Era (musical project)

Era (styled as +eRa+, acronym for “Eminential Rhythm of the Ancestors”. ) is a New-Age music[1] project by French composer Eric Lévi. They use lyrics (by Guy Protheroe) some of which are in an imaginary language that is similar to Greek or Latin, but in fact, is deliberately devoid of any exact meaning. Musically, the project blends Gregorian chants with modern elements and genres, especially rock, pop and electronic music.[2]

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

Era’s first album, Era, was released in 1997 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.[3][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.[3] In 2013, Era released its latest work, an album in collaboration with French singer and actress Arielle Dombasle entitled Arielle Dombasle by Era.

The project has sold more than 12 million albums.[2]

Style

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. Lyrics are written in Latin and English, and some are based on beliefs of the 13th century French heretics, the Cathars.[2]

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

Language

Most Era songs are sung in an imaginary language inspired by Latin, but with no intended meaning, while others are in actual Latin.[4] They also have some songs in English such as "Mother" and "Looking For Something",[4] and in Arabic, such as "7 Seconds".

Use of Era music
  • Eric Levi composed the soundtrack for the French comedy film Les Visiteurs (1993) and Les Visiteurs II (1998). The film score would later become part of an Era album.
  • The song "Divano" was part of the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera "Um Anjo Caiu do Céu" (2001).
  • The song "I Believe" was recorded as a duet by Katherine Jenkins and Andrea Bocelli. It was released on both Jenkins's 2009 album Believe and Bocelli's 2009 album My Christmas.
  • Era is famous among mixed martial arts fans due to "Enae Volare Mezzo" being the theme song of Fedor Emelianenko. "Ameno" is used by Fedor's younger brother, Aleksander Emelianenko,[5] and used by Mexican wrestler Myzteziz
  • "Mother" was used in Sylvester Stallone's sports drama Driven.[6]
  • The song "Ameno" is used by multiple Twitch streamers and YouTubers as a mean of good luck and hope when playing games like Counter Strike Global Offensive and Hearthstone.
  • The song "Ameno" has of December 2019 been used in variations of the doge meme.[7]
  • The song "Ameno" is used in many TikTok videos joking about the name of Elon Musk and Grimes' child X Æ A-Xii. [8]

Discography

Studio albums
List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[9]		 BE
(Wa)
[10]
Era 1996 1 1
Era 2 2000 2 2
The Mass 2003 4 5
Reborn 2008 6 10
Arielle Dombasle by Era 2013
The 7th Sword 2017 45

Compilations
List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
FRA
[9]
The Legend 2000 65
The Very Best of Era 2004 —
Classics 2009 3
Classics Vol 02 2010 14
The Essential (Greatest Hits) —

Double albums
List of albums, with details and chart positions
Title Year Peak
FRA
[9]
Era & Era 2 2003 102
Reborn & Classics 2010 187

References
  1. After Enigma at Orphic Music. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. "Era's biography on Last.FM. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. "Era's biography on RFI Music". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. "Era Website". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  5. "MMA Fighting on Enae Volare Mezzo and Ameno. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. "Driven Soundtrack on Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  7. Dorime Doge (Original) on YouTube
  8. "clod_boie | ♬ Ameno hatsune miku | on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  9. Discographie Era (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. Era (in French). ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
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