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.

Track listing

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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

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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").

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").

Vangelis albums | 1979 albums