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Album review
ERA
Popular mass
Paris
14/03/2003 -
When Era’s first album came out in France in the Spring of 1997, there was much talk of a marketing ploy. Boosted by mass TV advertising, the strange mixture of Gregorian High Mass ambience and repetitive rhythm tracks must have branded Era, in the beginning, as a vague "new age" product. With six million copies sold in five years, along with Gold and Platinum Records scooped up in 18 countries, plugging is no longer the issue at the time of the release of The Mass, the third stage in the era of Era, available in some 55 countries and states, as much in Europe as in America and the Middle East.
The title track, The Mass, the first on the album, could pass as the umpteenth rehash of the first album, with its refrain which instantly evokes Ameno and Divano, and its 40 strong choir. However, it’s nothing like it. Granted, it’s not radically different, let’s say it’s a variation on a theme. "The second album was a bit too soft, this one is stronger", admits the author. "The Mass is dense and intense, and stays spiritual too." so typical of Era’s world. Let’s be honest. "this is not music for pregnant women"! But the overall impression is zen-like syncopated rhythms. The studio work is as impeccable as always, even more so perhaps than in the second work, and the epic atmospheres worthy of Lord of the Rings won’t dissapoint the (mass of) fans.
With four tracks with choruses in English Eric Lévi wanted to " project another side to Era". Not that Era’s work is unremarkable without words, but these songs reflect an imaginary language which is both mysterious and spell-binding, the product of Eric Lévi’s fertile imagination. "I treat the voice as an intrument in its own right. I’m not telling any stories, everything is based purely on sound.". The pitch is often quite pop-like (If You Shout), and here and there (Avemano Orchestral) undertones of heavy metal are apparent, which could have come straight from a Shakin’ Street record, another life, another time, as well as borrowed material from the classical repertoire – such as Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, which uses O Fortuna, as the backbone for the current single The Mass.
A self-taught musician, Eric Lévi is more comfortable out of the limelight than in it."I am an artist like any other, except that I don’t appear on the cover", explains Eric Lévi. This lack of preoccupation with being a celebrity doesn’t stop him from producing some of the biggest sales figures for French records… He had a taste of the limelight very early on, at 22, in the form of the band Shakin’ Street, who, in the wake of Trust, paved the way for heavy metal, French style, as far back as 1977. Out of the limelight, he composed film music during the 90’s. "With Era, my rôle is more as a creator than a producer. The music is original work.".
His inspiration? He "doesn’t like analysing it". The world of film has to be a source. Era’s music seems to have been conceived rather like the sound track for an imaginary film. "Era is a bit like a project for a film score", explains Lévi. In that case, is there any chance that, through Era, music and film will merge again? "I’m thinking about it", He admits. "I would like to direct a film myself with music from the three Era albums. I’ve already got an idea for the script, which I’m keeping by my side, and which I’d like to film in English. I’m working away at it, but I’ll see in a few months if the project is feasible. I have to find a producer first."
There’s no point in rushing anything, all the more so because he has mixed feelings about his previous work for the French cinema, comedy blockbusters by Jean-Marie Poiré (Opération Corned Beef, Les Visiteurs, Les Anges gardiens, Les Couloirs du temps). "I’m not really that motivated any more to work in French cinema as the music never seems to be given significant importance, except for a few film-makers such as Jean-Jacques Annaud or Luc Besson. In France, a composer for film is not considered to be a real profession, unlike in the United States". If he confesses to having "refused two or three offers from Walt Disney, which demanded exclusivity" -obviously too restrictive - Eric Lévi hasn’t given up on the idea of taking Era out of its usual category. "I’m thinking about a stage project which would be a real musical show, not a musical. But it’s not easy as the logistics are complicated".
Whether or not the success of The Mass is massive, Eric Lévi would like to pursue his musical career independently. "I have no contract as an artist with Mercury. I live my life independently on all levels, in the handling of the demos I give them, or as regards the visuals.". Mass has been said.
Era The Mass (Mercury Universal) 2003Gilles Rio
Translation : Caroline Preller
10/07/2000 -
