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First compilation and Islands
In 1985, Virgin released a compilation of material from Oldfield's twelve-year career with the label, a double album called The Complete. One of its four parts was dedicated to live recordings from tours over the previous five years; this included his outstanding guitar playing on the Platinum tour at the 1980 Hanover concert.
At that time, Oldfield's interests leaned towards using video in the creation of his musical works. To this end, he equipped his home studio with a Quantel Mirage computer, which he used to generate the images for the video of "Pictures In The Dark". With vocalists Barry Palmer, Anita Hegerland, and the 15-year-old soprano Aled Jones, he conceived a video single that was released in December 1985. Oldfield acquired seven synthesizers; his working methods were diametrically opposed to those of musicians who simply sampled excerpts from other people's records. Regarding this, Oldfield stated:
But in a later interview, he explained his preference for real instruments over synthesized ones:
During 1986, the musician focused on creating a video album, which was released in October 1988 on VHS and Laserdisc, titled Wind Chimes. Among his collaborators was Alex Proyas—director of The Crow and Dark City, who had also directed a music video for the renowned Australian band Crowed House. The album that accompanied Wind Chimes was Islands, released in September 1987. The two-part instrumental piece "Wind Chimes" was inspired by music from Bali, an island Oldfield had recently visited. Musicians Kevin Ayers, Andy Mackay, Geoff Downes, as well as vocalists Bonnie Tyler and Anita Hegerland, collaborated on the recordings of Islands.
In 1985, Virgin released a compilation of material from Oldfield's twelve-year career with the label, a double album called The Complete. One of its four parts was dedicated to live recordings from tours over the previous five years; this included his outstanding guitar playing on the Platinum tour at the 1980 Hanover concert.
At that time, Oldfield's interests leaned towards using video in the creation of his musical works. To this end, he equipped his home studio with a Quantel Mirage computer, which he used to generate the images for the video of "Pictures In The Dark". With vocalists Barry Palmer, Anita Hegerland, and the 15-year-old soprano Aled Jones, he conceived a video single that was released in December 1985. Oldfield acquired seven synthesizers; his working methods were diametrically opposed to those of musicians who simply sampled excerpts from other people's records. Regarding this, Oldfield stated:
I have a lot of my own samples and I usually spend some time at the end of each session recording the instruments I've used.
But in a later interview, he explained his preference for real instruments over synthesized ones:
What I object to is making music solely with computers. It's like taking some sophisticated kind of player piano or barrel organ. They're completely soulless.
During 1986, the musician focused on creating a video album, which was released in October 1988 on VHS and Laserdisc, titled Wind Chimes. Among his collaborators was Alex Proyas—director of The Crow and Dark City, who had also directed a music video for the renowned Australian band Crowed House. The album that accompanied Wind Chimes was Islands, released in September 1987. The two-part instrumental piece "Wind Chimes" was inspired by music from Bali, an island Oldfield had recently visited. Musicians Kevin Ayers, Andy Mackay, Geoff Downes, as well as vocalists Bonnie Tyler and Anita Hegerland, collaborated on the recordings of Islands.
wikipedia