Enigma (musical project)
Encyclopedia
Enigma is an electronic music
al project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu
, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson
in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but has based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios
in Ibiza, Spain, since the early 1990s until May 2009, where he has recorded all of Enigma's studio releases to date. Cretu is both the composer and the producer of the project. His former wife, pop singer Sandra, often provided vocals on Enigma tracks. Jens Gad
co-arranged and played guitar on three of the Enigma albums. Peter Cornelius
also contributed to Enigma during the 1990s.
Seven studio albums have been produced under the name of the project.
In December 1990, after eight months of preparation, Cretu released Enigma's debut album, MCMXC a.D.
, which received over 60 platinum-level sales
awards worldwide, and topped the charts in 41 countries, directly becoming the most successful Virgin Records
act during that time. The album was Cretu's first commercial success through the single "Sadeness (Part I)
," which juxtaposed Gregorian chant
s and sexual overtones over a dance beat that was very peculiar to the ears of the public at that time. Cretu explained that the album was about unsolved crimes and philosophical themes such as life after death, hence the name Enigma. He had previously used a Gregorian-type chant on the opening seconds of Sandra
's 1987 single "Everlasting Love
", without integrating them into other parts of the song. "Sadeness" quickly rose to the top of the charts in Germany and France; it went on to become a worldwide hit. Later Cretu would claim that the now signature Enigma sound was inspired after falling asleep on the London Underground
.
Before the album was released, Cretu was cautious of the response towards the upcoming album, decided to forgo mentioning his and most of the personnel's real name and credited himself as Curly M.C., while the album sleeve contained little information about the background of the project, furthering the mystery about the creators of the album and leading to speculation whether Enigma was a band, a person or a group.
In 1993, Cretu was given an offer by producers to compose the full soundtrack of the motion picture Sliver
, but he was unable to accept the offer. Instead, he came up with "Carly's Song
" ("Age of Loneliness" in the album and video releases) and "Carly's Loneliness," which were used in the movie and credited in the motion picture soundtrack
as well.
In the same year, The Cross of Changes
was released. It received about the same response from the public (it sold 6 million copies in a year). However, both of the albums also hitched up lawsuits over the issue of sampling
from other music sources.
In 1996, Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!
(French
for "The King is dead. Long live the King!") was released. Cretu's idea was that this third album was the child of the previous two albums, and therefore included familiar elements of Gregorian chants and Sanskrit
/ Vedic
chants in it. Though the album was as meticulously crafted by Cretu as the earlier two albums, it failed to achieve the same level of success that they enjoyed. As a result only two of the three singles originally slated were released, with the third one ("The Roundabout") being silently canceled in 1998.
The 2000 release of The Screen Behind the Mirror
included samples from Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
on four tracks on the album. This time the Gregorian chants were toned down tremendously, although Shakuhachi
flutes and other traditional Enigma signatures remain. Only "Gravity of Love
" and "Push the Limits
" were released as singles from the album. Ruth-Ann Boyle
(from the band Olive
) and Andru Donalds
mark their first appearances on the Enigma project.
In 2001, Cretu released a new single called "Turn Around" together with Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits
and Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection
to end what he considers to be the first chapter of Enigma. A light show
was held at the Munich Planetarium in conjunction of the release of the compilation albums.
2003's Voyageur
is considered by many to be a total makeover of the project. Practically all of the prominent Enigma signature elements (the ethnic and Gregorian chants, the Shakuhachi flutes) were no longer employed. As a result many fans did not appreciate this new direction, and sales were affected. From a statistical point of view, every Enigma studio album to date has sold roughly half of what the previous release did.
To commemorate the fifteen years of Enigma, a special limited-edition album called Fifteen Years was launched, which was the size of an LP
vinyl disk
, with Leonardo da Vinci
's art in the cover, a big booklet with extra art, and featured eight compact discs: all the previous albums, the DVD
Remember the Future, and a special and exclusive bonus CD
, The Dusted Variations, which included the project's greatest hits remade by another project. All of the songs are different from the originals and use minimal percussion. This disc also contained the single version of "Hello and Welcome
", which was later released as a single. On 28 August 2005, Enigma's management Crocodile Music announced the release of "Hello and Welcome" as a single. Originally it was slated to be released in October; the release date was moved to 25 November 2005 and was released in Germany on 10 March 2006. Much like Voyageur, the song shows little similarity to earlier Enigma works. The song was the walk-in music of the German boxer Felix Sturm
.
On 26 September 2006, Enigma's sixth album A posteriori was released worldwide, containing a new version of "Hello and Welcome" and the new song "Goodbye, Milky Way
", which, despite earlier announcements, was not released as a single. The album is more techno
- and pop
-oriented electronic music
than any previous one. The concept is based on such sciences as astronomy
, physics
, history
, and sociology
. A DVD version of A posteriori was released on 16 December 2006, which featured kaleidoscope
images in synchronization with the multi-channel remastered music.
In late March 2007, a special private lounge remix album version of A posteriori was released on the iTunes
Music Store. This compilation includes 12 new remixed tracks from the album by artists such as Boca Junior, Tocadisco, and more. Some of these tracks were available previously on the original A posteriori iTunes version of the album and on the previously mentioned DVD release.
On 19 September 2008, Enigma's seventh album Seven Lives Many Faces
was released worldwide. The lead single, "Seven Lives
", is a fusion of modern and classical elements.
The Platinum Collection, a 3-CD compilation, was released on 27 November 2009 in Germany, and on 9 February 2010 worldwide. The first CD contains Enigma hits. The second CD contains remix
es. The third CD is a collection of "lost tracks", musical experiments which never were finalized and released previously.
, The "Enigma's Social Song" project began.
Enigma fans were asked to submit vocals for a new Enigma song. The public were then asked to vote, with the winning submission "Fei mea" being provided by Latvian singer Fox Lima for the chorus.
The top 3 runners up: Mark Joshua from Brazil, J. Spring fom Spain and Rasa Serra from Lithuania provided other important parts of the vocals like the bridge, backing and verse of the final version of the single. Fans also influenced further stages of the song's creation by voting on elements such as a lead instrument, general mood and style of the track.
The final mix of the single named "MMX The Social Song
" was released on December 15, 2010.
It became the first song ever created for and by the fans via internet.
and others), Cretu built his own music around whole sequences of previously recorded parts. His method was not remixing and remodelling, but rather recontextualisation – by changing a piece of music’s natural environment. A new method of composing and album creating process, which was mainly adopted by Hip-Hop artists as well as electronic music producers. It was one of the first albums to be recorded directly to hard drive. “MCMXC a.D.” was one of the first steps in a series of developments which would eradicate the division between mainstream and underground culture.
Era
and Gregorian
(led by former Enigma member Frank Peterson
) are among some notable groups which capitalised songs which heavily incorporate Gregorian chants in their works. Enigma and Deep Forest
are also to be considered by many to have brought the tribal chant genre to the ears of the public. Achillea, a musical project by arranger and guitarist on several Enigma albums, Jens Gad
, features music with similar atmospherics, while featuring female vocals in different languages, with different singers from different parts of the world. Enigma also influenced Christopher von Deylen
's musical project Schiller
. The influence can be heard in any album by the band. Cretu's musical project is also included into the list of influences of Schiller.
Critics and fans have noted down the probable influences if not similarities of Enigma and the works of other notable musicians. Some examples include PR MRS Delerium
's Semantic Spaces
album, Mike Oldfield
's albums, The Songs of Distant Earth
and Tubular Bells III
, all B-Tribe
's albums as well as other Claus Zundel
projects and Sarah Brightman
's cover of Hooverphonic
's song, "Eden".
"Old Spice" shaving products for men in India has used the "modern crusaders's" music in its advertisement.
Several prominent songs from the project have appeared on notable TV shows and movies:
"Return to Innocence" also appeared in numerous TV commercials around the world, including one for Virgin Atlantic
.
, located on the Spanish
island Ibiza
. From 1988 until 2001, the studio was located in his home in Santa Eulària des Riu
, and from 2001 till 2008 on the hills near Sant Antoni. This studio was designed and built by Gunter Wagner and Bernd Steber (Sydney/Australia). The equipment in the studio regularly changed. The sixth and seventh albums were recorded using a mobile computerized system, Alchemist. In 2010 a new system, Merlin, was ready to use, and the first music recorded on it was the "MMX The Social Song
".
-based choir Capella Antiqua and its record label Polydor Germany for infringing its "right of personality" through distortion in the samples
used in "Sadeness (Part I)
" and "Mea Culpa
". The samples were taken from Capella Antiqua's 1976 LP Paschale Mysterium
; while the musical compositions were in public domain, Capella Antiqua's recording of them was copyright
ed. European law also recognizes moral rights (droit moral) in works that American copyright does not.
Cretu was not spared over the issue of sampling when in 1998, Difang and Igay Duana
from Taiwan
's Ami tribe filed a suit over uncredited vocals in "Return to Innocence
".
Both of the lawsuits were settled, with the source of each sample being granted compensation and credit for the sampled performance; however, the anonymity that Cretu intended to keep after the release of the first album was shattered due to the first lawsuit.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
al project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu
Michael Cretu
Michael Cretu is a Romanian musician. He is known also as Curly, MC or Curly M.C. because of his fair curled hair . His peak musical activity was with the Enigma project, which was mainly based in Germany....
, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, Gregorian, Princessa and Andrea Bocelli on his first international album Romanza in 1997....
in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but has based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios
A.R.T. Studios
A.R.T. Studios was the private music studio of music producer Michael Cretu, located in his mansion in the hills of Ibiza, Spain. In May 2008 the mansion together with the studio were demolished...
in Ibiza, Spain, since the early 1990s until May 2009, where he has recorded all of Enigma's studio releases to date. Cretu is both the composer and the producer of the project. His former wife, pop singer Sandra, often provided vocals on Enigma tracks. Jens Gad
Jens Gad
Jens Gad is a songwriter, producer and guitarist. He was previously the co-producer for the musical project, Enigma. Currently, he is releasing albums under the name of Jens Gad Presents for his new instrumental work, and also under the name of Achillea, for his new world-influenced music which...
co-arranged and played guitar on three of the Enigma albums. Peter Cornelius
Peter Cornelius (musician)
Peter Cornelius is an Austrian pop-singer, guitarist and a former member of Enigma.- Albums :* 1974 Hampelmann* 1974 Fleckerlteppich* 1976 Eine Rose aus Papier* 1980 Der Kaffee ist fertig...
also contributed to Enigma during the 1990s.
Seven studio albums have been produced under the name of the project.
History
From the late 1970s onward, Michael Cretu already had his own music career on his hands and apart from some collaboration efforts with several other musicians, he also produced his wife's albums. Before Enigma, he released a number of albums under his own name, but none of them sold particularly well. Cretu revealed in an interview that he believed that his ideas were running out at that point.In December 1990, after eight months of preparation, Cretu released Enigma's debut album, MCMXC a.D.
MCMXC a.D.
MCMXC a.D. is a concept album created by the musical project Enigma, spearheaded by Michael Cretu. Released at the end of 1990, it was Enigma's debut album...
, which received over 60 platinum-level sales
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
awards worldwide, and topped the charts in 41 countries, directly becoming the most successful Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
act during that time. The album was Cretu's first commercial success through the single "Sadeness (Part I)
Sadeness (Part I)
"Sadeness " is a 1990 single created by the musical project Enigma. The song was the first of four singles from the project's first album MCMXC a.D. and upon release became an international smash hit, reaching number one in 24 countries and the top ten in four others including the United States...
," which juxtaposed Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
s and sexual overtones over a dance beat that was very peculiar to the ears of the public at that time. Cretu explained that the album was about unsolved crimes and philosophical themes such as life after death, hence the name Enigma. He had previously used a Gregorian-type chant on the opening seconds of Sandra
Sandra Cretu
Sandra Ann Lauer, stage name Sandra is a German pop singer, who dominated European charts with eighteen top 20 hits during the 1980s and early 1990s, with the help of her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu. During a brief height of popularity, she even outsold Madonna in a number of...
's 1987 single "Everlasting Love
Everlasting Love
"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden that has been a hit for various artists, including Robert Knight, Carl Carlton, Love Affair, and Gloria Estefan.- Overview :...
", without integrating them into other parts of the song. "Sadeness" quickly rose to the top of the charts in Germany and France; it went on to become a worldwide hit. Later Cretu would claim that the now signature Enigma sound was inspired after falling asleep on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
.
Before the album was released, Cretu was cautious of the response towards the upcoming album, decided to forgo mentioning his and most of the personnel's real name and credited himself as Curly M.C., while the album sleeve contained little information about the background of the project, furthering the mystery about the creators of the album and leading to speculation whether Enigma was a band, a person or a group.
In 1993, Cretu was given an offer by producers to compose the full soundtrack of the motion picture Sliver
Sliver (film)
Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas...
, but he was unable to accept the offer. Instead, he came up with "Carly's Song
Carly's Song
"Carly's Song" is a 1993 song created by the musical project Enigma. The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 1993 movie Sliver. The song uses samples from the Mongolian folk music vocalist Namjilyn Norovbanzad. It is rumored that Sharon Stone received a portion of the soundtrack profit so she...
" ("Age of Loneliness" in the album and video releases) and "Carly's Loneliness," which were used in the movie and credited in the motion picture soundtrack
Sliver: Music from the Motion Picture
Music from the Motion Picture Sliver is a soundtrack album for the 1993 movie Sliver. On December 17, 1993 the soundtrack was certified gold by the RIAA.-Track listing:#"Can't Help Falling in Love"#* Performed by UB40...
as well.
In the same year, The Cross of Changes
The Cross of Changes
The Cross of Changes is a 1993 album by the musical project Enigma. It is Enigma's second album, following MCMXC a.D., released three years earlier....
was released. It received about the same response from the public (it sold 6 million copies in a year). However, both of the albums also hitched up lawsuits over the issue of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from other music sources.
In 1996, Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!
Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
-Singles:*1996 – "Beyond the Invisible"*1997 – "T.N.T. for the Brain"*1998 – "The Roundabout" -Personnel:*Peter Cornelius – guitar*Michael Cretu – record producer, sound engineer, instruments*Sandra Cretu – voices*Louisa Stanley – voices...
(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "The King is dead. Long live the King!") was released. Cretu's idea was that this third album was the child of the previous two albums, and therefore included familiar elements of Gregorian chants and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
/ Vedic
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
chants in it. Though the album was as meticulously crafted by Cretu as the earlier two albums, it failed to achieve the same level of success that they enjoyed. As a result only two of the three singles originally slated were released, with the third one ("The Roundabout") being silently canceled in 1998.
The 2000 release of The Screen Behind the Mirror
The Screen Behind the Mirror
-Singles:*1999 – "Gravity of Love" *2000 – "Push the Limits" -Personnel:*Ruth-Ann Boyle - lead vocals*Michael Cretu - record producer, lead vocals*Sandra Cretu - voices*Andru Donalds - lead vocals*Jens Gad - guitar...
included samples from Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
on four tracks on the album. This time the Gregorian chants were toned down tremendously, although Shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
flutes and other traditional Enigma signatures remain. Only "Gravity of Love
Gravity of Love
"Gravity of Love" is a 1999 song created by the musical group Enigma. The single was the first of two released from the album The Screen Behind the Mirror....
" and "Push the Limits
Push the Limits
"Push the Limits" is a 2000 song created by the musical project, Enigma. The single was the second one released from The Screen Behind the Mirror.-Single track listing:* 2-track CD single# "ATB Mix" – 8:30# "Album Version" – 6:25...
" were released as singles from the album. Ruth-Ann Boyle
Ruth-Ann Boyle
Ruth-Ann Boyle is an English pop music singer who became famous during the 1990s. Together with producers Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth, she formed the British band Olive...
(from the band Olive
Olive (band)
Olive was a breakbeat/trip hop group from the North of England. The founding membership consisted of producer, instrumentalist and songwriter Tim Kellett, producer and keyboard programmer Robin Taylor-Firth, and singer Ruth-Ann Boyle...
) and Andru Donalds
Andru Donalds
Andru Donalds is a Jamaican musician and vocalist with a previous solo career, who is now working in collaboration with the Enigma project as lead vocalist. Donalds had a hit single in America in 1995 with Mishale, which reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Biography:Andru Donalds was born in...
mark their first appearances on the Enigma project.
In 2001, Cretu released a new single called "Turn Around" together with Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits is a 2001, multi-million selling, greatest hits album by the musical project Enigma. The album, along with Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection brings a close to Michael Cretu's first chapter of Enigma...
and Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection is a 2001 remix album of remixed songs made by Enigma. All of the remixes on the album were taken from previously released singles.Virgin Records reissued the album in the United States in December 2006....
to end what he considers to be the first chapter of Enigma. A light show
Light show
Light show may refer to:*Aaron Landes* Laser lighting display * Liquid light shows* Christmas lights* Meteor shower* Wizards in Winter Christmas light show...
was held at the Munich Planetarium in conjunction of the release of the compilation albums.
2003's Voyageur
Voyageur (album)
-Personnel:*Ruth-Ann Boyle – lead vocals *Michael Cretu – record producer, lead vocals *Sandra Cretu – back vocals *Andru Donalds – lead vocals *Jens Gad – guitars...
is considered by many to be a total makeover of the project. Practically all of the prominent Enigma signature elements (the ethnic and Gregorian chants, the Shakuhachi flutes) were no longer employed. As a result many fans did not appreciate this new direction, and sales were affected. From a statistical point of view, every Enigma studio album to date has sold roughly half of what the previous release did.
To commemorate the fifteen years of Enigma, a special limited-edition album called Fifteen Years was launched, which was the size of an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
vinyl disk
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
, with Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's art in the cover, a big booklet with extra art, and featured eight compact discs: all the previous albums, the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
Remember the Future, and a special and exclusive bonus CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, The Dusted Variations, which included the project's greatest hits remade by another project. All of the songs are different from the originals and use minimal percussion. This disc also contained the single version of "Hello and Welcome
Hello and Welcome
"Hello and Welcome" is a song created by the musical project Enigma, released on 10 March 2006 .The vocals in the song is sung by Andru Donalds, who also lent his voice in the fourth and fifth Enigma albums...
", which was later released as a single. On 28 August 2005, Enigma's management Crocodile Music announced the release of "Hello and Welcome" as a single. Originally it was slated to be released in October; the release date was moved to 25 November 2005 and was released in Germany on 10 March 2006. Much like Voyageur, the song shows little similarity to earlier Enigma works. The song was the walk-in music of the German boxer Felix Sturm
Felix Sturm
Felix Sturm is a German boxer and current WBA middleweight Super champion of Bosniak descent. Sturm was born and raised in Leverkusen, Germany, but both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Professional career :On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a...
.
On 26 September 2006, Enigma's sixth album A posteriori was released worldwide, containing a new version of "Hello and Welcome" and the new song "Goodbye, Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
", which, despite earlier announcements, was not released as a single. The album is more techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
- and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-oriented electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
than any previous one. The concept is based on such sciences as astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. A DVD version of A posteriori was released on 16 December 2006, which featured kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope is a circle of mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other end creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off the mirrors...
images in synchronization with the multi-channel remastered music.
In late March 2007, a special private lounge remix album version of A posteriori was released on the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Music Store. This compilation includes 12 new remixed tracks from the album by artists such as Boca Junior, Tocadisco, and more. Some of these tracks were available previously on the original A posteriori iTunes version of the album and on the previously mentioned DVD release.
On 19 September 2008, Enigma's seventh album Seven Lives Many Faces
Seven Lives Many Faces
-Bonus disc:-iTunes version:In addition to the bonus track "Where are we from", the iTunes online store include comments for each track and album title, spoken by Michael Cretu.*"Comments on Album Title" – 0:45*"Comments on "Seven Lives" – 0:40...
was released worldwide. The lead single, "Seven Lives
La Puerta del Cielo / Seven Lives
"La Puerta del Cielo / Seven Lives" is the first single from Enigma's seventh album Seven Lives Many Faces. The track "Seven Lives" had been featured on German TV as the signature theme to the public broadcaster EinsFestival's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The single was...
", is a fusion of modern and classical elements.
The Platinum Collection, a 3-CD compilation, was released on 27 November 2009 in Germany, and on 9 February 2010 worldwide. The first CD contains Enigma hits. The second CD contains remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es. The third CD is a collection of "lost tracks", musical experiments which never were finalized and released previously.
20th anniversary single "MMX"
On 5 October 2010, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first album MCMXC a.D.MCMXC a.D.
MCMXC a.D. is a concept album created by the musical project Enigma, spearheaded by Michael Cretu. Released at the end of 1990, it was Enigma's debut album...
, The "Enigma's Social Song" project began.
Enigma fans were asked to submit vocals for a new Enigma song. The public were then asked to vote, with the winning submission "Fei mea" being provided by Latvian singer Fox Lima for the chorus.
The top 3 runners up: Mark Joshua from Brazil, J. Spring fom Spain and Rasa Serra from Lithuania provided other important parts of the vocals like the bridge, backing and verse of the final version of the single. Fans also influenced further stages of the song's creation by voting on elements such as a lead instrument, general mood and style of the track.
The final mix of the single named "MMX The Social Song
MMX The Social Song
MMX - The Social Song is a single by the band Enigma released on December 15, 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the musical project.In October 2010 Enigma's producer Michael Cretu invited the fans to record themselves and vote for a vocalist to create the song via internet.Latvian Fox...
" was released on December 15, 2010.
It became the first song ever created for and by the fans via internet.
Influence
Enigma's first two studio albums also led to the creation and popularity of bands and musical groups that follow similar styles, often called "Enigmatic Music". The first album was named as one of the most important and influential album of mainstream New Age music. The album not only popularized the "Enigmatic" music style but also introduced some technical changes in music production. With MCMXC a.D., Michael Cretu developed the technical features and intentions of sampling. Though samples were in use long before (introduced by such musicians as Jean-Michel Jarre, Klaus SchulzeKlaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
and others), Cretu built his own music around whole sequences of previously recorded parts. His method was not remixing and remodelling, but rather recontextualisation – by changing a piece of music’s natural environment. A new method of composing and album creating process, which was mainly adopted by Hip-Hop artists as well as electronic music producers. It was one of the first albums to be recorded directly to hard drive. “MCMXC a.D.” was one of the first steps in a series of developments which would eradicate the division between mainstream and underground culture.
Era
Era (musical project)
Era is a New Age music project by French composer Eric Lévi. The band has sold more than 12 million albums...
and Gregorian
Gregorian (band)
Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
(led by former Enigma member Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson
Frank Peterson is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, Gregorian, Princessa and Andrea Bocelli on his first international album Romanza in 1997....
) are among some notable groups which capitalised songs which heavily incorporate Gregorian chants in their works. Enigma and Deep Forest
Deep Forest
Deep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
are also to be considered by many to have brought the tribal chant genre to the ears of the public. Achillea, a musical project by arranger and guitarist on several Enigma albums, Jens Gad
Jens Gad
Jens Gad is a songwriter, producer and guitarist. He was previously the co-producer for the musical project, Enigma. Currently, he is releasing albums under the name of Jens Gad Presents for his new instrumental work, and also under the name of Achillea, for his new world-influenced music which...
, features music with similar atmospherics, while featuring female vocals in different languages, with different singers from different parts of the world. Enigma also influenced Christopher von Deylen
Christopher von Deylen
Christopher von Deylen is an electronica music producer, formerly one-half of a duo, and now the main member of the band Schiller...
's musical project Schiller
Schiller (band)
Schiller is the main project of Christopher von Deylen , a German musician, composer and producer. He won the ECHO award in 2002 for the Best Dance Single of the Year.. Schiller has sold over 7 million albums worldwide.Christopher Von Deylen does not provide vocals for any of his compositions...
. The influence can be heard in any album by the band. Cretu's musical project is also included into the list of influences of Schiller.
Critics and fans have noted down the probable influences if not similarities of Enigma and the works of other notable musicians. Some examples include PR MRS Delerium
Delerium
Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly...
's Semantic Spaces
Semantic Spaces
Semantic Spaces is an album by Canadian industrial/electronic music group Delerium in 1994 . Guest musicians on the album include Greg Reely and Kristy Thirsk....
album, Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's albums, The Songs of Distant Earth
The Songs of Distant Earth (album)
The Songs of Distant Earth is the 16th album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1994. It is based on Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novel The Songs of Distant Earth.- Release details :...
and Tubular Bells III
Tubular Bells III
Tubular Bells III is the 18th album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. A sequel to Oldfield's 1973 Tubular Bells and his 1992 Tubular Bells II albums, it was released on the 25th anniversary of the first Tubular Bells album....
, all B-Tribe
B-Tribe
B-Tribe, or The Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters, is a musical project of the German-born musicians and producers Claus Zundel, Markus Staab and Ralf Hamm , who are also known for their Sacred Spirit project. Driven by the use of classical Spanish guitar and other elements of flamenco music mixed with...
's albums as well as other Claus Zundel
Claus Zundel
Claus Zundel is a German composer, songwriter, producer and pianist. He has created several worldwide successful musical projects, most notable - Sacred Spirit and B-Tribe , as well as more Indie projects such as "Moroccan Spirit", "Classical Spirit", "Divine Works", Ancient Spirit and his latest...
projects and Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
's cover of Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic are a Belgian rock/pop group, formed in 1995. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a lone genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and mixture of others...
's song, "Eden".
"Old Spice" shaving products for men in India has used the "modern crusaders's" music in its advertisement.
Several prominent songs from the project have appeared on notable TV shows and movies:
| Song | Type of Work | Name | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Beyond the Invisible Beyond the Invisible "Beyond the Invisible" is a 1996 song created by the musical project Enigma. This is the first of only two singles taken from the album Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!.- Production :... " |
TV series | La Femme Nikita | |
| "Carly's Song Carly's Song "Carly's Song" is a 1993 song created by the musical project Enigma. The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 1993 movie Sliver. The song uses samples from the Mongolian folk music vocalist Namjilyn Norovbanzad. It is rumored that Sharon Stone received a portion of the soundtrack profit so she... " |
Movie | Sliver Sliver (film) Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas... |
|
| "Carly's Loneliness" | Movie | Sliver Sliver (film) Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas... |
|
| "Gravity of Love Gravity of Love "Gravity of Love" is a 1999 song created by the musical group Enigma. The single was the first of two released from the album The Screen Behind the Mirror.... " |
Movie | The Scorpion King The Scorpion King The Scorpion King is a 2002 American action film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan... |
In the preview trailer |
| "I Love You ... I'll Kill You" | Movie | Money Train Money Train Money Train is a 1995 American comedy thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Lopez as New York City transit cops... |
|
| Eraser Eraser (film) Eraser is a 1996 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan and Vanessa L. Williams. It was directed by Chuck Russell. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing in 1996.-Plot:... |
In the preview trailer | ||
| "Modern Crusaders" | TV series | La Femme Nikita | |
| "Principles of Lust Principles of Lust "Principles of Lust" is a 1991 song created by the musical project, Enigma. The single was the third one released from their debut album, MCMXC a.D. Confusingly, the single version of "Principles of Lust" is actually "Find Love", part two of the album version of "Principles of Lust", which includes... " |
Movie | Single White Female Single White Female Single White Female is a 1992 American erotic thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The film stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is directed by Barbet Schroeder.-Plot:... |
|
| Sliver Sliver (film) Sliver is a 1993 film based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York highrise apartment building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas... |
|||
| "Return to Innocence Return to Innocence "Return to Innocence" is a 1994 song created by the musical group Enigma. The single was the first from their chart-topping second album, The Cross of Changes.... " |
Movie | Man of the House Man of the House (1995 film) Man of the House is a 1995 comedy film starring Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Marking Thomas' motion picture debut, this Disney comedy is about a boy who must come to terms with his potential stepfather , a well-meaning lawyer who is unknowingly the subject of a manhunt... |
In end credits |
| Exit to Eden Exit To Eden (film) Exit to Eden is a 1994 American comedy-thriller loosely based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, directed by Garry Marshall and adapted to the screen by Deborah Amelon and Bob Brunner. The original music score was composed by Patrick Doyle.... |
|||
| TV series | The Outer Limits The Outer Limits (1995 TV series) The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002... |
In episode The Conversion | |
| My So-Called Life My So-Called Life My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the... |
|||
| Cold Case | In episode Sanctuary. | ||
| The L Word The L Word The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood... |
|||
| American Idol American Idol (season 9) The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was... |
Used in an audition. | ||
| "Sadeness (Part I) Sadeness (Part I) "Sadeness " is a 1990 single created by the musical project Enigma. The song was the first of four singles from the project's first album MCMXC a.D. and upon release became an international smash hit, reaching number one in 24 countries and the top ten in four others including the United States... " |
Movie | Boxing Helena Boxing Helena Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:... |
|
| Charlie's Angels Charlie's Angels Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men... |
|||
| Single White Female Single White Female Single White Female is a 1992 American erotic thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The film stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is directed by Barbet Schroeder.-Plot:... |
|||
| Exit to Eden Exit To Eden (film) Exit to Eden is a 1994 American comedy-thriller loosely based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, directed by Garry Marshall and adapted to the screen by Deborah Amelon and Bob Brunner. The original music score was composed by Patrick Doyle.... |
|||
| The 13th Warrior The 13th Warrior The 13th Warrior is a 1999 historical fiction action film starring Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan and Vladimir Kulich as Buliwyf; it is based on the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. It was directed by John McTiernan and an uncredited Crichton.The 13th Warrior is regarded as a... |
In trailer | ||
| 1492: Conquest of Paradise 1492: Conquest of Paradise 1492: Conquest of Paradise is an epic 1992 European adventure/drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Roselyne Bosch, which tells the story of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on the indigenous people... |
In teaser trailer | ||
| Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film... |
In a faux trailer for Kirk Lazarus' upcoming film | ||
| Gomorra Gomorra (film) Gomorrah is a 2008 Italian film directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the book by Roberto Saviano. It deals with the Casalesi clan, a crime syndicate within the Camorra — a traditional criminal organization based in Naples and Caserta, in the southern Italian region of Campania.-Plot summary:The... |
|||
| TV series | Cold Case | ||
| Chappelle's Show Chappelle's Show Chappelle's Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22,... |
|||
| It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom... |
In episode "The Gang Gets a New Member" | ||
| The Brothers Grunt The Brothers Grunt The Brothers Grunt is an animated TV series that aired from August 15, 1994 to February 20, 1995 on MTV. The series was created by Danny Antonucci .-Premise:... |
|||
| "Smell of Desire" | Movie | Bounce Bounce (film) Bounce is a 2000 romantic drama film starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow and directed by Don Roos.-Plot:Advertising executive Buddy has just signed an airline in Chicago as a big client but is later delayed by a snow storm waiting for a flight to Los Angeles on the same airline... |
In the preview trailer |
| TV Series | Temptation Island | ||
| "The Eyes of Truth The Eyes of Truth "The Eyes of Truth" is a 1994 single created by the musical project, Enigma. This single was one of Enigma's four singles from its second album, The Cross of Changes.... " |
Movie | The Matrix The Matrix The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving... |
In the preview trailer |
| The Long Kiss Goodnight The Long Kiss Goodnight The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:... |
"Return to Innocence" also appeared in numerous TV commercials around the world, including one for Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
.
Awards
- World Music Award
- Most Popular German Solo Artist, 2002
- ECHO
- Most Successful German Production Abroad, 1991
- Best Marketing, 1992
- Best National Artist, 1992
- Most Successful German Production Abroad, 1995
- "Beyond the Invisible", 1997
- Over 100 platinum awards worldwide
- 7 RIAA platinum awards
- 2 RIAA gold awards
- 5 BPIBritish Phonographic IndustryThe British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
platinum awards - 2 BPI gold awards
Recording technologies
Michael Cretu recorded the first five Enigma albums in his private A.R.T. StudiosA.R.T. Studios
A.R.T. Studios was the private music studio of music producer Michael Cretu, located in his mansion in the hills of Ibiza, Spain. In May 2008 the mansion together with the studio were demolished...
, located on the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
island Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. From 1988 until 2001, the studio was located in his home in Santa Eulària des Riu
Santa Eulària des Riu
Santa Eulària des Riu is a municipality on the eastern coast of Ibiza. The only river on the island flows through the town of Santa Eulària. The town was depicted, in the time before and up to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, in Elliot Paul's Life and Death of a Spanish Town...
, and from 2001 till 2008 on the hills near Sant Antoni. This studio was designed and built by Gunter Wagner and Bernd Steber (Sydney/Australia). The equipment in the studio regularly changed. The sixth and seventh albums were recorded using a mobile computerized system, Alchemist. In 2010 a new system, Merlin, was ready to use, and the first music recorded on it was the "MMX The Social Song
MMX The Social Song
MMX - The Social Song is a single by the band Enigma released on December 15, 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the musical project.In October 2010 Enigma's producer Michael Cretu invited the fans to record themselves and vote for a vocalist to create the song via internet.Latvian Fox...
".
Sampling and lawsuits
In 1994, Cretu was sued by MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
-based choir Capella Antiqua and its record label Polydor Germany for infringing its "right of personality" through distortion in the samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
used in "Sadeness (Part I)
Sadeness (Part I)
"Sadeness " is a 1990 single created by the musical project Enigma. The song was the first of four singles from the project's first album MCMXC a.D. and upon release became an international smash hit, reaching number one in 24 countries and the top ten in four others including the United States...
" and "Mea Culpa
Mea Culpa (Part II)
"Mea Culpa " is a 1991 song created by the musical project Enigma. The single was the second of four singles released from MCMXC a.D....
". The samples were taken from Capella Antiqua's 1976 LP Paschale Mysterium
Paschale Mysterium
Paschale Mysterium was originally released in 1976 . It was conducted by Konrad Ruhland and performed by Germany's Capella Antiqua München....
; while the musical compositions were in public domain, Capella Antiqua's recording of them was copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed. European law also recognizes moral rights (droit moral) in works that American copyright does not.
Cretu was not spared over the issue of sampling when in 1998, Difang and Igay Duana
Difang and Igay Duana
Difang Duana and Igay Duana , Chinese names Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu , were an Amis husband and wife farmers who became known as a folk music duo from Taiwan who specialized in traditional Amis chants. Their most recognized work is of a performance of a traditional Amis Palang song Difang...
from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
's Ami tribe filed a suit over uncredited vocals in "Return to Innocence
Return to Innocence
"Return to Innocence" is a 1994 song created by the musical group Enigma. The single was the first from their chart-topping second album, The Cross of Changes....
".
Both of the lawsuits were settled, with the source of each sample being granted compensation and credit for the sampled performance; however, the anonymity that Cretu intended to keep after the release of the first album was shattered due to the first lawsuit.
Discography
- MCMXC a.D.MCMXC a.D.MCMXC a.D. is a concept album created by the musical project Enigma, spearheaded by Michael Cretu. Released at the end of 1990, it was Enigma's debut album...
(1990) - The Cross of ChangesThe Cross of ChangesThe Cross of Changes is a 1993 album by the musical project Enigma. It is Enigma's second album, following MCMXC a.D., released three years earlier....
(1993) - Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!-Singles:*1996 – "Beyond the Invisible"*1997 – "T.N.T. for the Brain"*1998 – "The Roundabout" -Personnel:*Peter Cornelius – guitar*Michael Cretu – record producer, sound engineer, instruments*Sandra Cretu – voices*Louisa Stanley – voices...
(1996) - The Screen Behind the MirrorThe Screen Behind the Mirror-Singles:*1999 – "Gravity of Love" *2000 – "Push the Limits" -Personnel:*Ruth-Ann Boyle - lead vocals*Michael Cretu - record producer, lead vocals*Sandra Cretu - voices*Andru Donalds - lead vocals*Jens Gad - guitar...
(2000) - VoyageurVoyageur (album)-Personnel:*Ruth-Ann Boyle – lead vocals *Michael Cretu – record producer, lead vocals *Sandra Cretu – back vocals *Andru Donalds – lead vocals *Jens Gad – guitars...
(2003) - A posteriori (2006)
- Seven Lives Many FacesSeven Lives Many Faces-Bonus disc:-iTunes version:In addition to the bonus track "Where are we from", the iTunes online store include comments for each track and album title, spoken by Michael Cretu.*"Comments on Album Title" – 0:45*"Comments on "Seven Lives" – 0:40...
(2008)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- Achillea
- Deep ForestDeep ForestDeep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
- Jean Michel JarreJean Michel JarreJean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
- Sacred SpiritSacred SpiritSacred Spirit is a musical project by Claus Zundel, Ralf Hamm and Markus Staab. The music is of electronic, new age, world, ambient, house, jazz and blues genres. Sacred Spirit's total worldwide album sales estimated to be over 15 million copies...
- VangelisVangelisEvangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
- Tangerine DreamTangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
Sources
- [ Allmusic biography and discography]
- Billboard.com, biography, discography and US chart history
- rateyourmusic.com, biography and discography
- Discogs.com Biography and discography
- Chartstats.com, UK chart history
- Chartssurfer.de, German chart history
German
- Crocodile-Music.de (Official Enigma management website)
- EMI Virgin Record Company (Official Enigma Record Company)
English
- EnigmaMusic (Official international fansite)
- Enigma Planet (Official Enigma MySpace Page)
- Last.Fm Profile (Music scrobbler)
- Enigma Music TV (Official Enigma YouTube Channel)
- Enigma Music Project (Web-site about Enigma Music Project)