March 29, 2008

Blade runner composer’s birthday

Vangelis Papathanasiou, born March 29, 1943 and he is mostly known through just his first name, has made a remarkable career in music composition.

The musical talents of Vangelis first became obvious at a very early age. His parents tried to encourage him to study with a professional teacher, but he did not respond well to formal education, as he was generally unwilling to follow instructions. At the end of his school years, he and some friends formed a band called "Formynx", which became popular. In 1968 Vangelis moved to Paris.

Together with Demis Rousos and Lucas Sideras, he formed "Aphrodite's Child". This group scored an immediate world wide hit with their first release, "Rain and Tears". Later on, the band split and he continued solo in Paris writing music for movies.

His career launched and Vangelis received an array of awards, among them an Oscar in 1982 for the soundtrack of the film "Chariots of Fire". The music of Vangelis is too diverse to be described as pop, rock, classical, jazz, or new age.

Explaining his music, Vangelis says, "All I try to do is let people know what I think through my music. I just bring the music to you and it is up to you to do what you want with it".


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