And the first inductee into my artist hall of fame is...
Enigma
Why?
I remember exactly where I was
when I first heard Enigma. It was roughly 14 years ago. I was riding in the car
with my dad and we had just turned off of Highway 89 by Slim Olson’s gas
station in Bountiful when my dad switched to another radio station. I was
dumbfounded by the song that waited there. It was extremely different from
anything I’d heard up to that point. It was weird, but I thought it was great.
I told my dad not to change the station, which is where his trustworthiness as
a music lover proved itself.
“You like it? It’s Enigma. I
have a few CDs.”
Enigma is a new age/dance
music project, a moniker for mastermind Michael Cretu. Cretu is a
Romanian-German born in ’57 who, after proving his talent from a young age,
made a breakthrough on a global level with his creation of the Enigma project. Enigma was begun with the help of Danish Jens Gad while Cretu was working in Germany. Enigma’s
first album, appropriately titled MCMXC a.D. (1990 AD), ultimately led to six
more and they, in turn, to 50 million record sales worldwide.
Enigma is truly unique. The 100+ songs, remixes aside, include gothic vocal choirs, beat boxing, guitar solos, Native American chanting, string compositions, English, French, Spanish, Latin... Cretu's Enigma is so vastly diverse, yet uncompromisingly original that I'm certain I'll never find anything quite like it. Even within the foreign 'new age' genre it's usually tied to, it stands far away from everything else. With religion and philosophy as some of its core subjects, Enigma brings some memorable messages into the mix as well, some of which have had an impact in my own creative endeavors.
I want to share some of Enigma with you, of course. I suppose we'll work chronologically based on his run of albums.
MCMXC a.D. (1990) established the enigmatic sound that would hold for years to come. Now I didn't find Enigma until over ten years later, but a couple of the songs Cretu debuted with in this collection were still some of his most popular by the time I knew about him. Among them, that first song I heard in my dad's car, titled "Sadeness" (a referrence to Marquis de Sade of France). When this single came out, it hit #1 in 24 countries.
The Cross of Changes (1993) moved away from the lengthy, slow progression seen in much of the first album in favor of more concrete, stand-alone songs. If there's any Enigma song you've heard, it's probably "Return to Innocence" from this album. It has great lyrics, several catchy rhythms, and one of the best music videos of all time, which plays out the life of a man from end to beginning.
Le Roi Est Mord, Vive Le Roi! (1996) continued the same formula with, in my opinion, a stronger aim to tap into listeners' emotions by generally pulling down the tempo and volume and focusing on moving lines. Strange enough, this was the last CD I got a hold of and I was touched to find this slightly different side of Enigma in songs like "Why!".
The Screen Behind The Mirror (2000) is arguably the strongest, most pivotal collection here. It certainly was for me because this is about the time I first came into contact with the project. This album brought in enough additional hits for a greatest hits CD with 18 songs to be released a year later. "Push the Limits" was one of the many highlights.
Voyageur (2003) is my personal favorite. At this time, I think Cretu knew that it was time for Enigma to evolve more dramatically than it had up to this point. It's hard to pinpoint what he did because the songs are so different from one another, but I think Voyageur was more welcoming to a broader audience because of simpler composing with fewer components. Melodies and beats were emphasized, like in "Incognito". Cretu, by the way, is not the male singer you hear in these songs.
A Posteriori (2006) is bittersweet. By this time, Cretu divorced his wife Sandra, who had been the voice of Enigma up to this point (literally, the first song on the first album is "Voice of Enigma" and she's it). Thus, this is the only album of the project that's primarily instrumental, with only two tracks including lyrics. Cretu took on outer space as his central theme and that's exactly what this album sounds like. "Sitting On The Moon" is my favorite from this one.
Seven Lives Many Faces (2008) seemed like an experimental group of pieces, some of which worked better than others. In his search for things he hadn't yet done, Cretu came up with some great new music like the stunning "Seven Lives"
There was another greatest hits batch that came out in 2010, but due to the lack of recent material and Cretu's age of 68, I think the end has already passed.
If nothing here has piqued your interest so far, try these, my five favorites.
I love Enigma more than I love any band or musician. It's my #1. I don't think I've ever told anyone that and I'm still somewhat apprehensive about letting it out. I used to think it was because Enigma is so different, so eccentric, and I was worried about what others would think. In reality, it's because Enigma is so precious to me. It's one of my greatest musical treasures, one I wouldn't casually pass on to just anyone. I'm thrilled, however, to do so in this personal hall of fame's first seat.
"People talk too much for what they have to say." -"Silence Must Be Heard"
"Let the rhythm be your guiding light." -"Voice of Enigma"
"Old rules and habits have to be rejected and dismissed so that something new can be created."
"Never stop having ideas."
-Michael Cretu
