Discoveries
Mike Oldfield playlists and song analysis
Songs of the Sun
The first track on Mike Oldfield's album "Voyager" is the focus of this Discovery. A cover of Spanish folk band Luar na Lubre's "O Son do Ar", it's a unique blend of folk and Mike's use of tempo to bring added dimension to an already superb composition.
Read this postIslands Collection
On isolated islands, far from modern, urban civilisation, are where Mike Oldfield seems most at home musically.
Read this postIbiza Collection
Moving to Ibiza, Mike's influences widened into Spanish and specifically club music.
Read this postCrises
After a run of unique, long-form albums starting with Tubular Bells and finishing with Incantations, Mike began to experiment with shorter music
Read this postRock Out
This Discovery showcases Mike's finest rock tunes, with screaming guitar solos, compelling lyrics and striking vocals.
Read this postRock Out
This Discovery showcases Mike's finest rock tunes, with screaming guitar solos, compelling lyrics and striking vocals.
Read this postThe New Age
The resurgence of the "New Age" style of music in the early 1990's saw Mike's music take another turn.
Read this postMike Oldfield: Genesis
This long playlist collects Mike Oldfield's first 4 albums of longer pieces, exploring themes and structures that Tubular Bells first sets out to discover.
Read this postEtude / Memories of the Alhambra
Rather than use his fine guitar skills to reproduce this classical work, Mike goes a step further to create this fascinating ethereal, otherworldly tune.
Read this postInspirations: Philip Glass' North Star
This Discover showcases the title track from Glass' North Star alongside the Platinum finale.
Read this postMike Oldfield as a Vocalist
Starting in the 80's, Mike has sun on some pretty amazing rock out tracks.
Read this postClassical Mike Oldfield
Never one to be pigeon-holed into one genre or another, here are some of Mike's outstanding classical works.
Read this postRecent News
Recent news about Mike Oldfield from the press and sites around the web.
Read more articlesTubular Bells to be performed in London this summer
Mike Oldfield’s iconic magnum opus, Tubular Bells, will be performed live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London this summer, in a season of unique performances.
New Tubular Bells documentary to be released
A brand new documentary about Mike Oldfield's seminal 1973 album Tubular Bells and the early days of Virgin Records is to be released through Tigermoth Records on December 14 2020.
Revisiting Ommadawn on Echoes podcast
Echoes podcast interviews Mike Oldfield, remembering Ommadawn on its 45th anniversary.
Welcome to Discover Mike Oldfield!
Our first post on this website outlines why the site was built and my vision going forwards.
Heavy Work Under Way!
Work is now steaming ahead on Discover Mike Oldfield. We had some severe delays in building the site due to complexities around hosting. These has been overcome and I'm looking forward to publishing something soon!
Tubular Bells to be performed in London this summer
Mike Oldfield’s iconic magnum opus, Tubular Bells, will be performed live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London this summer, in a season of unique performances.
New Tubular Bells documentary to be released
A brand new documentary about Mike Oldfield's seminal 1973 album Tubular Bells and the early days of Virgin Records is to be released through Tigermoth Records on December 14 2020.
Revisiting Ommadawn on Echoes podcast
Echoes podcast interviews Mike Oldfield, remembering Ommadawn on its 45th anniversary.
Welcome to Discover Mike Oldfield!
Our first post on this website outlines why the site was built and my vision going forwards.
Heavy Work Under Way!
Work is now steaming ahead on Discover Mike Oldfield. We had some severe delays in building the site due to complexities around hosting. These has been overcome and I'm looking forward to publishing something soon!
About This Site
All music, album art and imagery © their original copyright holders. This site text content, layout and design: © Benjamin Read.