~Turn off the light, take a deep breath, and relax, relax~
I am sure that many of you remember the "Band" called Enigma. Well, his name is Michael Cretu and he is from Bucharest, which is the Capital of Romania, Europe. HE broke into the scene around 1990 with his first album with big success!! It was called MCMXC a.D.
Many people got really burned out on this music and tracks. It is my opinion that you should check the music out again as it is now over 17 years old. It might sound dated, but it was and still is very well recorded and produced.
The massive hit from that album was called "Sadness" clocking in at over 12 minuets with 3 parts to it. I remember that track when i was in college. I purchased it at Record Rack in Houston Texas on one of my many trips there.
The musical style was mystical at that time with a new age feel to it. This album has always been one of my favorites. IT was along the same time that Peter Gabriel scored Passion - The Last Temptation Of Christ. Up until that time, there was a very big underground scene of that style of music by the likes of Eno, Fripp, Mike Oldfield, and Vangellis and Jean Michel Jarre, just to name a few. None of those artist had any big commercial success statewide at least. Enigma broke that genera of music to the popular masses and it was a very large hit in The States followed by Mea Culpa, another big radio/club success.
He also produced a band called Sandra. She had a few club hits in the mid-late 1980s. I remember them going to clubs when i was 16 years old! The eventually got married. Her music was very thickly layered using old Fairlight and Roland analogue synthesizers with sultry vocals and great beats. She even, later, gave vocals for the Enigma projects.
All in all, i think that Micheal Cretu/Enigma have remained a constant force in the music industry. His music might be the same on all the albums, but it is very masterfully crafted with rick textures and incredible lush soundscapes. His music takes you on a journey instead of the same ole crap that most bands do, with 3-4 good tracks and the rest as filler. All the music might not be to your taste, but it had a fluid motion and a natural progression with a common element through out his music. you can listen to his stuff and say, that is Enigma, not some other artist.
He also helped open this style of music to other artist that spawned several offshoots. One being Trance, Progressive Trance and several others. I think that we all owe him a big hand for doing what he did in the music industry and for what he still does.
Just my 2 or 3 cents worth...
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