Era is a New-Age music project by French composer Eric Lévi. They use lyrics 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. 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. 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. In 2013, Era released its latest work, an album in collaboration with French singer and actress Arielle Dombasle entitled Arielle Dombasle by Era.
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. 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. They also have some songs in English such as "Mother" and "Looking For Something", and in Arabic, such as "7 Seconds".
The song "Divano" was part of the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera"Um Anjo Caiu do Céu".
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.
