Vangelis interviews to check out

I was listening to the Greek master of electronic music Vangelis and his very rare album "Silent Portraits", and thought I'd post some good interviews with our hero.

(from the "Direct" cover art, released in 1988 - check out the massive gear collection)

If you're not familiar with his music, a good place to start is the 2003 compilation "Odyssey" (CD), which has most of his best compositions from various albums and soundtracks. I must also recommend "Blade Runner Trilogy", an updated triple disc 25th anniversary version (CD/MP3) of his amazing soundtrack to Ridley Scott's masterpiece from 1982.

Click here or the picture below to see a very good 24 minute TV interview from 1984, where Vangelis goes into great detail about his process of composing and producing:

Here is a 10 minute interview with Mark Lawson on the BBC Radio 4 program "Front Row", from 2008: stream or download.

Sound on Sound wrote a very detailed article in 1997 about how Vangelis works in his Nemo Studios in London.

And finally, here is Vangelis improvising on his favourite keyboards:

William Orbit - five hours of recorded interviews

Grand pop/electronica master producer William Orbit has a new album and two EP's out.

"My Oracle Lives Uptown" (Kobalt Digital) is available to buy on CD and LP from digital stores likeAmazon, eMusic and iTunes, and the EPs "Optical Illusions" and "Purdy" can be found in the same places.

To promote his new music William has done many interviews and guest appearances on various shows lately, and below you can listen to and download over five hours of recordings.

And for many more radio appearances than I have catalogued here, go to William's "OrbitStreamcast", which has several streams with tons of his music and radio interviews. You can literally lose track of time in there, listening to so many Orbit exclusives!

OK, here are the shows I've catalogued:

With Dave Pearce,
22/3-2009 on BBC 6 Music:
(2 min 34 sec)

Download from Rapidshare

'Fireside Chat' on Red Bull Music Academy,
April 2009:
(60 min of William talking about and playing specific productions)

Download from Rapidshare

With Claudia Winkleman,
3/4-2009 on BBC Radio 2:
(21 min 24 sec of conversation plus two songs)

Download from Rapidshare

With Lauren Laverne,
4/4-2009 on BBC 6 Music:
(22 min 9 sec of conversation plus two songs)

Download from Rapidshare

With Rob Da Bank,
6/4-2009 on BBC Radio 1:
(9 min 59 sec of conversation plus one song)

Download from Rapidshare

With Janice Long,
7/4-2009 on BBC Radio 2:
(78 min of conversation plus 12 songs)

Download from Rapidshare

With Mark Coles on The Strand,
7/4-2009 on BBC World Service:
(7 min 45 sec of conversation)

Download from Rapidshare

With Natalie Haynes on Loose Ends,
17/4-2009 on BBC Radio 4:
(6 min 30 sec of conversation - starts at 05 min 27 sec)

Download from Rapidshare

With Gabby Logan,
19/4-2009 on BBC Radio 5:
(32 min 34 sec of conversation)

Download from Rapidshare

With Mark Radcliffe/Stuart Maconie,
21/4-2009 on BBC Radio 2:
(20 min 54 sec of conversation plus two songs)

Download from Rapidshare

With Kate Silverton/Bill Turnbull on Breakfast TV,
29/4-2009 on BBC1:
(6 min 32 sec of conversation)

Download from Rapidshare

With Chris Hawkins on Close Up,
1/5-2009 on BBC 6 Music:
(37 min 2 sec of conversation)

Download from Rapidshare


Thanks a million to Chris Gregory for recording the shows and providing the download-links for each interview!

And by the way, check out William's blog on his website.

P.S. It seems like the staff at the BBC reception surely knows William's face by now!