Category Archives: Playlists

In Appreciation – Vangelis

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by Ben Hogwood

As you have probably heard, the Greek composer and synthesizer maestro Vangelis has very sadly died at the age of 79.

Over his illustrious career, Vangelis has given us some of the very best and most recognisable film scores, not to mention productive projects in pop and classical music. A pioneer right through his musical life, he signed off with a typically ambitious piece of work, the Juno to Jupiter album for Decca.

A celebration of his career would not be complete without the inclusion of his timeless, majestic score to Blade Runner, a game-changer when it appeared in 1982:

Perhaps his best-known film work dates from the previous year, the soundtrack to celebrated film Chariots of Fire:

Meanwhile his pop projects included a strong connection with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, which brought among many things I’ll Find My Way Home:

Meanwhile the Juno to Jupiter project mentioned above was a late work, featuring soprano Angela Gheorghiu:

One of the most-shared videos in the light of Vangelis’ passing has been Aegean Sea, a track from the 666 album released under his Aphrodite’s Child pseudonym in 1972:

In Appreciation – Simon Preston

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by Ben Hogwood

It is with some sadness that we have learned of the death of Simon Preston, a great English organist, at the age of 83.

From the warmth of the tributes paid to Preston on social media, it is clear he was well liked:

I was fortunate enough to interview Simon back in 2008 for the Classical Source website, where we spoke about the music of J.S. Bach, promoting an all-Bach concert in that years BBC Proms festival. It was a chance to thank him for some wonderful recordings made for Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, some of which we present below.

There is only one place to start – his impish recording of Charles Ives’ riotous Variations on America, which sounds like one of the most fun pieces to play! Also included are Preston’s exploits as a conductor, which are often overlooked, We have included his account of Vivaldi’s Gloria in a playlist that includes Bach (naturally) but also a few of his more Romantic offerings recorded for Decca:

Playlist – Spring Serenades

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To celebrate the month of May, and what should in theory be a passage of warmer weather (!), Arcana is celebrating the art of the Serenade in a playlist.

Serenades have been a form in classical music for a good 250 years now, elevated to a higher form by Mozart but also perfected by 19th century composers such as Tchaikovksy, Dvorak and Brahms.

This playlist chooses selections from some of the best, venturing into the 20th century for examples by Elgar, Britten and Swedish composer Dag Wirén, while drawing on wonderful ‘drawing room’ music from the 18th century by composers including Mozart, Beethoven and Hummel.

Find a quiet hour if you can, and enjoy…

Guest mix – Room of Wires collide with Rednetic

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It is our great pleasure to welcome Room of Wires and their Rednetic label to the Arcana playlist section.

With their new EP Fever Switch out now, Room of Wires have shared with us a mix they did of their favourite artists on the label. This includes the duo’s own work, with one of the standout tracks from the EP, the shuffling Never Seen Before, blending into the powerful Silent Lines from their distinctive plague of people album released earlier this year, with the strong presence of industry amid the ambience.

The mix unfolds at a natural pace, with plenty of room to breathe – and settles after the dense mass of sound that begins the mix. Gradually the textures thin to reveal flickering electronic figures, and a steady beat asserts itself, from where the duo progress across an hour of excellent music. Later on the view pans out to the dub-infused electronica of Lachrylic, whose Tacet makes a strong impression, before the rich tones of Garden of Meditating Maqam Rast, by Lowriders Deluxe. Finally Room of Wires sign off themselves, with the expansive TouchToneOne, a sonic exploration prompted by steady beats.

Our thanks to Room of Wires for this special mix:

https://soundcloud.com/rednetic/room-of-wires-collide-with-rednetic/s-V2xD4fIyCDe?si=44eba37fb77c421ea8256ee9e7bfea5e

Guest mix – John Sellekaers

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It is our great pleasure to welcome John Sellekaers to the Arcana playlist section.

In fact the Brussels-based, Canadian born musician has gone one further and contributed an hour-long mix which, to be honest, is an absolute treat. Just a few seconds of Andrew Wasylyk’s Blossomlessness #2 is all it will need for you to mentally cast off the cares of modern living and float into pure musical ambience.

The mix develops with some lovely contributions from Simon McCorry, Atom TM, Loscil and Mark Van Hoen to name just a few, and gradually Sellekaers introduces more beat-based work to his equation – before pulling back and letting the music create a wonderful amount of space.

Arcana reviewed John’s new Observer Effects album on the Glacial Movements label back in August, finding its immersive ambience ‘coldly effective’ – a compliment to the purity of his productions. The same applies to his DJing, as you will find here.

Our thanks to John for this wonderful selection of music:

https://soundcloud.com/johnsellekaers/arcana-mix-john-sellekaers/s-h5O2utyh77y?si=2e6a6416b0364bdd82f5e50f4fecae31