Enya

Enya

Enya in 2001 at the premiere of Sweet November.
Background information
Birth name Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin
Also known as Enya Brennan
Born

17 May 1961 (1961-05-17) (age 49)

Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland
Genres New Age, Celtic, World
Occupations vocalist, instrumentalist, composer, producer
Years active 1982 - present
Labels WEA, Warner Music UK, Warner Bros. Records UK, Reprise, Geffen
Associated acts Clannad, Moya Brennan, Brídín Brennan
Website www.enya.com
Notable instruments
Piano

Enya (born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin[1] on 17 May 1961), is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and composer. The media sometimes refer to her by the Anglicized name, Enya Brennan; Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.

She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad, before leaving to perform solo. She gained wider recognition for her music in the 1986 BBC series The Celts. Shortly afterwards, her 1988 album Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her unique sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations.[2]

She continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain sold 15 million copies[3] and she was named the world's best selling female artist of 2001.[4] She is Ireland's best-selling solo musician[5] and is officially the country's second-largest musical export after the band U2.[6] Her album sales stand at 70 million as of 2009,[7] with over 26 million in album sales in the US.[8] Her work has earned her, among other things, four Grammy awards and an Academy Award nomination. She has performed in 10 languages during her career thus far.[9]

Contents

Life and career

1961-1983: Musical upbringing and Clannad

Enya was born in Gweedore (known in Irish as Gaoth Dobhair) in County Donegal into an all Irish-speaking and musical family, the sixth of nine children.[10] Her grandparents were in a band that played throughout Ireland, her father was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band before opening Leo's Tavern, and her mother played in a dance band and later taught music at Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. From a young age, Enya appeared in many pantomimes onstage at Gweedore's local theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St. Mary's Catholic church, Derrybeg. She attended Loreto Community School in Milford, County Donegal and then moved away to attend college wanting to become a classical pianist, continuing her studies in music and also studying watercolour painting. Enya has four brothers and four sisters, several of whom formed the band An Clann As Dobhar in 1968. They renamed the band Clannad in the 1970s.

In 1980, Enya worked with Clannad, the band composed of her siblings Máire (Moya), Pól, and Ciarán and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. Enya played the keyboard and provided backing vocals on their album Crann Úll (1980), although she was not officially a member of the group until the 1981 release Fuaim, when she appeared on the cover. During that same year, Enya was also a member of Ragairne, the band of Altan front-woman Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.[11]

In 1982, shortly before Clannad became famous for "Theme From Harry's Game", producer and manager Nicky Ryan left the group and Enya joined him to start her own solo career. Enya then formed her own recording studio, named "Aigle", which is French for "Eagle".

1984-1987: Career beginnings, The Frog Prince, and The Celts

Enya recorded two solo instrumental pieces called "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian" (Irish for "The Solar Wind") and "Miss Clare Remembers" that were released on the 1984 album Touch Travel [12]. She was first credited as Enya (as opposed to Eithne) for writing some of the music for the 1984 movie The Frog Prince, which was released on a soundtrack album of the same title. Another early appearance on record followed in 1987, where Enya provided spoken (not sung) vocals on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album, The Lion and the Cobra. The title of the album is a partial English translation of Enya's Irish reading of Psalms 91:13 (KJV: "Thou shalt tread on the lion and the adder...") in the song "Never Get Old".

Enya was contracted to provide music for the soundtrack of the 1986 BBC television documentary The Celts. The music she produced was featured on her first solo album, Enya (1987), but it attracted little attention at the time.[13] The B-Side single "Eclipse" is actually a reversed and modified version of Enya's song "Deireadh An Tuath", from this 1987 album Enya.[14] The song "Boadicea", also from this album, would later be sampled by The Fugees on their single "Ready or Not" (1996), causing a brief stir because the group neither sought permission from Enya nor gave her credit initially, and by Mario Winans, who did give her credit (the Winans track, "I Don't Wanna Know" which features a rap by P. Diddy and is officially credited to all three artists, became Enya's highest charting single in the U.S., when it peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 in 2004).[10]

1988-1999: International breakthrough; Watermark, Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees

Enya achieved a breakthrough in her career in 1988 with the album Watermark, which featured the hit song "Orinoco Flow" (sometimes incorrectly known as "Sail Away"). "Orinoco Flow", featuring Jay Tyree, reported to be named after Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was conceived, topped the charts in the United Kingdom, peaked at number 2 in Germany and the Watermark album sold eleven million copies.[10]

Three years later, she followed with another hit album, Shepherd Moons, which sold twelve million copies and earned Enya her first Grammy Award. The songs "On Your Shore" and "Exile" (from Watermark) and "Epona" (from Enya) were featured in the 1991 film L.A. Story. "Ebudae" was also featured on the soundtrack to the Robin Williams film Toys, while the 1990 film Green Card had "River", "Watermark", and "Storms In Africa".[15] "Book Of Days" was featured prominently in the movie Far and Away, with an English-lyric version created for the film then replacing the old Gaelic-language version on all pressings of the Shepherd Moons album from 1993 onwards. In 1993, her recording of "Marble Halls" from Shepherd Moons was featured in the Martin Scorsese film, The Age of Innocence.

In 1992, a re-mastered version of the Enya album was released as The Celts including a longer, modified version of "Portrait", which was re-named as "Portrait (Out of the Blue)". Four years after Shepherd Moons, she released The Memory of Trees (1995), another Top Five success in both the UK and Germany, as well as her first Top 10 album in the U.S. Singles released from the album were "Anywhere Is" and "On My Way Home".

In 1997, Enya released her greatest hits collection, Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best of Enya, again a Top Five smash in the UK and Germany, which featured two new songs: "Paint the Sky With Stars" and "Only If..."; "Only If..." later became a single. ("Only If You Want To", is an early version of "Only If...". It appears on a promotional Japanese CD called, The Best of Enya, and does not include the French lyrics.[16]) She was offered the chance to compose the score for James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, but declined. The eventual choice of Norwegian vocalist Sissel Kyrkjebø, whose style is similar to Enya's, resulted in work that some sources erroneously credited to Enya, although in interviews, the songs were officially credited as the sound of Clannad. A 1989 recording of Enya singing an Irish language version of "Silent Night" ("Oíche Chiúin") has been reissued many times over the years, including The Christmas EP (which otherwise contained several non-holiday related previously issued recordings by Enya) and the 1997 edition of the charity album A Very Special Christmas.

Ansett Australia extensively used "Storms in Africa" for promotional purposes when the airline re-branded itself in the 1990s. The advertisements featuring portions of the song can be found on YouTube. The 1992 film Sleepwalkers features "Boadicea" as the film's signature tune.

2000-2004: A Day Without Rain and The Lord of The Rings

Following a five-year break, Enya released the album A Day Without Rain in 2000, featuring 37 minutes of new material (34 minutes on the U.S. version). The album is Enya's most successful to date, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The first single, "Only Time", was used in the film Sweet November and received U.S. radio airplay in late 2000. In May 2001, NBC began using "Only Time" to accompany commercials for their television series Friends, which helped the song get airplay on top-40 radio.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, "Only Time" was used as a soundtrack in many radio and television reports about the attacks.[17] Enya released a special edition of the song, and a maxi single was issued on 20 November 2001 featuring a pop mix, with proceeds donated to the families of victims. "Only Time" peaked at number 10 on the U.S. Hot 100, number 12 on the Pop Chart and hit number one on the Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary charts. In Germany, "Only Time" re-entered the German single charts at number 1[18] and the album A Day Without Rain reached number one some weeks later.

Enya won the Echo Award for best selling international single in Germany of 2001, and received a nomination for best selling album.

In 2001, Enya recorded "May It Be", which was featured in the first installment of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, and was her second consecutive single to enter the German charts at number one. The video features scenes from the Peter Jackson film.[19]

Enya, self-admittedly, composes music slowly.[20] A new song called "Sumiregusa" ("Wild Violet") was based on a Japanese poem by Roma Ryan. In September 2004, the song was used in Japan as part of an advertising campaign for Panasonic. Warner Music Japan stated that Enya's next album was scheduled for release in Japan in mid-November. Enya issued a press release on her official Web site on 19 September stating that this was a mistake and no new album was immediately forthcoming.[21]

2005-present: Amarantine, And Winter Came and The Very Best of Enya

In November 2005, a new album, entitled Amarantine, was released. It reached the Top 10 in both the UK and the U.S., and peaked at number 3 in Germany. The album won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for 2007, Enya's fourth.

In 2006, Enya released several Christmas-themed CDs with newly recorded material. On 10 October 2006, Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection was released containing six songs: the previously released "Oíche Chiúin" (a.k.a. "Silent Night") and "Amid the Falling Snow", new recordings of the standards "Adeste Fideles" (a.k.a. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful") and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as well as two original songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night". This CD was released only in the United States in an exclusive partnership with the NBC television network and the Target department store chain. Enya was awarded the World's Best-Selling Irish Act award at the World Music Awards in London on 19 November 2006.

In late November, two new editions of Amarantine were released. In the UK it was reissued as Christmas Edit: Amarantine with a second disc containing the four new Christmas songs previously issued on Sounds of the Season (the original album already had "Amid the Falling Snow" while "Oíche Chiúin" is a recording dating back to 1988, which had already been featured on numerous collections). The U.S. received a special version of this release (Amarantine - Deluxe Collector's Edition), which also included three postcards and a copy of Roma Ryan's book Water Shows the Hidden Heart, which is referenced on the original album. Canadian fans could choose from the Special Christmas Edition of Amarantine or an EP entitled Christmas Secrets, which contained only the four new songs.

Coinciding with these releases was the re-launch of Enya's official website on 2 November 2006. On 16 November 2006, Enya mentioned on ITV1's that she was working on a new album. A month later, in a Japanese interview Enya said that the album would be a complete Christmas album and would be released in 2007 which led to widespread fan speculation, such as on the official enya.com forum; ultimately, no release occurred at that time.

By mid-2007, Enya claimed to have sold 80 million albums. An American businessperson has coined the phrase "enyanomics" to explain Enya's ability to sell millions of records without giving any live performances.[22]

On 29 June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway.[23] Shortly after, on 10 July 2007 (date also stated at Enya's official website under News), Enya received a second honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster.[24][25]

On 1 September 2008, Enya's website launched "The Loxian Games". The competition is a way for fans of Enya to win four grand prizes, which have yet to be revealed. Thirty more prizes will be awarded to runners-up. In past Enya.com Online Competitions, winners were awarded autographed Enya albums. The launch of "The Loxian Games" and a brand-new website have recently come out. In 7 November 2008, And Winter Came... was released. The album is a Christmas and Winter themed album. Again, this was a huge international hit, reaching top 10 in many countries, an unusual accomplishment for a seasonal album.

In March 2009, Warner Music Japan released Enya's first 4 albums in a new format, called SHM-CD. This format brings a better sound quality when played and allows a better data reading by the player laser head. "The Celts", "Watermark", "Shepherd Moons" and "The Memory Of Trees" have been newly remastered and include bonus tracks which have also been remastered.The discs also bring new album art. The remastered version of "The Celts" also states that it was firstly released in 1987 under the name of "Enya" and included in the booklet is the initial album art for "Enya", as a clin d'oeil to her first album ever.

On 23 November 2009, Enya released a new album called The Very Best of Enya. It includes most of her hits from 1988 to 2008. There are no new songs except for a previously unreleased alternate take of "Aniron", the original of which had been included on the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. A deluxe edition variant included a DVD containing a number of music videos from her career and bonus footage.

Musical style and other projects

Much of her music shows influence of traditional Irish, Celtic and classical music. As a musical group, Enya represents a partnership between three people: Enya herself, who composes and performs the music; Nicky Ryan, who produces the albums; and Roma Ryan, who writes the lyrics in various languages, except Gaelic, in which Enya will render the lyrics herself.[10] Enya performs all percussion, instruments, and vocals in her pieces unless specified.[10] Although there are certain pieces where acoustic instruments are featured, almost all sounds of her pieces are created by a synthesiser. Her trademark sound is achieved by layering her voice as many as 80 times.[26]

Her signature sound is renowned for using simple arrangements with extensive multi-tracking vocals. The vocals are each performed individually, and are layered together to form a virtual choir, although all the voices are Enya herself. In "Cursum Perficio" of the album Watermark, Enya reaches a C an octave below middle C. Later in the piece, she sings a high A-flat above the treble clef.[27][28]

On the album Amarantine, Enya sings in Japanese and Loxian, a language invented by Roma Ryan.[10] While most of her songs are sung in English, some of Enya's songs are sung entirely in Irish or Latin. Enya has also sung songs written entirely or partially in Welsh, Spanish, French, and even languages created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Enya has performed songs relating to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, including 1991's "Lothlórien" (instrumental), 2001's "May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya), and "Aníron" (in Sindarin)—the last two, which she composed, appearing on the soundtrack of Peter Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Enya has given several live performances on various television shows, events and ceremonies (her most recent appearance was in Gaoth Dobhair in the summer of 2005, which coincided with a tribute event to the Brennan family that took place in Letterkenny), but she has yet to do a concert. She has said, though, that she would love to do it someday, and would consider it a great challenge.

Although her Grammys were for "Best New Age Album", Enya does not personally classify her music as belonging to the New Age genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music as belonging to, she would reply, "Enya".[10]

Discography

For a full listing of albums, singles and chart positions see Enya discography.
Studio Albums
Compilation Albums
  • 1997: Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya
  • 2009: The Very Best of Enya

DVD releases

In 2000, Warner Music released Enya: The Video Collection on DVD in Europe, South Africa and Asia, collecting all her videos from "Orinoco Flow" up to and including "Wild Child", except for the video from "Book of Days", which was replaced by a live TV performance due to licensing complications relating to the video's use of footage from the film Far and Away. This release was a successor to an earlier collection of videos entitled Moonshadows, which was released on VHS and laserdisc in 1992. The DVD release also included interviews and features on the making of two videos.

A North American (Region 1) release of the Video Collection DVD was announced on several occasions during 2000-2001, but it did not occur; the reason for which has never been officially stated. At one point it was announced that the release had been delayed in order to allow the inclusion of the video for "May it Be", while the (now defunct) fan sites reported that a dispute over the sound quality of the release led to it being withdrawn.

Bootleg copies from Asia have circulated at the retail level in some parts of Region 1 since 2000. As late as 2005 online retailers such as Amazon.com continued to list the DVD as "coming soon".

In November 2009, the deluxe version of the compilation release The Very Best of Enya included a DVD bonus disc containing most (but not all) of the music videos from the 2001 release, along with the documentaries from that release, and videos from Enya's post-2001 albums. This time the release of the DVD (formatted as Region 0) included North America.

Personal life

As a member of her family's band Clannad, Enya formed a friendship with producer/manager Nicky Ryan. After working with Ryan for seven years, Clannad began looking for another producer. Differences in opinion about the future marketing of the band resulted in an acrimonious split among the group, causing Ryan and Enya to part company with Clannad to pursue a solo career. Following the split, Enya moved in with Nicky and Roma Ryan and constructed a small studio in a shed. Enya began giving piano lessons to earn some income, while the Ryans waited for inspiration to strike. Eventually a call from the BBC resulted in a commission to score music for The Celts television documentary series, and larger success slowly followed.

Beginning with Watermark, Enya began to attract the attention of stalkers, several of whom succeeded in breaking into her castle and attacking some of the staff.[29] As a result, Enya spent an estimated €250,000 on security measures for her home, Manderley Castle in Killiney, County Dublin (named after Maxim de Winter's house in her favourite book and black and white movie, Rebecca).[10] In 1996, a man, who had been seen in Dublin wearing her photograph around his neck, stabbed himself after being ejected from her parents' pub in Gweedore, County Donegal.[10][22]

In 2006, Enya made it to the number three spot in the ranks of wealthy Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of €109 million (i.e., £75 million or US$165 million). This was enough to take her to number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006 of the 250 Wealthiest Irish People.[30]

Enya loves cats. In an interview published in 1988, when asked about pets, she replied: "I've got a cat. I love cats; at one stage I had 12. It was just bliss. They'd all lie around in the sun and then come up and climb around my neck."[31] Her favourite classical composer is Sergei Rachmaninoff. Her hobbies include watching romantic black and white films, collecting artwork, reading, and watercolour painting.[16] Enya spends much of her time at home in Donegal, where her parents still live.[32]

Notable awards

Enya has won four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album to date:

  1. Grammy Awards of 1993, Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons
  2. Grammy Awards of 1997, Best New Age Album for The Memory of Trees
  3. Grammy Awards of 2002, Best New Age Album for A Day Without Rain
  4. Grammy Awards of 2007, Best New Age Album for Amarantine

  Also, "May It Be" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song at the 2002 ceremonies, but it lost to Randy Newman's "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Irish pronunciation: [ˈɛnʲə pəˈtrɪʃə nʲiː ˈvˠɾˠiːn̪ˠaːnʲ]
  2. ↑ "Warner Music Australia - Enya | Warner Music Australia | Official Site". Warnermusic.com.au. http://www.warnermusic.com.au/enya. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  3. ↑ http://enya.sk/enya-faq.htm
  4. ↑ "Enya Wins Best Selling Female At World Music Awards | Hobbit Movie News and Rumors". Theonering.net. 2002-03-08. http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2002/03/08/14783-enya-wins-best-selling-female-at-world-music-awards/. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  5. ↑ "Enya's New Album Celebrates Winter". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99190609. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  6. ↑ "Enya Music (Used, New, Hard-to-Find)". Alibris. http://www.alibris.com/search/music/artist/Enya. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  7. ↑ Peretti, Jacques (2010-01-12). "Enya talks about her new album And Winter Came". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3562058/Enya-talks-about-her-new-album-And-Winter-Came.html. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 
  8. ↑ "RIAA: Top Selling Artists". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
  9. ↑ "Enya Profile - Celtic New Age Music Star Enya". Worldmusic.about.com. 1961-05-17. http://worldmusic.about.com/od/bandsartistsaz/p/Enya.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Enya FAQ at enya.com
  11. ↑ "Altan: National Geographic Music". Worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com. 2002-10-17. http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/artist/content.artist/altan. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  12. ↑ discography.enya.com
  13. ↑ "Enya Biography - ARTISTdirect Music". Artistdirect.com. http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/enya/427862. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  14. ↑ 'Eclipse' reversal referenced on official Enya site
  15. ↑ "Soundtracks for Green Card (1990)". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099699/soundtrack. Retrieved 14 February 2007. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Enya FAQ at fansites.hollywood.com
  17. ↑ "Into The mystic by Marc Weidenbaum (Feb, 2002)". Disquiet.com. http://disquiet.com/2002/02/01/into-the-mystic/. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  18. ↑ "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. 2001-03-05. http://ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/~topsi/deu2001/deu_2001t.html. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  19. ↑ VH1.com - Enya - May It Be
  20. ↑ Steve Watt (1961-05-17). "Enya ecard was brought to you by the Joy Luck Club". Thejoyluckclub.com. http://www.thejoyluckclub.com/Ecards/Heartfelt/Card13/enya.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  21. ↑ "Official announcement". Enya.com. 2004-09-19. http://www.enya.com. Retrieved 2004-09-19. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 McKittrick, David (2005-10-05). "Article at". London: News.independent.co.uk. http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article317211.ece. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  23. ↑ "Enya received honorary doctorate from NUI". Johnbreslin.com. 2007-06-29. http://www.johnbreslin.com/blog/2007/06/29/enya-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-the-national-university-of-ireland-galway/. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  24. ↑ Enya receives second doctorate
  25. ↑ "UU Honours Musician Enya". News.ulster.ac.uk. 2007-07-11. http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2007/3306.html. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  26. ↑ Enya on IMDB
  27. ↑ BBC.co.uk - Amarantine - Enya
  28. ↑ BBC.co.uk - BBC Review - It's like curling up in front of a log fire with a glass of your favourite Amontillado
  29. ↑ "Enya's castle invaded by stalker". BBC News Online. 3 October 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4305058.stm. Retrieved 14 February 2007. 
  30. ↑ [1] Times Online article - not found on 14 February 2007
  31. ↑ Number One magazine, 2 November 1988.
  32. ↑ http://www.irishdigest.com/?p=7348

External links

Enya
Studio albums
Enya (1987)  • Watermark (1988)  • Shepherd Moons (1991)  • The Celts (1992)  • The Memory of Trees (1995)  • A Day Without Rain (2000)  • Amarantine (2005)  • And Winter Came... (2008)
Compilations
Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya (1997)  • The Very Best of Enya (2009)
EPs
The Christmas EP (1994) • Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection (aka Christmas Secrets) (2006)
Box sets
A Box of Dreams (1997)  • The Enya Collection (2001)  • Only Time - The Collection (2002)
Singles
"I Want Tomorrow"  • "Orinoco Flow"  • "Storms in Africa"  • " Exile"  • "Caribbean Blue"  • "How Can I Keep from Singing?"  • "Book of Days"  • "The Celts"  • "Anywhere Is"  • "On My Way Home"  • "Only If..."  • "Only Time"  • "Wild Child"  • "May It Be"  • "I Don't Wanna Know"  • "Amarantine"  • "It's in the Rain"  • "Trains and Winter Rains"  • "White Is in the Winter Night"  • "My! My! Time Flies!"
As member of Clannad
Crann Úll  • Fuaim
Related topics
Discography  • Leo's Tavern  • New Age music  • Clannad  • Nicky Ryan  • Roma Ryan  • Manderley Castle  • Gweedore  • 6433 Enya  • Loxian