More information about various artists Vangelis has worked with.
Jon Anderson
Even though they haven't worked together now since almost 20 years, Jon Anderson is still the most talked about collaborator with Vangelis. Anderson's solo career is still going strong, while his connection as front man of Yes is as consistently unpredictable as it always was.
For more info on Jon Anderson: 
Elsewhere: Jon Anderson
Frederick Rousseau
French synthesizer expert Frederick Rousseau works as assistant producer and engineer for Vangelis since 1990, while he had already made important contributions to some albums in the eighties, when Vangelis recorded parts of his music in France...
Rousseau worked before for famous French synthesizer composer Jean Michel Jarre, and he performed keyboards on Jarre's legendary tour in China (1981).
Rousseau released several solo albums, of which "Abyss", "Woods" and his "Terres des Legendes" series are the most famous. "Woods" had Vangelis' name appearing in the "thanks" list. These albums are generally only sold in France, although some specialized shops import then and offer them in other countries. They can also be ordered on-line.
His music is usualy very calm, with lots of attention devoted to mood and sound. He's less melodic than Vangelis, as every track passes by like a landscape, it's more like a background background or indeed meditative presence. The sound clearly reminds of the Vangelis albums of the late nineties, partly because a lot of similar (same) synthesizer sounds appear.
See also our 1998 exclusive: Elsewhere: Frederick Rousseau interview
Demis Roussos
When Vangelis first entered the international music business, it was in a band he founded, called "Aphrodite's Child". Demis Roussos was the band's singer (and bass player) who, after the band split up, had a successful career in the European pop scene. During the next 15 years Vangelis and Roussos ended up working together again on occasion, with Vangelis writing and producing a number of Roussos' albums, and Roussos lending his voice to a few Vangelis tracks, including on several cuts for "Blade Runner".
For more information about Demis Roussos, Elsewhere has a featured article:
Elsewhere: Demis Roussos
Blake Neely
Blake Neely orchestrated and conducted several of Vangelis' classical compositions. He has worked with some of Hollywood's top composers like Hans Zimmer and Michael Kamen. Neely's name has since been attached as principal composer to a number of prime-time television series, including "The Mentalist".
In 2001, we had a interview with Neely about his work on Mythodea:
Elsewhere: Blake Neely interview
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat is a Spanish soprano who was born on 12 April 1933 in Barcelona. She auditioned first in Italy where she was rejected. Then she started to study in Bazel in 1956 and started to perform as replacement. After that she lived in Bremen and Mexico. She married tenor Bernabé Marti.
Her skills in controlling her voice and excellent endurance were displayed in Moscow where she performed the opera "Noma" three times in row.
Many may know her better because of the song "Barcelona" she performed with late Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
She sang the stunning opera vocals on "Foros Timis Ston Greco" movement 3 and collaborated with Vangelis again on two tracks ("March With Me" and "Like a Dream") for her album "Friends for Life", on which she sings duets with various famous popstars including Johnny Hallyday and Lisa Nilsson.
One more collaboration called "A Prayer" was performed at the Athens '97 concert and later released on the album "With All My Heart", a duet by Monterrat Caballé, together with her daughter Montserrat Marti, and Vangelis on piano and synthesizers.
Caroline Lavelle
Caroline Lavelle sang and performed cello on Vangelis' "Voices" album. She has had a very successful career playing her cello for musicians as diverse yet consistently admired as The Cranberries, Peter Gabriel, Nigel Kennedy, Loreena McKennitt, Radiohead, Massive Attack and Ryuichi Sakamoto. In 1995 she released her first solo album, featuring her beautiful voice and cello performances. It's called "Spirit" and was cowritten and produced by William Orbit.
In 2001 she released her latest album, "Brilliant Midnight", which she produced herself and sounds more down to earth and a little more mainstream, yet strong and refined at the same time.
Caroline agreed to answer a few questions for this website.
Q&A: Read Caroline's answers.
Visit her website for more information at www.carolinelavelle.com.
Peter Marsh
Vangelis released a single called "Don't be Foolish" together with this singer. He also provided vocals on "My Love" which was to be a See You Later track but after it was released as a single it was omitted from the album.
In the early 70's, Marsh was a founding member of a duo called "Easy Street" (aka "Nicol and Marsh's Easy Street") Their first albums were pressed by EPIC records, and in 1976 an album for Polydor, named "Easy Street" was released. He also worked as "TWIST" releasing an album called "This is Your Life" (Polydor, 1979).
His voice can be heard appearing on other albums, like one song, "Stranded", on Manfred Mann's Earthband "Chance" LP (1980), Nick Lowe's "The Abominable Showman" and a new wave album "Walls Have Ears" (aka "Ears have Walls") by a band called "Blanket Of Secrecy" (Warner Bross, 1982). There was a lot of secrecy about who formed this band but word is that Peter Marsh fronted it as singer.
Stina Nordenstam
Stina is a Swedish vocalist who sang on "Ask the Mountains" on the "Voices" album and on an extra track on the "Ask the Mountains" single. She had success on her own with her single "Little Star" and her album "And she closed her eyes" which was released on the East-West label, the same label that released Vangelis' recent albums.
You can find out much more about Stina at the sites in Elsewhere's links section.
Irene Papas
Irene Papas was born in Greece on the 3rd of September 1926. Her original name was Irene Lelekou. She became an actress at a very young age and become well known at the age of 22. Her fame now reaches far beyond the European borders. She played her most important film roles as a widow in Michael Cacoyannis' "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and wife of a murdered politician in "Z" (1969). The latter was directed by Costa Gravas who later directed "Missing". Other famous films Papas played in were "The Guns Of Navarone" (1961) and "Into the Night" (1985). She was voted European woman of the year 2002/2003.
Papas released two albums with Vangelis, being "Odes" and "Rapsodies", but Vangelis also composed original music for two of her stage performances, being "Medea" and "Las Troyanas". Besides her two albums with Vangelis, Papas has expressed her musical talents in various operas.
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is an acclaimed Polish film director for whom Vangelis wrote the original score for his 1992 movie "Bitter Moon". His track record includes legendary films like "Rosemary's Baby", "Pirates", "Frantic", "Death and the Maiden", "The Ninth Gate" and "The Pianist".
For Vangelis' "The City" album he created the footsteps scene, with help of his wife Emanuelle Seigner, both speaking the English and French words that are heard in those passages. It is said that Polanksi had a great impact on the rest of the album as well, as he hung out a lot at Vangelis studio at the Rome hotel where most of the album was recorded.
Polanski also appears in the famous French "Musiques Au Coeur de Vangelis" TV-interview, where he joins the conversation and inspires Vangelis to play some expressive atonal music.
Polanski also appeared in the gossip headlines in the past because of the gruesome murder of his wife Sharon Tate by Charles Manson and his inability to return to the US because of his affair with a teenage girl.
Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott is a British film director who has made his fame in Hollywood directing a large number of films. With his trademark visual style and focus on details his output has ranged from art house production to commercial blockbusters for the masses.
In two occasions he commissioned Vangelis to write the musical score for his films: for "Blade Runner" in 1981) and for "1492, Conquest of Paradise" in 1992. He reportedly asked Vangelis a third time for "White Squall" (1996) but scheduling problems prevented them from making this come true, after which Maurice Jarre got assigned instead to the project. Who was replaced shortly after by Jeff Rona.
Scott's other feature films are "The Duelists" (1977), "Alien" (1979), "Legend" (1986), "Someone To Watch Over Me" (1987), "Black Rain" (1989), "Thelma and Louise" (1991), "GI Jane" (1997), "Gladiater" (2000), "Hannibal" (2001) and "Blackhawk Down" (2001).
Ridley was born in 1939. He is the elder brother of Tony Scott, who made films like "Top Gun", "True Romance" and "Crimson Tide". Together with Tony he has build giant studios in the UK, including a special effects center that is supposed to be able to rival with Hollywood's ILM. He's currently working on a film called "Matchstick Men" and will move on to a giant epic called "Tripoli". Both movies have raised high expectations in Hollywood circles.
