Vangelis
Electronica / Classical
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (born March 29, 1943) (Greek: ?????e??? ?d?ss?a? ?apa?a?as??? IPA: [ev'a??elos oði'seas papa?ana'siu]), is a world renowned, Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient and neo classical, under the artist name Vangelis (a diminutive of Evangelos; pronounced /væn'g?l?s/ in English). He is best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots of Fire, and scores for the films Blade Runner and 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
Vangelis began his professional musical career working with several popular bands of the 1960s such as The Formynx and Aphrodite's Child, with the latter's album, 666, going on to be recognised as a psychedelic "classic". In the 1970s, Vangelis formed a musical partnership with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of progressive rock band Yes, and the duo went on to release several albums together. Towards the end of the 70s, Vangelis composed music scores for several animal documentaries, including Opera Sauvage, the success of these scores moved Vangelis into the eyes of well known filmmakers. In 1981, he composed the score for the Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire. The soundtracks single, Titles, won Vangelis the Academy Award for Original Music Score and also reached the top of the American Billboard.
In a career spanning over 47 years, writing and composing over 40 albums, Vangelis is generally regarded by music critics to be one of the greatest composers of electronic music of all time.
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