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Era (musical project)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Era.
Background information
OriginFrance
GenresNew-age[1]
Years active1996–present
MembersEric Lévi
Guy Protheroe
Pierre Boisserie
Irene Bustamante
Lena Jinnegren
Eric Geisen
Florence Dedam
Murielle Lefebvre
Chester Thompson
Lee Sklar
Daryl Stuermer
Philippe Manca
Rasha Rizk

Era (styled as +eRa+) is a new-age music[1] project by French composer Eric Lévi. Some of the lyrics were written by Guy Protheroe in an imaginary language similar to Latin, but deliberately devoid of any exact meaning. Musically, the project blends Gregorian chants with modern elements and genres, especially rock, pop and electronic music.

Era’s first album, Era, was released in 1996 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.[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.[2] In 2013, Era released an album in collaboration with French singer and actress Arielle Dombasle titled Arielle Dombasle by Era. Era's last album was released in 2017, The 7th Sword.

Style

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"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. Era's lyrics are written in Latin and English, and some are based on beliefs of the Cathars, a 13th century sect of French heretics.[citation needed]

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

Language

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Most Era songs are sung in an imaginary language inspired by Latin, but with no intended meaning, while others are in actual Latin.[3] Some songs have English lyrics, such as "Mother" and "Looking For Something"[3], or Arabic lyrics, such as "7 Seconds".

Use of Era's music

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Discography

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Studio albums

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List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[8] 		AUS
[9] 		BE
(Wa)
[10]
Era 1996 1 53 1
Era 2 2000 2 53 2
The Mass 2003 4 ー 5
Reborn 2008 6 ー 10
Classics 2009 3 ー ー
Classics II 2010 14 ー ー
Arielle Dombasle by Era 2013 ー ー ー
The 7th Sword 2017 ー ー 45

Compilation albums

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List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[8]
The Legend 2000 65
Misere Mani 2001 ー
The Very Best of Era 2004 —
Chapter One 2006 ー
Collection Prestige 2007 ー
The Essential 2010 —

Singles and EPs

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List of albums, with details
Title Year
Ameno 1996
Mother 1997
Misere Mani 1998
Enae Volare Mezzo
Infanati 2000
Divano
Don't U 2001
The Mass 2003
Looking for Something
Don't Go Away
Kilimandjaro 2008
Ave Maria 2013
7 Seconds 2017
Kilimandjaro (Dark Remix)

Double albums

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List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[8]
Era & Era 2 2003 102
Reborn & Classics 2010 187

Bootleg albums

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List of albums, with details
Title Year
Infinity 1998
Looking From East 1999
Sacredness 1999
Magic Spirit 1999

References

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  1. ^ a b After Enigma at Orphic Music Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Era's biography on RFI Music" Archived 2017-05-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Era Website". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  4. ^ "MMA Fighting on Enae Volare Mezzo and Ameno Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Driven Soundtrack on Soundtrack.net Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Dorime Doge (Original) on YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  7. ^ "clod_boie | ♬ Ameno hatsune miku | on TikTok". TikTok. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  8. ^ a b c Discographie Era Archived 2014-03-10 at the Wayback Machine (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  9. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 94.
  10. ^ Era Archived 2014-06-13 at the Wayback Machine (in French). ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
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