Era (musical project)
Era | |
|---|---|
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| 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
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
- Eric Levi composed the soundtrack for the French comedy film Les Visiteurs (1993) and Les Visiteurs II (1998). The film score would later become part of an Era album.
- The song "Divano" was part of the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera "Um Anjo Caiu do Céu" (2001).
- The song "I Believe" was recorded as a duet by Katherine Jenkins and Andrea Bocelli. It was released on both Jenkins's 2009 album Believe and Bocelli's 2009 album My Christmas.
- Era is famous among mixed martial arts fans due to "Enae Volare Mezzo" being the theme song of Fedor Emelianenko. "Ameno" is used by Fedor's younger brother, Aleksander Emelianenko,[5] and used by Mexican wrestler Myzteziz
- "Mother" was used in Sylvester Stallone's sports drama Driven.[6]
- The song "Ameno" is used by multiple twitch.tv streamers and YouTubers as a mean of good luck and hope when playing games like Counter Strike Global Offensive and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.
Discography
Studio albums
| 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
| 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
| Title | Year | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | ||
| Era & Era 2 | 2003 | 102 |
| Reborn & Classics | 2010 | 187 |
See also
References
- ^ a b After Enigma at Orphic Music. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Era's biography on Last.FM. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Era's biography on RFI Music". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20110724045015/http://www.era.rootnode.net/. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "MMA Fighting on Enae Volare Mezzo and Ameno. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Driven Soundtrack on Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ a b c Discographie Era (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ Era (in French). ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
External links
- Official website – in French.
- Era at AllMusic
- Era discography at Discogs
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