Enigma Group. Enigma (music project) Who sings in enigma

She often performed vocal parts in Enigma compositions. The project has released eight studio albums, nineteen singles and several collections. The project exists only as a studio project; its participants do not perform concerts.

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  Michel Cretu, who received an academic musical education, has been known in the world of popular music since the late 1970s: he recorded solo albums, took part as a session musician in recording music on albums of the groups Boney M, Arabesque, and worked as a co-producer with Mike Oldfield. and also acted as the main writer, keyboardist and producer on the albums of his ex-wife Sandra, a popular singer of the 80s.

  Leaving aside old habits and rules, Michel created the Enigma project (translated from Greek as “mystery”) in 1990, and released his debut album in December MCMXC a.D.(about 25 million copies sold to date) and the single “Sadeness (Part I)”. Thanks to the synthesis of Gregorian chants, Sandra's enchanting breathing, hypnotic music with dance rhythms, innovative active use of samples, memorable video clips, the project immediately became the center of attention, and the single and album soared to the top of the charts.

  Cretu conceived the project as something mysterious, when no one was supposed to know the performers, and one could only listen to the music. Journalists mentioned the names of many performers, but the names of the real creators (Michel Cretu and Frank Peterson) were not revealed until a lawsuit was initiated regarding the use of samples of Gregorian chants.

  Project participants

  Music

  • Michel Cretu is the founder of the project. He creates all the music and is involved in producing, arranging and sound engineering. He does most of the remixes and writes arrangements for guest vocalists.
  • Frank Peterson - helped create the first album. Apparently, he came up with the idea of ​​using Gregorian chants in the music of the project. After leaving Enigma he created his own popular project Gregorian.
  • David Fairstein - participated in the creation of the first three albums and part of the fourth. Author of the words of some compositions, most of which became hits.
  • Peter Cornelius - created several guitar solos for the second and third albums.
  • Jens Gad - performed most of the guitar parts on the albums The Cross of Changes, The Screen Behind The Mirror And Voyageur, and also helped Cretu in technical matters (arrangement and sound engineering). In addition, he is the author of most club remixes on singles. While working on the album A Posteriori left the project. In interviews, Cretu denies Jens Gad's role as a co-producer on the project.

  Vocal parts

  • Michel Cretu - performs most of the male vocal parts.
  • Sandra Cretu - female vocals on the first five albums of the project.
  • Andreas Harde (aka Andy Hard, Angel, Angel X) - performs "Return to Innocence".
  • Ruth-Ann Boyle is the lead voice of the English band Olive. She performs “Gravity of Love” and a number of other songs from the fourth and fifth albums, and her voice is also heard in the composition “We Are Nature” from the bonus disc of the seventh album.
  • Andrew Donalds is a Jamaican reggae artist who was produced by Cretu. Performs "Modern Crusaders" and a number of songs on albums four through seven.
  • Louisa Stanley - works in promotion for Virgin Records. Her voice can be heard on the track “The Voice of Enigma”, in some compositions of the first three albums, as well as in the album A Posteriori.
  • Elizabeth Houghton is a photographer for Virgin Records. Her voice can be heard in the fourth album.
  • Margarita Roig - vocals on album Seven Lives Many Faces, Spanish folk singer, Ibiza island.
  • Nikita Cretu - performs "The Same Parents" on the album Seven Lives Many Faces.
  • Sebastian Cretu - performs "The Same Parents" on the album Seven Lives Many Faces.
  • Nanuk - additional voice parts in albums Seven Lives Many Faces And The Fall Of A Rebel Angel.

  Lyrics

  • Michel Cretu is the author of the main part of the texts.
  • David Fairstein - worked with Cretu on the lyrics for the first three albums, and he is also the author of the lyrics for the composition "Smell of Desire" from the fourth album.
  • Nicholas Marten - narration writer for "Remember" the Future DVD".

  Influence

  The popularity of Cretu's first two studio albums led to the emergence of musical groups, writing music in an Enigma-like style. Era, Gregorian (led by former Enigma member Frank Peterson) and several other well-known groups included Gregorian chants in their songs.

  Critics and fans have found Enigma influences in the work of other famous musicians. For example, Delerium and its album “Semantic Spaces”, Mike Oldfield’s albums “The Songs of Distant Earth” and “Tubular Bells III”, B-Tribe and their album “Fiesta Fatal!”, as well as the song “Eden” by Sarah Brightman.

  Some famous songs of the project appeared on famous

  Enigma

  biography
  added date: 28.01.2008

  The group was formed in 1990 in Spain. Her style is a unique mixture of such genres as “New Age”, “Alternative”, “Dance”, and many others. Founder and ideological inspirer project - Michel Cretu - once said that his team is interested in exploring “all shades of Music...”.

  Their first album was called "MCMXC A.D". It appeared in Europe at the end of 1990. The rapidly gaining popularity of plastic was published the following year in the United States. Success came immediately. One of the singles, “Sadeness part 1,” instantly topped the leading charts in several countries. And the group’s debut disc was re-released several times around the world. In America, this work went multi-platinum and remained in the Top 200 for almost five years in a row.

  Michel Cretu considers his album a kind of music book. And each melody is its separate chapter. Thus, emphasizing the fact that for correct perception, it is better to listen to the entire “MCMXC A.D”... The composer’s use of recordings of Gregorian chants, which have not undergone any changes since the sixth century AD, turned out to be very fascinating. Cretu mixed them together with Sandra's amazing vocals and dance rhythms, creating a completely unique sound. True, the musician soon had to pay for his unique style. And, in the literal sense.

  In 1991, the members of Enigma received a letter from the Munich choir Kapelle Antiqua. In it, the choir demanded an immediate apology and monetary compensation from the group. For the illegal use of parts of his works in the compositions “MCMXC A.D.” Those same Gregorian chants played a cruel joke on Cretu. True, the debut album had already brought astronomical profits to its creators, so the case was resolved without trial. Simply admitting his guilt and privately paying the Munich choir a sufficient amount to eliminate further claims. Moreover, Enigma publishers quickly and honestly acquired the rights to a number of works from Kapelle Antiqua. So that in the future, Michel Cretu can freely engage in creativity.

  The young group's second album was released only in 1993. It was given the name ""The Cross Of Changes"". This disc multiplied the band's popularity many times over. The record is selling well all over the planet. The number of reissues is simply amazing. Of the new songs, "Return to Innocence" stands out the most. In a large number of countries the composition becomes a hit. Only in the USA the track achieves the first lines of the “Top 5”.

  The musicians put even more creative potential into the album “Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!”, released some time later. It is very harmonious, and contains the strengthening and development of those ideas that were used in the first works of Enigma. In “MCMXC A.D.” it’s sexuality and religion. In ""The CROSS Of Changes"" there is metaphysics. And “Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!” brings all this to a close with the question “Why do we live?” And he does it easily and simply, creating a great cocktail of classic melodies, New Age style and modern rhythms.

  An important milestone in the group’s work was the disc “The Screen Behind The Mirror”. It hit the shelves in September 2000. Many previous developments have been left in the past. Now Michel Cretu has made the basis of his melodies the famous "Carmina Burana" - a stunning opera by Carl Orff. The leitmotif of the entire album was its most exciting and disturbing part, called “O Fortuna”. Fragments of the opera appear throughout the record, now in one or another composition. At the same time, in terms of style, the team remains true to itself. Their work, as always, consists of a dozen artfully intertwined genres. And it is not a collection of individual songs, but almost a single musical canvas. At the same time, there are quite a few vocal works on the disc. “Enigma” often tries to convey feelings and thoughts to listeners not with words, but with melody, sound... You just need to learn to perceive this message.

  Michel Cretu's motto is simple: “Everything is possible, because you are free!” When he composes music for “Enigma”, not only the result is important to him, but also the creative process itself, it is this that brings the greatest pleasure. And it inspires more and more experiments. The main thing is not to try to limit yourself to the narrow framework of individual styles. As a result, each individual fragment becomes an element of one huge sound mosaic. Which the master collects from track to track, conveying to us his worldview and urging us to listen to the world around us...

  enigma.de (German)

  Enigma(pronounced like enigma, literally - a riddle, a puzzle, something mysterious, inexpressible; charade or difficult task) is a musical project created by Michel Cretu in 1990. Michel is a composer and producer; his ex-wife, singer Sandra Cretu, often performed vocal parts in Enigma compositions. The project released 7 studio albums, 19 singles and several collections. The project exists only as a studio project and does not perform concerts.

  Story

  Michel Cretu, who received an academic musical education, has been known in the world of popular music since the late 1970s: he recorded solo albums, took part as a session musician in recording music on albums of the groups Boney M, Arabesque, and worked as a co-producer with Mike Oldfield. and also acted as the main writer, keyboardist and producer on the albums of ex-wife Sandra, a popular singer of the 1980s.

  Leaving aside old habits and rules, Michel created the Enigma project in 1990 (translated from Greek as “mystery”), and in December released the debut album MCMXC a.D. (about 25 million copies sold to date) and the single “Sadeness (Part I).” Thanks to the synthesis of Gregorian chants, Sandra's enchanting breathing, hypnotic music with dance rhythms, innovative active use of samples, memorable video clips, the project immediately became the center of attention, and the single and album soared to the top of the charts.

  Cretu conceived the project as something mysterious, when no one was supposed to know the performers, and one could only listen to the music. Journalists mentioned the names of many performers, but the names of the real creators (Michel Cretu and Frank Peterson) were not revealed until a lawsuit was initiated regarding the use of samples of Gregorian chants.

  Some of the project's famous songs have appeared on famous TV shows and films, for example:

  • "Beyond the Invisible" and "Modern Crusaders" in the television series "Her Name was Nikita".
  • "Return to Innocence" in an episode of the television series "The Outer Limits".
  • "Return to Innocence" in the credits of the film "Man of the House".
  • "Return to Innocence" and "Sadeness (Part I)" in the film "Exit to Eden".
  • "Return to Innocence" in an episode of the television series "My So-Called Life".
  • "Return to Innocence" in an episode of the television series "Detective Rush" ("Cold Case").
  • "Boxing Helena"
  • "Sadeness (Part I)" in the movie Charlie's Angels.
  • "Sadeness (Part I)" in the trailer for the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
  • "Sadeness (Part I)" in the movie "Tropic Thunder"
  • "Principles of Lust" in the film "Single White Female".
  • "Carly's Song", "Carly's Loneliness" and "Principles of Lust" in the film "Sliver".
  • "The Eyes of Truth" in the world trailer for the film "The Matrix" ( trailer) (“The Matrix”) and “The Long Kiss Goodnight”).
  • “I Love You...I’ll Kill You” in the film “Money Talks” and the trailer for the film “Eraser”.
  • "Smell of Desire" in the trailer for the movie "Bounce".
  • "Sadeness (Part I)" on the comedy television show Chappelle's Show.
  • "Gravity Of Love" in the trailer for the film The Scorpion King.

  The song "Return to Innocence" has also been used in many commercials, such as for Virgin Atlantic. In 2009, the song "Seven Lives" was used in a Samsung LED TV advertisement.

  Trials

  Although all charges were dropped, Crete was unable to maintain the anonymity regarding the true artists of the project, which he maintained after the release of the first album.

  Following these lawsuits, samples used in the production of the third and fourth albums, "Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! " and "The Screen Behind the Mirror", have duly respected copyright laws. The fifth album, “Voyageur”, did not contain any samples at all.

  Discography

  Studio albums

  Videography

  DVD

  • : MCMXC a.D.: The Complete Video Album
  • : A Posteriori DVD Album
  • : Seven Lives Many Faces DVD Album

  Video clips not included in the official collections of clips

  • : "Carly's Song"
  • : "Out From The Deep"
  • : "Push The Limits (ATB Mix)"
  • : Voyageur
  • : "Boom-Boom" featured on the single released in the UK
  • : "Hello and Welcome" appears on the single

  Bootlegs

  Comment: These albums are fake albums or bootlegs - collections or copies of songs by other artists who are not related to the Enigma project.

  • Metamorphosis- the most popular and widely circulated Enigma bootleg released in anticipation of the album The Screen Behind The Mirror. A detailed description of the bootleg, indicating all the performers included in it, is on the Enigma World website.
  • Erotic Dreams- the album “Temple of Love” by the project “Erotic Dreams” was released in Holland in 1998.
  • Dream On- a collection of remixes of Enigma songs mixed with tracks from the album “ Snowin' Under My Skin" () Andrew Donalds.
  • Sleep- debut album " Conjure One" - a new project by one of the creators of "Delerium".
  • Enigma & D-Emotion Project- more than half of the tracks on the disc belong to the “Mythos” project and are taken from the album of the same name.
  • Eligh- the bootleg is made up of tracks by the singer Eligh.
  • The Alchemist is the first bootleg of the Seven Lives Many Faces album. The bootleg's tracklist consists mainly of tracks from the album A Posteriori. There are also compositions from the albums Voyageur and Seven Lives Many Faces

  Notes

  Links

  • Official project website (German)
  • Official English website (English)
  • Official website of Enigma management (German)
  • International fansite (English)

  Enigma
  Michelle Cretu Frank Peterson · Peter Cornelius · David Fairstein · Sandra Cretu · Jens Gad Guest vocalists: Andrew Donalds· Ruth-Ann Boyle
  Studio albums:

  Enigma - the name of the group itself is already intriguing. Of course, who doesn't love riddles? This is exactly what the name of the project, translated from Greek, sounds like, or rather, a charade, a puzzle. Something so mysterious and at the same time bewitching is hidden behind this name, you just want to taste it... The founder and father of the Enigma project was Michel Cretu. His idea of ​​combining incompatible things was born in the 90s.

  - “Music is a way of communication between people. They want to develop and receive not only physical, but also aesthetic satisfaction. Music gives us the opportunity to develop and enjoy life. I love making music and it’s unlikely that I’ll ever be able to stop…” - Michel Cretu.

  Cretu, who has a musical education, is a fairly well-known personality in musical circles. Before Enigma, he worked with such projects as BoneyM and Arabesque, was a co-producer in work with Mike Oldfield, and also served as the musical director of his former legal wife throughout the 80s.

  The music of the Enigma group does not fit any standard. Melted together rhythmic samples of various directions, perfectly combined with Gregorian chants, with a share of incredibly sexy rhythms and sounds of nature. This combination is simply impossible to describe in words. You can't listen to Enigma music again. It’s as if it slowly penetrates under the skin and makes the heart beat at its own rhythm.

  

  In the compositions of "Enigma" you can hear both religious and pagan motifs. The contradiction between these two cultures has become a kind of calling card for the group and has been a constant component in the group’s work for so many years.

  - “In nature, in particular human nature, in order to maintain balance, there are a lot of contradictions. Music is just a reflection of some natural phenomena. And flowing from each other and complementing each other, contradictions create harmony. This is what I try to convey through my music...” - Michel Cretu.

  The first step for the Enigma group was the release of MCMXCa.D. The track “Sadeness (PartI)” immediately hits the top of all charts. From all sides you can hear the enchanting sounds of “Sadeness (PartI)” by the group “Enigma”, which is a pleasure to listen to.

  - "MCMXCa.D." - this is a reflection of myself. I do whatever I want and how I want. This album is pure and honest. There are no prohibitions or rules in it. This is exactly what my soul strives for!” - Michelle Cretu.

  Interest in the group skyrocketed. Everyone wants to see the performers, but according to Cretu's idea, the performers should not be revealed. This is the riddle that the creators of the group came up with, whose names were also kept secret until litigation arose.

  

  - “I wanted people to love my group only by their sound. This is the meaning of music. We are invisible, the faces of the classics who left a deep mark on world music, but at the same time we enjoy their fruits. That's why we created the group "Face Off" - Frank Peterson.

  The second album “The CrossofChanges”, released in 1993, went gold and platinum in many countries, but at the same time lost the lion’s share of fans due to the changed sound. It no longer contained any wind instruments, in particular the flute, or the beloved Gregorian chant. But despite this, the composition “Return to Innocence” for a long time was the leader of the hit parades in 8 countries around the world.

  Enigma welcomed the year 2000 working together with DJ ATB. The track "Enigmatic Encounter" became part of the ATB album "Two Worlds".

  The new millennium seemed to inspire Enigma to completely change. Cretu experiments and releases a new composition “Turn Around”.

  The experiments don't end there. In 2003, the album “Voyageur” breaks all existing stereotypes regarding the sound of “Enigma”. This album relied on the harmonious consonance of voice and music.

  - "This A new book in the history of Enigma. You need to keep up with the times, otherwise you might miss something. This is a completely new, better Enigma that I want to show to the world!” - Michelle Cretu.

  

  Perhaps the metamorphosis of the group was influenced not only by the rapid passage of time and changes in trends, but also by high-profile trials and scandals in which the Enigma group was involved.

  Having just found its feet and received public recognition, Enigma receives a letter from KapelleAntiqua, in which they demand a written apology and monetary compensation for the fact that copyrights were violated and changes were made to the original sound of their compositions. Certainly, this situation was not made public because Michel Cretu and Virgin Records unconditionally complied with all KapelleAntiqua's demands. A little later, Virgin Records bought all rights to exploit the choir's works from Polydor.

  This scandal was followed by a lawsuit from representatives of the Taiwanese tribe "Ami" for the use of their canons in the composition "Return to Innocence".

  It was then that the “true face” of the Enigma group was revealed. Although Cret failed to keep the secret about the main characters in the group, this did not affect the popularity and demand of the group.

  24 years of Enigma have brought us many different emotions. She was loved by millions for her rhythms and light sexuality. While the creator of the group cannot say for sure whether this is the last chapter in its existence or just a short break for the author, but... We continue to listen and enjoy the works we already love and, of course, we are waiting for the continuation.

  Video clip of the Enigma group “Principles Of Lust”

  Perhaps there is no person, even far from the world of music, who has not heard about what the Enigma group is. Their mysterious, bewitching music, incredibly popular in the 90s of the last century, has not lost its relevance today, having become a modern classic.

  In fact, "Enigma" is not so much a group in the usual sense of the word as a musical project. Thus, it did not have a permanent lineup of participants, did not give interviews, did not play at festivals and did not give any concerts at all, since it was originally conceived as an exclusively studio project.

  The idea of ​​creation

  At the base of the project are the Cretu spouses: Michelle Cretu, composer and producer, and Sandra Cretu, a popular singer of the 80s, performer of many of the group’s compositions. Initially, the Enigma group was conceived by Michel as completely mysterious. Even the name was not chosen by chance, because it translates as “secret”.

  It was planned that it would be pure, devoid of any interference from the personality of the performer. For this reason, the composition of the project was kept secret for a very long time. And they weren’t even going to open it. Perhaps Michel would have succeeded, but the legal dispute made it impossible to keep the secret. The fact is that in their first album the Enigma group used samples from the recording. It was they who gave the music that very depth and mysticism, as well as a recognizable sound. But the owners of the sound recording that was used for the samples filed a lawsuit against its illegal use. During the trial, the identities of the artists were declassified. The names of those who compiled the Enigma project were mentioned in the press. The group, photos of whose members appeared on the covers of music publications, still did not become less popular.

  The best albums "Enigma"

  If in the first album samples of monastic chants were used, then in the second - The Cross of Changes, they were replaced by songs of American aborigines combined with French speech, which made the fans of the group indignant, expecting flutes and chorales again. But nevertheless, the album was successful and sold millions of copies around the world. But the third disc, as conceived by the creators, became, as it were, a child of the first two, having absorbed all the best that they had. This third album was released in 1996 and was called Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! Further in their work, Cretu and his partner Frank Peterson continued to experiment, incorporating the ringing of church bells, the sounds of an organ or classical Japanese instruments into the songs of the Enigma group.

  

  The second chapter in the life of the project

  It became increasingly difficult to call Enigma tracks songs; even the voice began to appear only in a small part of the compositions. Moreover, in many cases it is difficult to say whether it is a tool. Cretu himself says about his music: “It is difficult to express in words, no words can describe it.”

  Despite this, many fans believe that the main credit for the fact that the project has become popular belongs to the voice of lead singer Sandra. However, by the sixth album, her participation in the creation of compositions ceased, as her marriage to Michel practically fell apart. But, despite everything, it was the sixth album A Posteriori that many described as the best in Cretu’s musical career. But the next disc, although it returned to the traditional ethnic sound, was not very successful commercially.

  

  The fate of the group after 20 years of existence

  In 2009, the Enigma group celebrated its 20th anniversary by publishing a music collection of three albums. They contained not only the group's best hits, but also remixes, as well as previously unpublished tracks.

  Today, the musical style in which the group plays is characterized as enigmatic. And he has a lot of followers. Interest in such music and in the project itself does not wane, despite the fact that the best Enigma albums are in the past.