Gravity of Love
Encyclopedia
"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
.
The song features guest vocals by Ruth-Ann Boyle
of the British band Olive
and has samples from Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
. The beat in the song originally came from Led Zeppelin
's rendition of "When the Levee Breaks
", which was also used in the song "Return to Innocence
". The song also contains Sampling
from Carl Orff
's O Fortuna
from his cantata
Carmina Burana
.
In the music video
for the song, which is set in the 1930s, a masquerade ball
is being held in a mansion, while passion starts to run high for some of the participants. The video was filmed on location in the Villa Wagner I (designed by the famous architect Otto Wagner
) in Penzing
, a district in Vienna
, Austria
. The director
for the video is Thomas Job.
The setting is reminiscent of the 1961 film L'année dernière à Marienbad and some scenes from Stanley Kubrick
's 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut
.
Enigma (musical project)
Enigma is an electronic musical 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...
. The single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
was the first of two released from the album 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...
.
The song features guest vocals by 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...
of the British 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 has 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...
. The beat in the song originally came from Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's rendition of "When the Levee Breaks
When the Levee Breaks
"When the Levee Breaks" is a blues song written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song is in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927....
", which was also used in the song "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....
". The song also contains 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 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 O Fortuna
O Fortuna
"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck....
from his cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
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...
.
In the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, which is set in the 1930s, a masquerade ball
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
is being held in a mansion, while passion starts to run high for some of the participants. The video was filmed on location in the Villa Wagner I (designed by the famous architect Otto Wagner
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.-Life:...
) in Penzing
Penzing (Vienna)
Penzing is the 14th District of Vienna and consists of the boroughs of Penzing, Breitensee, Baumgarten, Hütteldorf and Hadersdorf-Weidlingau. In the west, it shares a border with Purkersdorf and Mauerbach...
, a district in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The director
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
for the video is Thomas Job.
The setting is reminiscent of the 1961 film L'année dernière à Marienbad and some scenes from Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
.
Track listing
- "Radio Edit" – 3:58
- "Judgement Day Club Mix" – 6:12 (Remixed by Peter RiesPeter RiesPeter Ries is a German record producer, composer, arranger, and remixer. Ries started his career as a singer in 1980 under nickname Gilbert...
and TAAWTrance Atlantic Air WavesTrance Atlantic Air Waves , is a side project from Enigma's Michael Cretu. He had previously worked with Jens Gad on Enigma's 1996 release Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! and they once again teamed up for this side project. Only one studio album was released, The Energy of Sound under Virgin Records...
) - "Dark Vocal Club Mix" – 6:36 (Remixed by W. Filz for La Danza Production)
Charts
- Greece - #1
- Hungary - #4
- Germany - #65
- Netherlands - #84
- Switzerland - #89