Tres Lunas
Release Date: June 3, 2002
Location: Roughwood Croft, additional parts at Plan 1 Studios, Munich
01. Misty 03:58
02. No Mans Land 06:06
03. Return To The Origin 04:39
04. Landfall 02:17
05. Viper 04:32
06. Turtle Island 03:41
07. To Be Free 04:22
08. Fire Fly 03:46
09. Tr3s Lunas 04:35
10. Daydream 02:15
11. Thou Art In Heaven 05:23
12. Sirius 05:47
13. No Mans Land Reprise 02:54
Bonus Track
13. To Be Free Radio Edit 03:56
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Produced by Mike Oldfield
Assistant Engineer: Ben Darlow
Vocals: Sally Oldfield (spoken)
Amar
Jude Sim
Percussion programming: Philip Lewis
Thomas Süssmair
Mike Oldfield plays...
Believed to be...
Electric Guitars, Spanish Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synthesisers, Mandolin, Grand Piano.
Recorded at Roughwood Studios, with additional parts at Plan 1 Studios, Munich
Cover by Ian Ross for Bill Smith Studio, from an original concept by Hans Claesson of Kebawe , art direction by Bill Smith
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Notes
Since the early-mid 1990s, Mike had been experimenting with interactive environments to supplement and compliment his music. The first example of this was the interactive segment of The Songs of Distant Earth CD, which centered around a small puzzle which gave access to some video clips. Mike wanted to go further than this, and began working on something he called the 'Interactive Video Album', using powerful Silicon Graphics computers to create virtual worlds which worked in conjunction with the music. Serious development of the ideas was held off until computer technology was at a stage where the average home PC was powerful enough for users to be able to explore Mike's virtual 3D worlds in real time.
Tres Lunas sees Mike's interactive video album's arrival in homes around the world, under the project name of Music Virtual Reality (previously called both Sonic Reality, and Sonic VR before the name of Music VR was settled on). Sold as a two CD set, one disc contains the interactive element, while the other contains the album of music based on that featured in the game.
For a further look behind the scenes of Music VR, be sure to read my interview with its programmer, Colin Dooley.
'Thou Art in Heaven' is based on a piece which Mike composed for his millennium concert in Berlin. The track, known first as 'Berlin 2000' then later 'Art in Heaven' (the name of the company who organised the concert and accompanying light show) began with a theme from 'In the Beginning' (from 'The Songs of Distant Earth') and ended with Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and in-between those featured a section from which the basis for 'Thou Art in Heaven' was lifted.
© Richard Carter 2002
Personnel
| ▸ | Ben Darlow (assistant engineer) | | Also appears in: Guitars, The Millennium Bell
| | ▸ | Amar (musician) | | Also appears in: Tubular Bells III
| | ▸ | Sally Oldfield (musician) | | Mike's older sister, who formed a duo named Sallyangie with him when he was 15. She went on to have a successful career as a solo artist. This is the first time that Sally, Mike's sister, has worked with him since 'Incantations'. Sally recorded the spoken instructions in the Music VR game, some of which Mike sampled and incorporated into the music on Tres Lunas. Also appears in: Tubular Bells, Incantations, Tubular Bells 2003
| | ▸ | Jude Sim (musician) | | A session singer, especially active on the London jazz circuit. Jude is frequently booked as a backing singer, having appeared alongside artists such as Björk. Jude also has her own group, Bellacapella, who have appeared on radio and TV in the UK. She provides the vocals for 'To Be Free'.
| | ▸ | Philip Lewis (synth programmer) | |
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Instruments
| Guitar effects |
| Roland VG-8 |
Guitar modelling processor, able to model the sounds of different guitars and other instruments. It uses a GK-series synth pickup to provide the unit with an uncoloured signal, but the VG-8 is not technically a synthesiser as it purely remodels the signal from the pickup. One was sold via ebay in December 2007, but he lists one as having been used on Tubular Bells 2003, so presumably he had a spare!
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Also used in Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, The Millennium Bell, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Synthesisers |
| Clavia Nord Lead |
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Also used in Tubular Bells III, The Millennium Bell, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Roland GI-10 |
Guitar-MIDI interface, sold via eBay in December 2007.
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Used to help create the 'saxophone guitar' parts
Also used in Guitars
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| Roland JD-990 |
Rackmountable module version of the JD-800, with slightly enhanced synthesis engine, but missing its numerous sliders! |
[?]
Also used in The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, The Millennium Bell, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Roland JV-2080 |
Digital synth module |
Also used in Tubular Bells 2003
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| Roland XP-50 |
Digital synthesiser workstation. Bought by a fan in 2008 from Chandler Guitars. Can be seen in the Millenium Bells DVD, used for the beats for Art In Heaven among other things.
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[?]
Also used in Voyager, Tubular Bells III, The Millennium Bell, Tubular Bells 2003, Light + Shade
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| Samplers |
| Akai S-6000 |
Digital rackmount sampler. |
[?]
Also used in Tubular Bells 2003
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| Loudspeakers |
| Coastal Acoustics Boxer T4 |
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Also used in Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, The Millennium Bell, Tubular Bells 2003
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| Coastal Acoustics Boxer T2 |
Large studio monitoring speakers. |
Also used in Tubular Bells 2003
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| Meyer HD-1 |
Nearfield monitors. |
Also used in Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager
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| Hard Disk Recorders |
| Fairlight Merlin |
Hard disk recorder. |
Also used in Tubular Bells 2003
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| Computer software |
| Native Instruments B4 |
Virtual Hammond B3 Organ |
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