New Age Music World

Posts Tagged ‘Christophe Lebled’

Race To The End by Jon Anderson, with Christophe Lebled. Tribute Song to Olympic themed Chariots of Fire by Vangelis.

Even with the London 2012 Olympic Games moving full speed ahead, official Olympic music scores for the ceremonial events appear to have taken on a life of their own. First by the record breaking interest given to artists producing Olympic songs with official ties to the London Games, and secondly a number of equally exciting tribute albums and songs produced by various artists.

Original YES vocalist and lyricist Jon Anderson of the United States, and artist Christophe Lebled from France, have produced a wonderful Olympic tribute song of the famous Vangelis composition Chariots of Fire. Jon’s new mp3 single shown in the song video below is aptly titled Race To The End.

Jon Anderson as you may know has performed live concerts with Vangelis for years, and together they have produced a number of great singles and albums as the team (Jon & Vangelis). The albums Short Stories, The Friends of Mr. Cairo, Private Collection & Page of Life, are highly regarded classic albums. Two of the most popular Jon & Vangelis singles/songs with an inspiring theme are I’ll Find My Way Home & State of Independence.

Christophe Lebled has in turn has worked with Jon Anderson a number of times over the years, more recently providing instrumentals for Jon Anderson’s prized concept album Survival & Other Stories. Christophe Lebled is again working with Jon Anderson in 2012. Their newest project is the Olias of Sunhillow – Live in 2012 sequel titled Zamran. This newest project is a re-creation of Jon Anderson’s original Olias of Sunhillow, which was Anderson’s first solo album.

Race To The End by Jon Anderson, with Christophe Lebled is a brilliant new song revision on Vangelis’s original composition Chariots of Fire. You can sample the new Race To The End single yourself, but I thought the lyrics and vocals by Anderson, and the keyboard soundscapes by Lebled is a fine song version of Chariots of Fire, itself with an inspiring theme song of the Olympics Games.

Jon Anderson is due to perform in the UK during the Earth and Peace Concert at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. Jon Anderson’s concert performance is going to be at Sadler’s Wells Theater in London on August 8, 2012.

People attending this special concert event at Sadler’s Wells Theater will hear Jon Anderson and the Slovakian Chamber Orchestra perform favorite song classics from YES, Jon & Vangelis songs, plus new songs specific to the Earth and Peace Concert, timed with the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ticket information for the Sadler’s Wells Concert will be posted when available at JonAnderson.com. Currently the former front-man of YES is also scheduled to perform live concerts in Uruguay and Brazil this September.

Christophe Lebled himself has produced an entire album to compliment the orchestral works of Vangelis. The release from 2011 titled Tribute to Vangelis has 11 songs total, and is comprised of a variety of Vangelis soundtrack songs including Antarctica, The Bounty – Closing Theme, Pinta Nina Santa-Maria, Pulstar & Abraham’s Theme from Chariots of Fire.

Tribute to Vangelis by Christophe Lebled is an admirable tribute album to the Greek composer. In every respect, Christophe Lebled’s Tribute to Vangelis release is unequaled to any other interpretations I have ever heard to date.

While keeping within the same melody and intricate harmony structures of Vangelis compositions, the sound and atmosphere is uniquely his own, which makes a masterful re-creation to compliment the graceful soundscape of composer Vangelis. Christophe Lebled not only re-creates the sound of Vangelis, but rivals the composer in effect with some areas on this fine tribute release.

Jon Anderson and Christophe Lebled each have their own original albums to check out, in addition to their new tribute single for Vangelis’s Chariots of Fire. Below is the Race To The End song video. Check back for Anderson’s new album Zamran, featuring Christophe Lebled later in 2012.

Sample or purchase Race To The End at iTunes, and visit Christophe’s website at ChristopheLebled.com. Photos courtesy jonanderson.com & christophelebled.com.

Tribute to Vangelis by Christophe Lebled.

Jon Anderson and Vangelis are names you will recognize, but haven’t you ever wondered who the contributing artists are on some of Jon Anderson’s releases? Today I want to tell you about a career musician who has performed on album collaborations with Jon, but also has many fine releases of his own, including his Tribute to Vangelis which in itself is a commendable piece of music and fine compliment to the intricate works of Vangelis.

Christophe Lebled contributed on the famed Yes singer, Jon Anderson’s newest release Survival & Other Stories by performing his rich instrumental soundscapes. And there is more news about the two since Jon has again requested Christophe collaborate on a brand new project in 2012.

Their newest project is a re-creation of the entire LP Olias of Sunhillow – Live in 2012. The original Olias of Sunhillow release incidentally was Jon Anderson’s first solo album where he played every instrument and sang entirely by himself.

Jon Anderson who had joined with Vangelis years ago going by the musician title Jon & Vangelis had this to say about Christophe Lebled’s release Tribute to Vangelis;

“It has been almost impossible to find a musician who can make music as Vangelis does, and here we have Chris Lebled, a wonderful music man very capable of morphing into many styles of music, and sound very unique at the same time. I have a wonderful energy with Chris, and feel blessed to enjoy a rich working relationship.” Jon Anderson.

Christophe Lebled from France, (left in photo) began training on classical piano and then keyboards when he discovered progressive rock music, and the most influential and popular artists of the time period which, as you might have guessed were Jon Anderson of Yes and band Genesis. Their influence in music during this time period cannot be overstated.

During the 1980’s when new wave was popular Christophe instead chose the direction of jazz and took up formal studies of harmony and arranging at the American School of Modern Music. Studying with artists Barry Harris and Kenny Baron, he began to develop his uniquely individual touch of composing.

Christophe then intermixed a new cultural sound to his repertoire and entered the world of Latin music during the 1990’s in Paris France. It was during this period the Voxterrae label, discovered his talents and enlisted him on several projects like No Stress, Be Natural, Pure, and many others. Christophe Lebled’s first release in his own name was About Us, and later Tribute to Vangelis.

Tribute to Vangelis is Christophe Lebled’s original interpretation that not only re-creates the sound of Vangelis, but rivals him in some areas on his release. While keeping the same melody and harmony structures, the sound and atmosphere is uniquely his own but a masterful re-creation in the graceful sound of Vangelis. Until Jon and Christophe’s 2012 venture together – Olias of Sunhillow is released to the public, check out Christophe’s site and his music.

Visit ChristopheLebled.com and sample Tribute to Vangelis at amazon.com. Photos are courtesy christophelebled.com.