers. --maf (talk-cont) 11:54, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

After my first comment I have since heard an interview with Jon Anderson (who ought to now him pretty well) who pronounces his name as /væ gɛl' ɪs/ with the æ nasalized (thus producing a faint 'n' sound). LogicalOctopus (talk) 08:23, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Some music is scary

Some of the music I have heard from vangelis is really scary. Some like the "End titles from Bladerunner". When the music begins, its goes to a creeping approach of music. 1492 also makes the scary muisc with the woodened jingles and with some of the keyboards and other instruments- Creation Christian

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:1492 Still 04 B.jpg

Image:1492 Still 04 B.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 06:31, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lack of sources; POV

The article clearly violates Wiki rules about writing biographies from a neutral and objective point of view, rather than a fan's POV, e.g. "...considered pivotal in the development of progressive rock and concept albums"; "...to the dismay of much of the Greek populace, the job was given to someone else"; the Mouratidis encomium quote; etc. The article also violates the rule of verifiability since it does not contain almost any references; in fact, the only references are a Vangelis interview and the artist's various writings archived online. The Gnome 20:04, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vangelis Song?

Is the song in this video |here by Vangelis? If so, what is the name of the song? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.239.110.74 (talk) 14:57, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

This is not the place to ask, but I'll answer anyway: no, not even remotely like Vangelis' sound and style. --maf (talk-cont) 00:36, 7 March 2008 (UTC)