Era was the project of French musician Eric Levi, who created ethereal,
evocative soundscapes in the tradition of artists like Enigma and Deep
Forest. Era's self-titled debut LP appeared in 1998. Era's eponymous
debut album may be a little too similar to Enigma for some tastes, but
Eric Levi is a skilled producer who's capable of making engaging
soundscapes. So even if Era doesn't sound grandbreaking, it doesn't
sound bad either, and anyone who likes the hypnotic classical-dance
fusion sound that was all the rage in the early '90s will find this
quite entertaining.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide
ERA's debut release is the work of composer Eric Lévi. The group
is from France, and made a bit of a splash with their first single,
'Ameno', as the theme from the Mastercard/World Cup campaign.
Lévi has written several movie soundtracks, including
contributions to the hit comedy 'Les Visiteurs' by French director
Jean-Marie Poiré. This record was recorded at Peter Gabriel's
Real World Studios, and is described as a 'soundscape of lush vocals,
haunting choirs, and delicate harps.' Well, I don't know about all of
that. There are some parts of this album that I enjoyed. 'Avemano'
combines some orchestral music with an electric guitar line that makes
the song interesting. It was appealing to hear these sounds put
together. 'Ameno' sounded a bit like Enigma. Just a bit. The difference
I hear with ERA is that so much of this album makes me think I'm in
church. The choir is a bit of overkill at times in the music. With
Enigma, I get a feeling of sensuality. On this record the same idea
just fell flat for me. This record is not what I'd recommend. It's not
horrible, just a bit lengthy in some of the compositions. There is a
remix of 'Ameno' that drags on forever - or so it seemed. The thing
that I liked least about this album was the way that they included
regular vocals in a song, and then suddenly switched over to this sort
of chanting from the choir. I didn't like it at all. I really think I'd
pass this one over. I'm not sure what Lévi was shooting for with
this, but I think it fell short of the mark.
Colette Engel (AMZ)
Era's eponymous debut album may be a little too similar to Enigma for
some tastes, but Eric Levi is a skilled producer who's capable of
making engaging soundscapes. So even if Era doesn't sound
grandbreaking, it doesn't sound bad either, and anyone who likes the
hypnotic classical-dance fusion sound that was all the rage in the
early '90s will find this quite entertaining.