I first started listening to Enigma about the time Return To Innocence was released and was played on the radio a lot. Most people I know don't listen to Enigma because they just don't know about them. Most people think they have never of heard them until you tell them some of their songs. Enigma are an electronic trance group and started a completely new music genre, Enigmatic Music.
The group was founded in 1990 by Michael Cretu, his wife Sandra (the "voice" of Enigma), David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in France. Enigma were one of the first recording groups to use a HD recording studio and their use of non-percussion instruments and voice samples such as the Shakuhachi Flute and Monk Chants makes their sound unique. I like to listen to Enigma when I need to chill out and relax, and although they do have a beat behind them this actually helps the music to flow.
Enigma first started to gain a following after their release of Sadness (Part I) which was quite controversial at the time for featuring Monk Chants and also sexual sounds played over a dance beat. Some say that this style was influenced somewhat by Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells III and The songs Of Distant Earth.
Michael Cretu states that the Enigma "sound" was inspired by him falling asleep on the London Underground. Their first album (MCMXC a.D.) is said to be about unsolved crimes and philosophical ideals such as the afterlife. In the early years it wasn't sure whether Enigma were actually a band, a group or just one person and this was mainly due to the fact that Cretu was cautious about the release of the album, and credited himself on the album as Curly M.C. and there was not much info about Enigma on the album sleeve. The anonymity was soon made null when there was a lawsuit filed against Enigma for the use of some of the audio samples in their music.
Enigma have had some of their music featured on TV and also in Movies. The single Return to Innocence has featured on several TV shows (The Outer Limits, Man Of The House, The L Word and My So Called Life), TV adverts (Virgin Atlantic) and even the Movie: Exit To Eden. Sadness (Part I) has been featured in the Movies: Boxing Helena, Cold Case and Charlie's Angels and has also featured on the comedy TV series Chappelle's Show.
My Top 10 Enigma Songs are:
01. Mea Culpa
02. Return To Innocence
03. Principles Of Lust
04. Sadness (Part I)
05. I Love You... I'll Kill You
06. T.N.T. For The Brain
07. Weightless
08. Northern Lights
09. Age Of Loneliness (Carly's Song)
10. Beyond The Invisible
I probably started listening to Fleetwood Mac when I was about 10, 11 or something like that because I remember getting their Greatest Hits album and it had only just been released and at the time I didn't really know who they were but because I always listen to all sorts of music people just used to buy me music instead of toys. When I listened to it I knew most of the tracks and I now think of it as one of my top 20 albums of all time.
Fleetwood Mac are an English/American cross breed who formed in 1967 in London. The group have gone through far too many changes in members to list them all but the most notable members of Fleetwood Mac are, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Fleetwood Mac are probably one of the most hard working bands of all time and have released many albums (sometimes three or four in a year). 1968 saw the releases of Carousel Ballroom, Mr Wonderful and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. In 1969 there were four albums, English Rose, Live In Amsterdam, The Pious Bird Of Good Omen and Then Play On.
Only one album was released in 1970 which was Kiln House, one in 1971, Future Games and one in 1972, Bare Tree. Mystery To Me and Penguin were released in 1973. Heroes are Hard to Find in 1974 and another two released in 1975, Fleetwood Mac which contained the hits Rhiannon, Say You Love Me and Landslide and In Chicago which again was a great album and a compilation. In 1977 they released the collaboration album Fleetwood Mac And Christine Perfect - Albatross which contained the massive hit Albatross and they also released another of their most successful albums the same year which was Rumours and is another of my favourite albums of all time and contains the songs You Can Go Your Own Way and You Make Loving Fun.
In 1979 Fleetwood Mac released Tusk and the song of the same name became another huge success along with the songs Sara and Think About Me and the album has sold over 4 million copies and they went on a tour of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany (where they toured with bob Marley), Netherlands, and the UK. During the tour they recorded the music for the Live album which was released in 1980.
Mirage was released in 1982 and contained the hits Wish You Were Here, Gypsy and Oh Diane. After this release they went on tour again and released the Boston Live album. 1987 was the release of Tango In The Night which went to #1 in the UK charts three times in one year and after this album Lindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac. In the following Decade they released several more albums (Greatest Hits, The Blues Collection, Behind The Mask, 25 Years - The Chain, Oh Well Live, The Blues Years, Time, Live At The BBC and The Dance (which saw the reunion of the old Fleetwood Mac).
In 1998 Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and it is reported that they will be collaborating with Sheryl Crow in 2009 and there are plans for a new album and a supporting tour.
Andy Jackson - Wisdom_mcr has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food And Drink, Music and Recreation and Sports. My name is Andy I'm 31 and I'm from Manchester, UK I like to read a lot (Discworld, Sci-Fantasy) and listen to music (The Doors, Wu-Tang, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix). I also try to be a skateboarder when I get time and. Andy Jackson - Wisdom_mcr's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.