Direct (Vangelis album)

Direct
Studio album by Vangelis
Released	October 18, 1988
Genre	Electronic
Length	57:38 (LP), 66:16 (CD)
Label	Arista
Producer	Vangelis
Vangelis chronology
Invisible Connections (1985) Direct (1988) Themes (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Direct is a 1988 album by the Greek synthesizer artist Vangelis. The album marks a new development in Vangelis' music, employing a somewhat more popular format. After Mask (1984) and Invisible Connections (1985) there was a brief pause of album work, during which Vangelis moved his creative base from London to Greece, and was involved in theatre work.

The album sleeve mentions that Vangelis called the album "Direct" to reflect his way of composing, in which the process of composition and recording occurs simultaneously, with few overdubs. This process was largely facilitated by the use of custom midi performance systems designed for Vangelis by technicians Bill Marshall and Pete Kellock, as well as the commercially available Zyklus MPS which was also developed by Marshall and Kellock.^[2]

According to the sleeve, Direct was to be the first of a series of albums along the same musical approach.

The album is almost completely instrumental, employing mainly synthesizers and drum machines. Operatic vocals on "Glorianna" are performed by the Greek mezzo-soprano Markella Hatziano (uncredited). The male narrative on "Intergalactic Radio Station" is performed by technician Casey Young.

A bootleg featuring pre-mix versions of some of the tracks on the album is also known to exist.

Track listing

All tracks by Vangelis

1. "The Motion of Stars" – 4:17
2. "The Will of the Wind" – 4:41
3. "Metallic Rain" – 6:10
4. "Elsewhere" – 5:39
5. "Dial Out" (CD bonus track) – 5:20
6. "Glorianna (Hymn a la Femme)" (feat. Markella Hatziano) – 4:20
7. "Rotation's Logic" – 3:27
8. "The Oracle of Apollo" – 3:55
9. "Message" – 7:07
10. "Ave" – 5:04
11. "First Approach" – 4:58
12. "Intergalactic Radio Station" (CD bonus track; feat. the voice of Casey Young) – 7:44

Personnel

• Yiannis Angelou – photography
• Nicos Despotidis – engineer
• Ida Paraschou – photography
• Vangelis – arranger, composer, multi instruments, producer
• Stathis Zalidis – photography

References

1. Brenholts, Jim (2011). "Direct - Vangelis | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
2. "Synthesizer occult: Zyklus and Direct Sequencer". Retrieved 28 August 2011.