| Soil Festivities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Studio | Nemo Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Electronic | |||
| Length | 47:59 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Vangelis | |||
| Vangelis chronology | ||||
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Soil Festivities is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in October 1984. [1]
This 1984 release was the first in what could be very loosely said to belong to a trilogy of his 1980s albums, the other two being Invisible Connections and Mask, both from the following year (1985). It is a concept album which derived inspiration from the natural elements, life processes taking place on the Earth's surface and beneath our feet. [2]
He recalls that it "was made because I wanted to make music, not sell a million records. I don’t think it’s possible to guarantee commercial success for an album anyway, because nobody really knows what is commercial and what isn’t. Even if I went out of my way to make an album that was more accessible to the public, that would not guarantee its commercial success". [3]
The album cover art features the rear view of a great diving beetle.
The album reached #55 position in the UK album charts, [4] and #45 position in the Netherlands album charts in 1984. [5]
Vangelis uses exotic synth-harmonies, creative percussion and melody-lines, as well as rare use of double bass plucking sounds. [6]
The first movement is accompanied by storm and rain effects. On top of this, Vangelis lets loose his improvisational skills, probably to indicate many forms of life springing into existence. The second movement has tune-like quality, and is the most tranquil piece, in contrast to the next three which are darker in atmosphere. [6]
The third movement shows the violent side of nature, indicating the struggle to survive, whilst the fourth movement is more contemplative and a bit gloomy, perhaps indicating slowed-down nightlife activity. [6]
The fifth movement is a wonderfully loose piece of improvisation, going through many moods and tempos before setting up an emotional conclusion to the life. [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
Jim Brenholts of Allmusic notes that Vangelis "surrounds a subtle drone with heavy sequences and dense atmospheres. He uses a symphonic synth to create pastoral textures", and that it "is a very accessible album". [7]
All songs composed by Vangelis.
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He was best known for his Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for composing scores to the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and for the use of his music in the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.
Heaven and Hell is a studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1975 on RCA Records. It is the first album recorded at his Nemo Studios in London that he used until 1987. It is a concept album based on duality.
Direct is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1988. The album marks a new development in Vangelis' music, during which Vangelis moved his creative base from London to Athens in Greece, and it was his first album recorded in Athens after relocation from London.
Mask is an album by the Greek electronic music composer Vangelis released in March 1985. It was the last he produced for the Polydor label. It is dramatic work in six movements, with somewhat dark mood and classical style which branches into ethnic styles. The album reached #69 position in the UK album charts.
Opéra Sauvage is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1979. It is the score for the nature documentary of the same title by French filmmaker Frédéric Rossif. It is considered one of Vangelis' best albums, and is his second most successful album in the USA, reaching #42 in the album charts.
China is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in April 1979. Although he had never been to China, he employed Chinese instruments and compositional styles on this concept album. It was thematically ahead of its time as the eastern cultural concepts were mostly unknown to the western audiences. It is one of his most critically acclaimed solo studio albums. It was certified silver (1985) for sales of over 60,000 copies by BPI.
The Yamaha CS-80 is an analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony, with two independent synthesizer layers per voice each with its own set of front panel controls, in addition to a number of hardwired preset voice settings and four parameter settings stores based on banks of subminiature potentiometers.
El Greco is a 1998 classical album by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. The title is a reference to the man who inspired the composition, Dominikos Theotokópoulos, the painter and sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance. It consists of ten long movements performed on electronic instruments.
Blade Runner: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir film Blade Runner, composed by Greek electronic musician Vangelis. It has received acclaim as an influential work in the history of electronic music and one of Vangelis's best works. It was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe for best original score. The score evokes the film's bleak futurism with an emotive synthesizer-based sound, drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements.
Invisible Connections is a 1985 album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis.
Mythodea — Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. It premiered as a single concert in Athens, Greece, in 1993 but a recording was only released in 2001 by Vangelis' then new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new concert, this time with a worldwide audience.
"Chariots of Fire" is an instrumental theme written and recorded by Vangelis for the soundtrack of the 1981 film of the same name. It has been covered by numerous performers and used for various television programs and sporting events.
Voices is a studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1995.
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 musical score by Greek electronic composer Vangelis for the British film Chariots of Fire, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score.
Oceanic is a 1996 studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis. It was released in Europe on October 25, 1996, by East West Records and in the United States on January 28, 1997, by Atlantic Records. A single "Song of the Seas", with b-side "Aquatic Dance", was released simultaneously.
One Deep Breath is Bradley Joseph's fifth album. It held a position on NAV's top 100 radio chart for over six months.
Alexander is the original film score of the film Alexander (2004), scored by Greek electronic composer Vangelis. It received the Public Choice Award at the 2005 World Soundtrack Academy.
Reprise 1990–1999 is a compilation album by Greek composer Vangelis, released in 1999.
Antarctica is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1983. It is the score of the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, and was nominated by the Japan Academy for "Best Music Score".
Craig Padilla is an American ambient musician and film score composer, actor, and video producer from Redding, California.
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