China
Album by Vangelis
Released	1979
Recorded	1978
Genre	Electronica
Length	41:17
Label	Polydor
Producer(s)	Vangelis
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (4.5/5) link
Vangelis chronology
Hypothesis (1978)	China (1979)	Odes (1979)

China is a 1979 album by the Greek artist Vangelis. Although he had never been to China, he employed Chinese instruments and compositional styles on this concept album. Cover of the Vangelis album China (1979). ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... The Greek electronic composer Vangelis in 2001. ... Genres of Cuban music and other popular music A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Electronica is a rather vague term that covers a wide range of electronic or electronic-influenced music. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and sometimes video recordings (especially music videos), on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... Polydor Records is a record label once headquartered in Germany. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... The Greek electronic composer Vangelis in 2001. ... Hypothesis is a 1978 album by the Greek artist Vangelis. ... Odes is the title of an album of Greek Folk Songs by Vangelis and Irene Papas. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Greek electronic composer Vangelis in 2001. ... Sgt. ...

Track listing

1. "Chung Kuo" (5:31)
2. "The Great March" (2:01)
3. "The Dragon" (4:13)
4. "The Plum Blossom" (2:36)
5. "The Tao of Love" (2:44)
6. "The Little Fete" (3:01)
7. "Yin & Yang" (5:48)
8. "Himalaya" (10:53)
9. "Summit" (4:30)

Instruments and style

Vangelis plays synthesizers, drum machines, electric piano ("The Tao of Love"), piano ("The Great March", "The Plum Blossom", "Himalaya"), various Chinese flutes and plucked string instruments. Featured artists are Michel Ripoche (violin on "The Plum Blossom") and Yeung Hak-Fun and Koon Fook Man (narrative on "The Little Fete"). A classic FM synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7. ... A Boss DR-202 Drum Machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. ... An electric piano (e-piano) is an electric musical instrument of the 1960s and 1970s, which was built to replace a (heavy) piano on stage. ... A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ...

The album was conceived during a very active period in Vangelis' recording career, during which he explored the possibilities of electro-acoustic composing. Vangelis employs his synthesizer arsenal to the fullest, generating sound effects (steam locomotive on "Chung Kuo") and various Chinese-sounding patches on all tracks.

Concepts used range from classical Chinese poetry ("The Little Fete" is a poem by the 8th century Li Po, translated by J.C. Cooper) to revolutionary history of the People's Republic of China ("The Long March"). Li Po (701-762) was a Chinese poet, considered the greatest romantic poet of the Tang dynasty. ...