Enya

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Enya : biography

17 May 1961 –

Her signature sound uses simple arrangements with extensive multi-tracking vocals. The vocals are performed individually, and are then layered together to form a virtual choir, although all the voices are Enya herself.BBC.co.uk – BBC.co.uk – Enya’s vocal range is mezzo-soprano. 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.

On the album Amarantine Enya sings in Japanese and Loxian, a language invented by Roma Ryan. The vocabulary is formed by Enya singing the notes to which Roma provides the phonetic writing. There is no official syntax for Loxian. 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 several songs relating to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, including 1991’s "Lothlórien" (instrumental), and 2001’s "May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya), and "Aníron" (in Sindarin)—the latter two, which she composed, appearing in Peter Jackson’s movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and its soundtrack album. "May It Be" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Enya’s performances are "semi-live", using playback music and singing. She has given live performances on various television shows, events and ceremonies (her most recent appearance was in Gweedore 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 does not 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".

Discography

This is only a partial listing of albums produced by Enya.

Studio albums
  • 1987: Enya
  • 1988: Watermark
  • 1991: Shepherd Moons
  • 1995: The Memory of Trees
  • 2000: A Day Without Rain
  • 2005: Amarantine
  • 2008: And Winter Came…
Compilation albums
  • 1992: The Celts (Enya re-release)
  • 1997: Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya
  • 2009: The Very Best of Enya

Video releases

The first official home video collection of music videos by Enya, Moonshadows, was issued on VHS by Warner Music in 1991, containing most of her music videos up until that point. This release occurred in both the UK and North America.

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 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.

Enya is featured in featurettes included with the 2003 BBC Video DVD release of The Celts, including performances of several songs videotaped in the late 1980s. This release was available in both the UK and North America.

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, documentaries from that release, and videos from Enya’s post-2001 albums. This DVD (formatted as Region 0) included North America.

Music videos

The following is a list of music videos that Enya has released:

  • "Aldebaran" (1987)
  • "I Want Tomorrow" (1987)
  • "Orinoco Flow" (1988)
  • "Storms in Africa" (1989)
  • "Evening Falls" (1989)
  • "Exile" (1990)
  • "How Can I Keep from Singing?" (1991)
  • "Caribbean Blue" (1991)
  • "The Celts" (1992)
  • "Book of Days" (1994)
  • "Anywhere Is" (1996)
  • "On My Way Home" (1996)
  • "Only If…" (1997)
  • "Only Time" (2000)
  • "Wild Child" (2001)
  • "Only Time (Remix)" (2001)
  • "May It Be" (2001)
  • "Amarantine" (2005)
  • "It’s in the Rain" (2006)
  • "Trains and Winter Rains" (2008)