''Soil Festivities'' is a studio album by the Greek

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

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 ...

, released in October 1984.

Overview

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 ''Invisible Connections'' is a 1985 album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis. Track listing The track listing of the original 1985 LP and all reissues until 2016 appeared as follows: # "Invisible Connections" – 18:30 # "Atom Blaster" – 7 ...

'' 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. 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''". The album cover art features the rear view of a great diving beetle.

Release

The album reached #55 position in the

UK album charts The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, and #45 position in the

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album charts in 1984.

Composition

Vangelis uses exotic synth-harmonies, creative percussion and melody-lines, as well as rare use of double bass plucking sounds. 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. 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. 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.

Reception

Jim Brenholts of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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".

Track listing

All songs composed by

. # "Movement 1" – 18:20 # "Movement 2" – 6:20 # "Movement 3" – 6:06 # "Movement 4" – 9:54 # "Movement 5" – 7:20

Personnel

– keyboards and composer ;Production *Vangelis – producer, arranger *Jess Sutcliffe – engineer *Vangelis, Alwyn Clayden – design

References

External links

''Soil Festivities''
at Vangelis Collector {{Authority control Vangelis albums Polydor Records albums 1984 albums