Enya,
born Eithne Ni Bhraonin on May 17, 1961, spent most of her childhood growing up
in Gweedore (situated in the north-west of Ireland). She was one of nine
siblings, including four other girls and four boys. All of the children became
involved in the music scene at a very early age and became famous in national
traditional music circles.
In 1980, Enya joined some of her fellow family members in an Irish folk music
group called "Clannad" (which stood for "the family from Gweedore" in Irish).
The group consisted of three of her siblings along with two of their uncles.
The clannad clan
Enya, having studied the piano and
classical music throughout school, was persuaded by the group's manager, Fachtna
O'Kelly, to provide vocals and play piano during the recording of its two
albums, Crann Ull and Fuaim. She performed and toured with the
group on many occasions, however, she left Clannad in 1982 for undisclosed
reasons.
Enya moved to Artane, the northern part of Dublin, shortly thereafter, and
shared a house with her friend Nicky Ryan and his wife, Roma. All three had been
involved musically with Clannad at one point or another. Nicky Ryan worked as a
sound engineer with the group in its early beginnings. In 1984, Enya was
persuaded by former group manager Fachtna O'Kelly to devote herself to composing
music for films, clearly recognized for her superb musical talent.
She took this advice into serious consideration and shortly thereafter sent her
demo tape to film producer David Puttnam, who already had such titles as
Midnight Express and Chariots of Fire to his credit. Puttnam
immediately asked Enya to compose music with a dreamy and romantic feel for the
feature film, The Frog Prince.
Enya and the celts
Her next endeavor was to prepare a music composition for a BBC television
documentary series titled The Celts. This series was about the history of
the Celtic civilization throughout its 2700 years. Enya played nearly all the
instruments on the album and sometimes doubled up as many as eighty voices to
create a very characteristic sound.
The composition took ten months to complete and included collaborations from
Nicky and Roma Ryan. Nicky acted as producer and co-author of the musical
arrangements, while his wife Roma wrote nearly all the lyrics. The music was so
well liked that the BBC decided to release a selection of her music as a
soundtrack entitled Enya. The record climbed its way to number one in the
Irish charts, which propelled the commercial rise of this multitalented
musician.
Shortly thereafter, Enya signed with an important multinational
record company, WEA, and saw outstanding success
with her second album, Watermark. The album sold more than 10 million
copies worldwide, and has gone platinum in fourteen different countries, with
the help of the single "Orinoco Flow" (Sail Away).
Her follow-up album, Shepherd Moons, achieved even greater success by
selling over 11 million copies and spent 199 weeks on the Billboard charts in
the USA. The album also earned Enya a Grammy award in 1992 for Best New Age
Album.
Sailing
away with her
In 1995, she re-released her debut album, Enya under the title The
Celts, and released her highly anticipated third album, The Memory of
Trees, shortly thereafter. The latter garnered Enya yet another Grammy Award
in 1997 for "Best New Age Album." In 1997, she also released a compilation album
titled Paint The Sky With Stars, which included a selection of Enya's
better known hits along with two new songs.
After a five-year disappearance from the public eye, Enya returned in the year
2000 with her fourth and latest album A Day Without Rain. The five-year
delay was due to the fact that she played all of the instruments on the album
and was also responsible for all of the vocals. Once again she collaborated with
Nicky and Roma Ryan on the production of the album.
Most recently, the smash hit single "Only Time," from her latest album, appeared
on the soundtrack for the film, Sweet November starring Charlize Theron
and Keanu Reeves. There are talks of Enya performing live for a special TV
performance at some point in the near future. The only obstacle holding her back
is that she can't play every instrument and sing at the same time during a live
performance. As a result, the sound would not be true to its original form.
However, she is intent on giving it a try.
Apart from that, many of Enya's fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting the release
of her fifth album. Judging by the substantial time delays between her previous
albums, we may be waiting for quite some time, but we're sure -- as most of her
fans would agree -- that it's well worth the wait.
Discography:
Interview Disc
Paint The Sky With Stars: The Best Of Enya
Themes From Calmi Cuori Appassionati
Enya - Wild Child
Enya - Only Time
Enya - May It Be
Enya - Exile
Enya - Amarantine
Enya - The Celts
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