Era (musical project)

Era
Background information
Origin France
Genres New-age[1]
Years active 1996–present
Members Eric Lévi
Guy Protheroe
Pierre Boisserie
Irene Bustamante
Lena Jinnegren
Eric Geisen
Florence Dedam
Murielle Lefebvre
Chester Thompson
Lee Sklar
Daryl Stuermer
Philippe Manca

Era (styled as +eRa+, acronym for “Enminential Rythmn of the Ancestors”) is a New-Age music[1] project by French composer Eric Lévi. They use lyrics (by Guy Protheroe) which, although similar to Greek or Latin, are, in fact, deliberately devoid of any exact meaning. Musically, the project blends Gregorian chants with modern elements and genres, especially rock, pop and electronic music.[2]

Era’s first album, Era, was released in 1997 and became a worldwide success, helped by its first single “Ameno”. It sold over 6 million copies and became the most exported French album at the time.[3][2] It was followed by Era 2 in 2000 and The Mass in 2003. In 2008 the project saw a significant departure from its previous themes and presented a more electronic soundscape with Arabic influences in its fourth album, Reborn. In the following two years, Era released Classics and Classics 2, which consisted in contemporary reinterpretations of classical works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Giuseppe Verdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, amongst others.[3] In 2013, Era released its latest work, an album in collaboration with French singer and actress Arielle Dombasle entitled Arielle Dombasle by Era.

The project has sold more than 12 million albums.[2]

Style
"Ameno"
A 22 second sample of "Ameno" demonstrating the pseudo-Latin lyrics with electronic music arrangements.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Era mixes Gregorian chants and occasionally world music with contemporary electronic and pop-rock arrangements. It is reminiscent of new-age music projects such as Enigma, Gregorian, and Deep Forest. Lyrics are written in Latin and English, and some are based on beliefs of the 13th century French Christians, the Cathars.[2]

Era's live shows and music videos often feature artists dressed in medieval or traditional clothes and armour. Usually, actors Pierre Bouisierie and Irene Bustamante perform at Era shows.

Language

Most Era songs are in Pseudo-Latin and others are in Latin.[4]

They also have some songs in English such as "Mother" and "Looking For Something".[4]

Use of Era music

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[7]		 BE
(Wa)
[8]
Era 1996 1 1
Era 2 2000 2 2
The Mass 2003 4 5
Reborn 2008 6 10

Compilations

List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[7]
The Legend 2000 65
The Very Best of Era 2004 —
Classics 2009 3
Classics Vol 02 2010 14
The Essential Greatest Hits —

Double albums

List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak
FRA
[7]
Era & Era 2 2003 102
Reborn & Classics 2010 187

See also

References

  1. 1 2 After Enigma at Orphic Music. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Era's biography on Last.FM. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Era's biography on RFI Music". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20110724045015/http://www.era.rootnode.net/. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "MMA Fighting on Enae Volare Mezzo and Ameno. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Driven Soundtrack on Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Discographie Era (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Era (in French). ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.