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Luftrum · Post by **Luftrum** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:47 pm

There is a new Vangelis documentary available: Journey to Ithaka.

In my humble opinion, Vangelis is the greatest composer ever lived. The music that flows from him is, out of this world... this is a documentary I must have.

Watch the teaser below and I guarantee you that all hairs on your entire body will rise to attention within 2 minutes. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/80936319

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:56 pm

Luftrum wrote:There is a new Vangelis documentary available: Journey to Ithaka.

In my humble opinion, Vangelis is the greatest composer ever lived. The music that flows from him is, out of this world... this is a documentary I must have.

Watch the teaser below and I guarantee you that all hairs on your entire body will rise to attention within 2 minutes. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/80936319

Yes, this came out about a month or so ago. I was going to get a second copy as a Christmas gift but it was sold out at the time. Currently I think you have to get it directly from Gonzo. This is most definitely worth tracking down. If you are a fan of Vangelis then it's a no brainer (if there ever was one!).

Very highly recommended.

Or... in other words: +1 to your post!!!

Luftrum · Post by **Luftrum** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:03 pm

Sequent wrote:
Luftrum wrote:There is a new Vangelis documentary available: Journey to Ithaka.

In my humble opinion, Vangelis is the greatest composer ever lived. The music that flows from him is, out of this world... this is a documentary I must have.

Watch the teaser below and I guarantee you that all hairs on your entire body will rise to attention within 2 minutes. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/80936319
Yes, this came out about a month or so ago. I was going to get a second copy as a Christmas gift but it was sold out at the time. Currently I think you have to get it directly from Gonzo. This is most definitely worth tracking down. If you are a fan of Vangelis then it's a no brainer (if there ever was one!).

Very highly recommended.

Or... in other words: +1 to your post!!!

Yeah, thanks. I saw the announcement of the release a while ago but first today discovered that it was actually released! I won't wish for it as a christmas present, simply cannot run the risk of it being sold out so: Bought!

murnau · Post by **murnau** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:06 pm

Luftrum wrote:There is a new Vangelis documentary available: Journey to Ithaka.

In my humble opinion, Vangelis is the greatest composer ever lived. The music that flows from him is, out of this world... this is a documentary I must have.

Watch the teaser below and I guarantee you that all hairs on your entire body will rise to attention within 2 minutes. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/80936319

i dont know if he's the greatest composer ever lived but surely he's the greatest composer today. i adore him.

http://vimeo.com/65619464

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:00 pm

I'm greatly inspired by the real-time method Vangelis has developed over the years. The command of all those sounds is impressive. However (I'm very sorry to say) the music and the sound leaves me cold.

I wish that he'd use the same real-time approach with a stronger electronic sound, not necessarily that 1970s 'Vangelis sound' I love so much, but perhaps something new and exciting which this real-time method seems to be perfect for.

It looks like this current arrangement Vangelis has set up is perfect for orchestral movie scores, but I miss that special approach to electronic sounds Vangelis had going back in the 70s and early 80s.

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:06 pm

himalaya wrote:I'm greatly inspired by the real-time method Vangelis has developed over the years. The command of all those sounds is impressive. However (I'm very sorry to say) the music and the sound leaves me cold.

I wish that he'd use the same real-time approach with a stronger electronic sound, not necessarily that 1970s 'Vangelis sound' I love so much, but perhaps something new and exciting which this real-time method seems to be perfect for.

It looks like this current arrangement Vangelis has set up is perfect for orchestral movie scores, but I miss that special approach to electronic sounds Vangelis had going back in the 70s and early 80s.

I'm with you on this. Although I love his work, in general, I think that the period from Heaven & Hell till Blade Runner was his best, with a special emphasis on the first three (Heaven & Hell, Albedo 0.39 and Spiral).

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:22 pm

Yes!

He was on the cutting edge of synthesis for 20 years, and now has settled on reproducing orchestral sounds using samples...whereas we have so many new and exciting ways of making electronic sounds which just beg for that intimate expression Vangelis is known for.

Even when he combined the electronic sound with acoustic sounds - which to be honest is really his trademark - it sounded absolutely amazing, the 'China' album springs to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEQ7i8AGBWQ

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:45 pm

Without wanting to step on anyone's corns (including my own!), I think it's safe to say that synthesizers as a whole don't have exactly the same "charm" that they did twenty, thirty, forty years ago. Just look around here and see all of the virtual stuff that's available and of course, some of the hardware stuff both old and new. Then also, look at all of the amazing libraries that are available, perhaps especially on the orchestral side. By all of which I mean to say that synthesis in and of itself is no longer "enough". So I think maybe part of the "meh" factor you guys are talking about might be also a product of the fact that it's hard to be cutting edge when everyone else (more or less) has access to the same (or at least similar) tools. From watching "Journey" I'm under the impression that currently he is not so much using his electronic setup as a performance tool as much as he is using it as a writing tool. It sounds like he's aiming towards more of a classical approach with orchestra and having his pieces transcribed for orchestral performance. Which, in a way makes sense to me insofar as maybe that is an area that he has not explored as much as he would like to, whereas with synthesizers he has probably explored quite a bit. Ultimately I think it's about transmitting what he hears and it sounds like he is just employing different means than the ones he was employing twenty or thirty years ago. Honestly, I don't think it was ever so much about synthesizers as it was about the music itself. Synthesizers were just the tools of transmission, imo.

Btw, I really love his paintings too!!!

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:47 pm

Sequent wrote:Without wanting to step on anyone's corns (including my own!), I think it's safe to say that synthesizers as a whole don't have exactly the same "charm" that they did twenty, thirty, forty years ago. Just look around here and see all of the virtual stuff that's available and of course, some of the hardware stuff both old and new. Then also, look at all of the amazing libraries that are available, perhaps especially on the orchestral side. By all of which I mean to say that synthesis in and of itself is no longer "enough". So I think maybe part of the "meh" factor you guys are talking about might be also a product of the fact that it's hard to be cutting edge when everyone else (more or less) has access to the same (or at least similar) tools. From watching "Journey" I'm under the impression that currently he is not so much using his electronic setup as a performance tool as much as he is using it as a writing tool. It sounds like he's aiming towards more of a classical approach with orchestra and having his pieces transcribed for orchestral performance. Which, in a way makes sense to me insofar as maybe that is an area that he has not explored as much as he would like to, whereas with synthesizers he has probably explored quite a bit. Ultimately I think it's about transmitting what he hears and it sounds like he is just employing different means than the ones he was employing twenty or thirty years ago. Honestly, I don't think it was ever so much about synthesizers as it was about the music itself. Synthesizers were just the tools of transmission, imo.

Btw, I really love his paintings too!!!

Problem is that, as an orchestral music composer, Vangelis will be jest "meh", I'm afraid. Different media, different craftmanship.

Bathrobe · Post by **Bathrobe** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:58 pm

No need for comparison. Best is an extreme form of comparison.
Everything is unique.

He's got a nice voice too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCbqhJt16k

Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:58 pm

I appreciate Vangelis for being a pioneer in electronic music, especially in the 70ies and 80ies, mainly for soundtracks. I think he's still stuck somewhere in the 90ies, regarding electronic music...

I'm sure he doesn't like all these plugin stuff and prefers real hardware synthesizers and other instruments...

I wouldn't call him "the GREATEST composer EVER LIVED" - but he's a legend, for sure. And he says pretty intelligent things in most documentaries!

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 7:31 pm

He does say a lot of very interesting and powerful things!

@fmr, I do see what you are saying. I sure hope that he does not wind up being just "meh" in this different media and different way of craftsmanship. Precisely because of the impression that I get from hearing him speak in those documentaries, I trust that he fully has the presence not to allow the "meh" to happen!

That's also why I mentioned his painting. Also different media and different way of craftsmanship, but the essence still shines through. I fully believe that his essence goes far deeper than just even the 'surface aspects' of specific media and specific ideas of craftsmanship.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:10 pm

Sequent wrote:... I think it's safe to say that synthesizers as a whole don't have exactly the same "charm" that they did twenty, thirty, forty years ago. Just look around here and see all of the virtual stuff that's available and of course, some of the hardware stuff both old and new. Then also, look at all of the amazing libraries that are available, perhaps especially on the orchestral side. By all of which I mean to say that synthesis in and of itself is no longer "enough".

We are, and always have been surrounded by amazing sources of electronic sounds which in the hands of Vangelis could find very fine expression.

No orchestral sample library, no matter how spectacular can match the complexity and beauty of the electronic/acoustic sound that Vangelis pioneered in the past, at least for me.

Vintage synths with 'charm' or modern digital wunderstations, it's immaterial. It's about human interaction with the instrument.
However, it looks like he has moved on and found his new 'sound', that of orchestral approximation or 'mock ups' and that's that.

Part of me still hopes that we will see new, unpublished electronic-based music that was composed over the last several decades. Vangelis is on record saying that the labels only release a small fraction of what he creates, and I'm just hopeful that there may be some hidden gems waiting for our delectation.

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:34 pm

My impression based on what was in the documentary is that he is using real orchestras with real instruments. So, plenty of human interaction with plenty of instruments. The samples and mockups appear to be just an interim means of communicating his intent. It seems he is working with people specifically to transcribe the music into a form that the other musicians can then work with.

That is not to say that is the only means by which he is doing music. I'm really not privy to that particular information! But if this new classical mode is what he's currently exploring more power to him! I look forward to hearing some of this new music just as much as I've enjoyed the more electronically flavored music over the years. To me, it's really all the same... in other words, at the root of it he really isn't doing anything different than what he's been doing all these years. To me, it's the more about the music that is coming through him and not so much about what brand of synthesizer or whatever he accomplished it with - if that makes sense.

I agree that it would be great to hear some of the unpublished music that was created over the past decades. There are also all those albums that he remastered that were released the other day.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:31 pm

Sequent wrote:My impression based on what was in the documentary is that he is using real orchestras with real instruments. So, plenty of human interaction with plenty of instruments.

It's the human interaction with electronic instruments, is what I was referring to. That's where the magic is, and not in seeing how well one can recreate an orchestra using keyboards (of which Vangelis has released whole albums).

Vangelis - Journey of Ithaka now available,