Antarctica is the soundtrack to Koreyoshi Kurahara's film of the same name. Vangelis composed and performed all of the music. It is a very dynamic and dramatic set, but does not convey the iciness that listeners would expect. Conveying feelings of angst, isolation, and even desolation, it is actually very good music. It just does not feel like, well, the Antarctic.

Vangelis uses ringing synthesizer textures and stately rhythms to evoke the majesty of China, in a similar fashion to another of his "geography" works, Antarctica. While a few tracks use acoustic piano and other organic instruments, the centerpieces "Chung Kuo," "The Dragon" and "Himalaya" use bracing percussion and synthesizer effects to emphasize the subjects (each reflected by its title).

Socrates - initially known by the more unwieldy moniker Socrates Drank the Conium - were one of the best-known Greek rock bands of the early to mid-‘70s, and one of the few to earn a reputation in the rest of the world. On their first three albums they pursued a tough but technically proficient brand of post-psychedelic hard rock that occasionally revealed a touch of prog influence, but on their 1976 release, Phos, the band underwent a major stylistic shift, and embraced those prog leanings with open arms. The main facilitator for this change was famed keyboardist Vangelis, whose prog ensemble Aphrodite's Child preceded Socrates as Greece's rock ambassadors to the wider world. Vangelis came on board as producer and keyboardist for Phos (also contributing a little of his compositional talent), enabling Socrates to make the leap from thinking man's hard rock to artier, more complex song structures and arrangements. …

This is a day in the life of a city, its denizens shaking off sleep and moving through the busy streets and promenades only to return home and (presumably) start the process all over again. Vangelis' city is cosmopolitan, tastefully blending exotic sounds and disembodied voices, at once futuristic yet reassuringly familiar. Where Direct was remote, The City is almost sensual; swiftly coursing rhythms and bursts of sensation create a tactile quality. As program music, it succeeds at connecting events seamlessly for the first half of the disc. You can actually see the weak morning light dissipate the darkness on "Dawn" and watch the characters shuffle through their morning ministrations on "Morning Papers"…

Vangelis is one of the most celebrated electronic musicians ever. His albums feature symphony orchestras to augment his electronics. His older discs are classics in the symphonic synthesizer style. L'Apocalypse Des Animaux is one of his earliest albums. It is the soundtrack to the Frederic Rossi film of the same name. The LP is short (35 minutes), as it was originally recorded in the analog domain. Vangelis has always had the innate ability to paint pictures with his music. The atmospheres are lush and full, and deep listeners will see the music.

One of a series of remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the Vangelis albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels. All of which come in deluxe digipack designs, with masters personally supervised by Vangelis in 2013.
The ground-breaking experimental work ‘Beaubourg’ was Vangelis’ fourth and final album for RCA Records. Released in 1978, the album was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London and was a defining experimental electronic album of the era.
This Esoteric Recordings release (undertaken with the full approval and supervision of Vangelis himself) features a booklet that restores the original album artwork.

666 (subtitled The Apocalypse of John, 13/18) is the third and final studio album and only double album by Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child, released in June 1972 by Vertigo Records. An ambitious double-LP concept album, ostensibly an adaptation of Biblical passages from the Book of Revelation, 666 was composed by keyboardist Vangelis and lyricist Costas Ferris. Conflict within the band and with their record company over the album's uncommercial style led to its release being delayed for more than a year. Though it was eventually released to a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it later attracted a cult following among fans and musicians and became the group's most acclaimed project. It has appeared on various lists of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time.

One of a series of remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the Vangelis albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels. All of which come in deluxe digipack designs, with masters personally supervised by Vangelis in 2013. The magnificent Spiral was Vangelis' third album for RCA Records. Released in 1977, the album was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London and was a defining electronic album of the era, with Vangelis demonstrating his total mastery of the synthesizer technology of the period. Pieces such as the majestic "To The Unknown Man" brought electronic music to new dimensions. This Esoteric Recordings release (undertaken with the full approval and supervision of Vangelis himself) features a rare and sought after bonus track, previously unissued on CD, "To the Unknown Man (II)", released as a B-side of the single "To the Unknown Man" in 1977. It also includes a booklet that restores the original album artwork.

Deluxe 13 CD box set from the veteran Greek composer and instrumental/electronic music pioneer. Delectus gathers together digitally remastered and expanded editions of Vangelis' seminal albums Earth, L'Apocalypse Des Animaux, China, See You Later, Antarctica, Mask, Opera Sauvage, Chariots of Fire, Soil Festivities and Invisible Connections, plus his collaborative recordings with Jon Anderson as Jon & Vangelis - Short Stories, The Friends of Mister Cairo and Private Collection. The mammoth collection includes all of his albums on Vertigo and Polydor, recently remastered for the first time ever under the legendary composer's own supervision. Presented in a lavish box with an essay and a plethora of rare photographs, the discs are housed in two die-cut, gatefold disc holders within a rigid 242mm square slipcase, and accompanied by a 64-page book illustrating a period of his prolific career of the iconic Maestro. "I always welcome remastering my old work for two basic reasons" - explains Vangelis - "firstly, I get the opportunity to bring the sounds to today's standards, secondly, it gives me the chance to go through the experiences and memories of the time."

Portraits (So Long Ago, So Clear) is a set of 15 pieces covering approximately 20 years of Vangelis' career. He is, undoubtedly, the most commercial electronic musician ever. He has recorded dozens of major motion picture soundtracks and dozens of delightful albums. This CD is an accurate cross section of those efforts. Contains two unreleased tracks.

This portentous tribute to Domenikos Theotokopoulos (16th-century painter "El Greco") divides its ten tracks among as many separate movements (complete with a disc-closing "Epilogue") and explores them with all the excitement of a day at the art gallery (this concept was, in fact, inspired by the National Gallery of Greece's efforts to obtain El Greco's "St. Peter"). Which means it's very studious, very meticulous, and very good for you, but ultimately the (very few) thrills here are intrinsic at best and not really all that thrilling. Composer, arranger, producer, and performer Vangelis gooses up the action with occasional bombast, but the overall tone of El Greco's classical new age is as solemn and washed-out as a centuries-old painting.

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the repromotion of a remastered and sonically enhanced edition of Direct. It comes as a deluxe digi-pack design, with the master personally supervised by Vangelis.
Direct was released by Arista Records in October 1988 and was the first Vangelis to be recorded in Athens, following his relocation to the city from London. A fine body of work, the album title was inspired by Vangelis’ method of composing and recording, relying on spontaneity, with the compositional and recording process occurring simultaneously in the studio with few (if any) overdubs taking place.
This Esoteric Recordings release (undertaken with the full approval and supervision of Vangelis himself) features a booklet that restores the original album artwork.

One of a series of remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the Vangelis albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels. All of which come in deluxe digi-pack designs, with masters personally supervised by Vangelis in 2013.
The superb ‘Albedo 0.39’ was Vangelis’ second album to be released by RCA Records and was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London, in 1976. This conceptual work, inspired by space and galactic physics, took its name from the planet Earth’s albedo, (the proportion of the light a planet receives that is reflected back into outer space), as it was in 1976.
The album features the iconic ‘Pulstar’ and saw Vangelis push the perceived boundaries of the synthesizer as a musical instrument to new dimensions…