Aphrodite's Child, 1970

Angel - Vangelis

Vangelis - Blade Runner Soundtrack (Remastered 2017)

R. I. P. Vangelis

Vangelis Papathanassiou ( Aphrodite's Child) with Salvador Dali in the Hotel George V, Paris

The Insane 'Happening' Salvador Dali Wanted to do for Aprodite's Child in 1972 >

The Insane 'Happening' Salvador Dali Wanted to do for Aprodite's Child in 1972

Aphrodite’s Child was Greece’s most prominent contribution to the prog-rock scene in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. They released End of the World in 1968 and It’s Five O’Clock in 1969, but their biggest accomplishment was still ahead of them: the double album 666, a rock opera about the Apocalypse of St. John as described in the Book of Revelations.

The album was the brainchild of Vangelis Papathanassiou (music) and Costas Ferris (lyrics)—movie lovers will probably recognize the name Vangelis as the synth-y composer of the soundtracks to Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, among others. 666 was extremely successful: although redolent of the excesses of the over-the-top prog scene of the day, the album sold 20 million albums, according to Wikipedia, and it is remembered fondly, garnering extremely positive notices from the likes of All-Music Guide and IGN in our own time. I must say, it holds up pretty well.

Once 666 was in the can, after toiling on it for the better part of 1970 and 1971, Vangelis and Ferris chanced to meet Salvador Dalí briefly in Paris. Afterwards Ferris decided to ask his PR man to get in touch with the great surrealist for the possibility of some kind of collaboration for the promotional materials. Dalí ended up visiting the band at the Europa Sonor studio, where he demanded to hear the entire album, all 80 minutes of it. Much to their surprise, Dalí was very enthusiastic about the album, calling it “a music of stone” (“une musique de pierre”) and saying that it reminded him of the great 16th-century woodcut master Albrecht Dürer (??).

Dalí proposed the following outline for a “happening,” to take place in Barcelona, then still under the rule of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, on the occasion of the release of 666:

1. Martial Law shall be ordered on a Sunday, in Barcelona. No one shall be allowed to walk in the streets, or watch the event. No cameras, no TV. Only a young couple of shepherds will have the privilege to witness the event. So, they can later describe it to the people, by oral speech. 2. Giant loudspeakers shall be put in the streets, playing all day the work 666, by Vangelis, Ferris and the Aphrodite’s Child. No live performance. 3. Soldiers dressed in Nazi uniforms, will walk in military march in the streets of Barcelona, arresting who-ever wants to break the law. 4. Hundreds of swans will be left to move in front of the Sagrada Famiglia, with pieces of dynamite in their bellies, which will explode in slow motion by special effects. (real living swans, that should be operated for putting the dynamite inside their belly). 5. Giant Navy planes, will fly all day in the sky of Barcelona, provoking big noise. 6. At 12:00 sharp, in the mid-day, those planes will start the bombardment of the great church, throwing all of their munitions. 7. Instead of bombs, they shall throw Elephants, Hippopotami, Whales and Archbishops carrying umbrellas.

  Upon taking all of this in, Ferris dared to ask Dalí, “You mean, false archbishops, that is to say plastic or other dolls dressed as archbishops?” Dalí replied, “No, young man. When I say Archbishops, I mean real, living Archbishops. It’s about time to finish with the church!”

Alas, at some later point, Ferris ended up offending Dalí by bringing up Paul Éluard, to whom Dali’s wife Gala had been married before Dalí. Dalí was so upset that he mentioned having a duel (“Acceptez un duel, maintenant…”) and broke off contact with the band. (Personally I think the theatrics were a canny way out of having to follow through on an undeliverable promise ... slow-motion exploding swans?) 

Sadly, we can’t show you the happening—nobody can—but here’s the full album of 666 by Aphrodite’s Child:  

Credits

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Dangerous Minds

Storm Stereo #82: Vangelis 6354

We pay tribute to the emblematic Greek composer Vangelis, famous for his epic, synth-heavy compositions and soundtracks inspired equally by ancient history and outer space. RIP

Vangelis in his studio In this episode we pay tribute to the emblematic composer Vangelis. Famous for his award-winning movie soundtracks and his synth-heavy compositions that were literally composed by and for the universe, Vangelis remained an enigmatic and private person his whole life. From his early days as a musical child enjoying the vibrations of his mother’s grand piano and his rebel…

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me piace ricordarlo cosi..tremava l'organo e poi una cascata di tenera poesia. R.i.p

(Aphrodite's Child)

1971

If anyone cares about this blog sooner or later Imma make a Vangelis appreciation post. Maestro was a gem and he deserves it.

Aphrodite's Child .ca 1969/1970

from bottom left to right: Loukas Sideras, Demis Roussos, Silver Koulouris, Vangelis Papathanassiou

(credit to the owner)

2023.10.18 | tired of the daily news, listening to vinyl

vangelis papathanassiou · l'apocalypse des animaux

vangelis o. papathanassiou -- we are all uprooted

Context:

Was thinking about what other "wear mask" memes could be made (still need a few more for the All Your Breath Are Belong To Us vid), and since I'd already done something based on the movie poster for The Mask (1994), I figured I'd look on Wikipedia for other works titled "Mask".

Seeing Mask, the 1985 album* by Vangelis, a.k.a. Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου), I decided to modify the cover (of the version remastered in 2016 and released in 2017).

*Note that Vangelis' Mask (1985) is not to be confused with Vangelis' mask (Ninjago), which is a face cover worn by King Vangelis of the Kingdom of Shintaro (for like, a moment [while trying to find info about the album cover], I thought the Greek composer and arranger of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music had an alter ego known as the Skull Sorcerer, but apparently not).

Also learned that Vangelis (who was, according to many accounts [according to Wikipedia], an "inordinately approachable", "really nice" and "humorous" man, who enjoyed long friendly gatherings, was fascinated by Ancient Greek philosophy, the science and physics of music and sound, and space exploration) passed away from heart failure, one year ago today, May 17, 2022, and "according to some reports, died of COVID-19 complications".

“ Evangelos Constantinou, maybe it’s a tribute to the legendary greek composer of blade runner among others Vangelis Papathanassiou ?”

“...”

1 year without Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, or Vangelis 😢