''Oceanic'' is a 1996 studio album by Greek electronic composer

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

. It was released in Europe on October 25, 1996 by

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with ...

, and in the United States on January 28, 1997 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. A single "Song of the Seas", with b-side "Aquatic Dance", was released simultaneously.

Overview

Vangelis was personally involved in the sleeve design, as he used to be in the late seventies and early eighties. At the end of the album inside liner notes there are references to the films ''

Million Dollar Mermaid ''Million Dollar Mermaid'' (also known as ''The One Piece Bathing Suit'' in the UK) is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer biographical film of the life of Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Arthur ...

'' and ''

Footlight Parade ''Footlight Parade'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and featuring Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Ruth Donnelly. The film was written by Manuel Seff and Jam ...

'', as the cover design features images taken from these two movies. The music was used in the 1998 documentary ''Deep Sea, Deep Secrets'' co-produced by The Learning Channel and Discovery Channel, together with music from Vangelis' previous album, '' Voices''. It was his first album nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Best New Age Album The Grammy Award for Best New Age Album is presented to recording artists for quality albums in the new-age music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several c ...

category. The second was the album ''

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The R ...

'', in 2017.

Composition

The first track "Bon Voyage" starts with the sounds of

sea waves In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction of ...

, and continues as orchestral

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

. It fades into "Sirens’ Whispering", which feature beat sequence with melody and choir. "Dreams of Surf" is based around acoustic piano. "Spanish Harbour" also features beat and melody as well Spanish guitar. "Islands of the Orient" is a blend of

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

-like sequences,

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

y melody. "Fields of Coral" is the most ambient track on the album. "Aquatic Dance" is built on a synth-bass

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

and synth-vocals. "Memories of Blue" recalls the "Memories of Green" from ''

See You Later ''See You Later'' is an album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1980. It breaks quite violently with the style he had employed in the late 1970s and later, relying much more on vocals and being more experimental and returni ...

''. "Song of the Seas" is mellow sequencer-based track, which fades out to the surf sounds that began the album. The album includes effects which sound like whales, ships horns, porpoises, seagulls and even chimes. The album showcase melodic orchestration, and by sound is more similar to the

New-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than ...

rather than his experimental albums.

Reception

John Diliberto of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' noted that it's different from the typical Vangelis electronic orchestral albums, and that he "gets his sea legs on the odd" with the sampled choral "Sirens", hypnotic "Islands Of The Orient", and ambient grooves of "Spanish Harbour". Jason Ankeny of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

in one sentence short review with score of 1.5/5 stars, described it as "quiet, meditative work evocative of the sea".

Track listing

# "Bon Voyage" - 2:33 # "Sirens' Whispering" - 7:59 # "Dreams of Surf" - 2:43 # "Spanish Harbour" - 6:42 # "Islands of the Orient" - 7:24 # "Fields of Coral" - 7:44 # "Aquatic Dance" - 3:44 # "Memories of Blue" - 5:40 # "Song of the Seas" - 6:12

Charts

Credits

*Composer, Arranger, Producer, Performer – Vangelis *Assistant Producer – Frederick Rousseau *Recorder, Mixer – Philippe Colonna *Sleeve – Alwyn Clayden, Vangelis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oceanic (Vangelis Album) Vangelis albums 1996 albums Concept albums