Albedo 0.39, the most electronic Vangelis album before his CS-80 period, are basically made with the same synths mentioned above, but adding a few important tools: an ARP Odyssey (and an associated ARP sequencer) and a Roland System 100, plus a System 100 104 sequencer and the System 700 sequencer block. Perhaps Vangelis felt inspired to get the Odyssey, since his full name is Evanghelos Odyssey Papathanassiou? The 104 sequencer had two rows of 12 steps and the Arp sequencer had a row of 16 steps (notes) that could be split along with a number of other options. In comparison the microprocessor based MIDI sequencers of today can store and play thousands, even potentially millions of notes.
We now enter 1977, and the first use of Vangelis’ trademark sounds from the Yamaha CS-80, (pictured) on the album Spiral. Vangelis main equipment for this album is ARP Odyssey, Korg Minipops 120, Roland System 100, an ARP sequencer and the CS-80. The ARP Odyssey and sequencer was linked with the Roland System 100 and sequencer set, providing most of the sequences on Spiral (as well as in 1979 on the album Odes). The intro sequencer of the Spiral theme is a sound produced by the ARP Odyssey, but it is impossible to say what sequencer was used to control it, because Roland and ARP had compatible control voltage protocoles on their sequencers. The Korg Minipops is a drum computer, most known for being used by Jean Michel Jarre on Oxygene in 1976, but the only likely place for Vangelis to have used it was for the march on To the Unknown Man on Spiral. Vangelis also used three effects units to create the voice on Spiral’s Ballad; the Roland Space Echo 201, Boss Chorus Ensemble and the EMS Vocoder 1000.
