The death of Vangelis Papathanassíou at age 79 has left an irreplaceable void in electronic music. A pioneer in the use of synthesizers and the art of conceptual albums in the ‘70s, Vangelis experienced mainstream success as a soundtrack composer in the ‘80s and spent the remaining decades of his life following his muse.

Vangelis lived between Athens, London and Paris. He performed very few concerts, had a distaste for interviews and was an acclaimed painter in his free time. From his decades-long career, Vangelis left behind a prodigious body of work. Here are 10 essential albums that trace his extraordinary musicianship.

Aphrodite’s Child - 666 (1972)

Before becoming an electronica icon, Vangelis was — briefly — a European rock star. Together with future pop idol Demis Roussos, Vangelis was a founding member and principal composer of Greek progressive rock outfit Aphrodite’s Child.

The group’s third and final album, 666, was based on the Book of Revelations. Its dense fusion of prog with psychedelia and bluesy instrumental workouts sounds a bit dated, but this sprawling double-LP underscores Vangelis’ natural inclination towards ambitious, genre-defying epics.

Albedo 0.39 (1976)

Vangelis spent most of the ‘70s developing his now-trademark sound through a variety of albums that explore themes in subtle and abstract ways — including Chinese aesthetics and Tao spiritualism, to the architecture of the Parisian Beaubourg cultural center.

Besides refining the specific synth palette of his choice, he expanded the compositional device of repeating melodic patterns and building lush crescendos around them. From the euphoric bravado of opening cut "Pulstar" to the capricious beauty of "Alpha," Albedo 0.39 makes a case for the ‘70s signaling the apex of electronic music.

Odes (1979)

A collaboration with iconic Greek actress Irene Papas, Odes is pompous at times — the ponderous percussion, the heavy reverb — but the session gets extra points for honoring the composer’s Greek roots. Vangelis sets a number of traditional folk tunes (and two originals) to electronics, and Papas' solemn, chant-like vocals evoke the ritualistic vibe of a Greek tragedy performed at an ancient amphitheater.

An abstract album, filled with ethereal passages that reward repeated listens. It was a huge hit in Greece, inspiring the pair to collaborate again on 1986’s Rhapsodies.

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Chariots of Fire represents an apex of Vangelis’ career — the moment when the personal sound that he spent a long decade developing became a subgenre of its own, recognized and cherished for decades to come.

The Oscar-winning soundtrack to Hugh Hudson’s soaring sports drama opens with a stunning theme that combines Vangelis’ passion for otherworldly sounds, sequencers and classical melodies. The soundtrack briefly topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982. Because the film is set in 1920s Europe, the music’s combination of futurism with retro elegance was a perfect fit.

The Friends of Mister Cairo (1981)

In 1974, Vangelis auditioned to replace Rick Wakeman in Yes, but eventually decided not to join. His friendship with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, however, resulted in a partnership that produced four albums between 1980 and 1991.

The Friends of Mr. Cairo is the most deeply satisfying of their collaboration, showcasing what Anderson described as an almost magical compositional process based on intuition. From the hit single "I’ll Find My Way Home" to the epic, 12-minute title track, the songs are alternately quirky and humorous, deeply affecting and nostalgic. Anderson sounds full of joy, freed from the constraints of a supergroup.

Soil Festivities (1984)

This five movement symphony may well be its creator’s ultimate masterpiece. It begins with a thunderstorm, the comforting sound of rain falling on fertile ground, punctuated by rhythmic keyboard patterns and playful melodies. The music mutates and grows, describing the processes taking place on the surface of the natural world.

At the time of its release, no other record sounded like it. It was pastoral and self-assured, expanding the boundaries of electronica.

Mask (1985)

Only a year after Soil Festivities — and clearly on a creative high — Vangelis released this stunning choral work in six movements. The vague conceptual threadline touches on man’s use of mask through history.

Much darker than its predecessor, this is a difficult, brooding and temperamental piece, with tribal percussion and classical singing in a made-up language reminiscent of Latin. Mask is probably Vangelis' most intense album.

Blade Runner (1994)

If the mood of Chariots of Fire was all about the noble exertions of gentlemen sportsmen, the music that Vangelis wrote for Ridley Scott’s visionary 1982 film Blade Runner used similar compositional devices at the service of a mournful sci-fi love story.

The velvety "Love Theme," with Dick Morissey’s sax, captures the zeitgeist of '80s romance at its moody best. Even more than Chariots, this soundtrack complemented the filmic narrative in multiple ways — in fact, it is impossible to remember the movie experience without humming the music. Strangely, its release was delayed until 1994.

Rosetta (2016)

Inspired by a video conversation he shared with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, Rosetta delves into Vangelis’ lifelong obsession with space travel. His unique style is instantly recognizable, but the compositions sound more serene and expansive. The album was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best New Age Album category.

Nocturne – The Piano Album (2019)

This 2019 session finds the composer sitting down at the piano for some atmospheric new tracks with occasional brushes of synth. Pressured by the record company, Vangelis acquiesced to revisit a few greatest hits, including the meditative "Chariots of Fire," a heart-wrenching take on Blade Runner’s "Love Theme," and one of his early standards: "La petite fille de la mer," from the 1973 documentary L’Apocalypse des animaux.

A gorgeous record, it completes the maestro’s discography in novel, meaningful ways.

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