HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
[SIMG]http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/11265enigma-sml.jpg[/SIMG]
By Megan McGibney
2006.10
Michael Cretu, the creator and mastermind behind the largely successful ambient/ New Age/electronica project Enigma, once said he sees an album as one big song. This has been his approach to every Enigma album he has produced since 1990. The albums are like journeys through different worlds and different spaces, leading the listener to places never felt before or even imagined.
Cretu does this again with the sixth and latest Enigma installment, A Posteriori. Latin for "after the fact," the album takes on a direction not seen in the previous five Enigma projects. Instead of examining life, love and spirituality, the theme of this piece appears to be transcendence and meditation. It brings to mind one of the first words off the first Enigma CD, "MCMXC A.D," "In the next hour, we will take you with us into another world ... into a world of music, spirit and meditation." And that is what happens here. Only you aren't going into another world, you're going beyond into outer space, surrounded by stars, Milky Ways and planets. The theme for "A Posteriori" seems to be about abandoning worldly concerns and looking above into the heavens, both literally and figuratively.
The album begins with Enigma's signature "horn," a rousing call for listeners to get ready for a musical experience. All of Enigma's albums begin this way, which often leads to a short introductory piece which gears up for what's in store for the entire project. However, with "A Posteriori," like "Voyageur" before it, the Enigma horn is blended into the first track of the CD. This gives new meaning to the name "enigma" as this leaves one unaware of what to expect from the album. This can through off some listeners but it can sum up the theme of the album.
It should also be noted that Cretu once said he enjoys trying something different with his works and likes to break his own rules.
After the Enigma horn, which has a galactic sound to itself, we go right into the first track "Eppur Si Muove," Italian for "and so it moves." This refers to Galileo and his remarks about the solar system, again indicating the outer space sound of this CD. These three words are repeated in a sort of chant, another or prayer. Its as though someone is saying those words in order to achieve a higher state of mind or float into the heavens.
Following "Eppur Si Muove" percussions set in and the electronic beats, calmer for the first track, begin to speed up. Its as though the electricity between heaven and earth is taking place, and so is transcendence: someone is taking off into space through mindfulness. Once there "Dreaming of Andromeda" begins. Laid back beats are indicating the wonder of what to do now since the person is now floating above the Earth. Lights are flashing and gathering around. Comets are flying by. Planets are luminous. For the rest of the album, the listener gets the sensation that someone is floating and flying through space, swimming past stars, galaxies and moons, all the search for a new experience or, rather, another level of consciousness.
To get there, though, the transcendent has to go through obstacles and challenges, temptations and doubts. We get that with "Dancing with Mephisto" and "Sitting on the Moon" as the person wrestles with the devil and, sadly, learns to let go of someone because he had to achieve this new mental path in his life. Techno strings wail in loss, while percussions thud at the sound of a battle, a confrontation and a challenge.
But the journey is mostly an ecstatic one, as the person trying to achieve a new mental state encounters love and peace. Songs like "20,000 Miles Over the Sea," "Invisible Love" and "Message from Io" indicate this. Electronic beats soar and dancing lightly across the gleaming solar lights. The person is swooping away through space, floating blissfully, with no cares or worries at all. "Sitting on the Moon" is the last song before the two finales, "The Alchemist" and "Goodbye Milky Way. " "The Alchemist" begins with those daring percussions and light techno strings begin to swirl. The person meditating is going through a change. Different facets are about to blended. A transformation is taking place. The person practicing transcendence has doing alchemy, by mixing his new self with the self that we all carry with us no matter what we go through. It brings to mind one of the first lines from Enigma's third album, "Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi!" "Things are changing, but nothing changes/And still, there are changes."
Once "Goodbye Milky Way" begins, the transformation is complete. The person has achieved a new kind of mental state; he has achieved transcendence. With this song, he says leaves the universe he once knew and goes to the new one. The farewell begins with the humming sounds of a child because this song is about a return to innocence and the child in us. The person who started this journey meditating has returned to his state of innocence, his true self. As he leaves, he reminds us all to love and live our lives. He teaches us what he has learned. As the stars take him away, he sings "Mission is over, mission is done/ I will miss you children of the sun/I will not desecrate/ goodbye Milky Way." This stage is over for our narrator, his work is done.
Or is it? Could this song really be Cretu saying farewell to all his fans, as this might be the last Enigma project? The song can be interpreted as either the former or the latter. There has been no word of Cretu saying "A Posteriori" will be Enigma's finale. In addition, he signed with Virgin Records to create Enigma projects until the year 2012. So, are there many more to come?
Even so, "A Posteriori" is a journey worth taking. It takes you to high altitudes and deep dimensions. It takes you to stars, moons and galaxies. It makes you envision a universe, instead of another world. Aforementioned, Cretu likes to break his own rules and try something different. No more otherworldliness for him, it seems. Now he is taking us into our solar system, a beyond. There's a certain peace that comes with that thought.
As serene as the listener may feel with "A Posteriori," he can't but feel a sense of disappointment. There's something missing here, something not quite Enigma. With the exception of "Eppur Si Muove" and "20,000 Miles Over the Sea," there aren't any Gregorian or ethnic chants here. But that's OK, the listener can adjust to that. But the problem is, there are hardly vocals on this album, it's almost entirely instrumental and sometimes the rhythm sounds like it is repeating itself over and over again. The lack of vocals, and constant instrumentals, can make this album sound very empty. The listener can either embrace it joyfully, as many Enigma loyalists have done already, or wonder if Cretu has lost his creative genius, which is another verdict some fans have offered.
Either way, "A Posteriori" holds your interest, despite its differences compared to the previous five albums. You can't help listening again and again. And before you know it, you may just find yourself liking the latest journey that is Enigma.
For more information, visit Enigma's official website. "A Posteriori" was released Sept. 25 on Virgin Records.
By Megan McGibney
2006.10
Michael Cretu, the creator and mastermind behind the largely successful ambient/ New Age/electronica project Enigma, once said he sees an album as one big song. This has been his approach to every Enigma album he has produced since 1990. The albums are like journeys through different worlds and different spaces, leading the listener to places never felt before or even imagined.
Cretu does this again with the sixth and latest Enigma installment, A Posteriori. Latin for "after the fact," the album takes on a direction not seen in the previous five Enigma projects. Instead of examining life, love and spirituality, the theme of this piece appears to be transcendence and meditation. It brings to mind one of the first words off the first Enigma CD, "MCMXC A.D," "In the next hour, we will take you with us into another world ... into a world of music, spirit and meditation." And that is what happens here. Only you aren't going into another world, you're going beyond into outer space, surrounded by stars, Milky Ways and planets. The theme for "A Posteriori" seems to be about abandoning worldly concerns and looking above into the heavens, both literally and figuratively.
The album begins with Enigma's signature "horn," a rousing call for listeners to get ready for a musical experience. All of Enigma's albums begin this way, which often leads to a short introductory piece which gears up for what's in store for the entire project. However, with "A Posteriori," like "Voyageur" before it, the Enigma horn is blended into the first track of the CD. This gives new meaning to the name "enigma" as this leaves one unaware of what to expect from the album. This can through off some listeners but it can sum up the theme of the album.
It should also be noted that Cretu once said he enjoys trying something different with his works and likes to break his own rules.
After the Enigma horn, which has a galactic sound to itself, we go right into the first track "Eppur Si Muove," Italian for "and so it moves." This refers to Galileo and his remarks about the solar system, again indicating the outer space sound of this CD. These three words are repeated in a sort of chant, another or prayer. Its as though someone is saying those words in order to achieve a higher state of mind or float into the heavens.
Following "Eppur Si Muove" percussions set in and the electronic beats, calmer for the first track, begin to speed up. Its as though the electricity between heaven and earth is taking place, and so is transcendence: someone is taking off into space through mindfulness. Once there "Dreaming of Andromeda" begins. Laid back beats are indicating the wonder of what to do now since the person is now floating above the Earth. Lights are flashing and gathering around. Comets are flying by. Planets are luminous. For the rest of the album, the listener gets the sensation that someone is floating and flying through space, swimming past stars, galaxies and moons, all the search for a new experience or, rather, another level of consciousness.
To get there, though, the transcendent has to go through obstacles and challenges, temptations and doubts. We get that with "Dancing with Mephisto" and "Sitting on the Moon" as the person wrestles with the devil and, sadly, learns to let go of someone because he had to achieve this new mental path in his life. Techno strings wail in loss, while percussions thud at the sound of a battle, a confrontation and a challenge.
But the journey is mostly an ecstatic one, as the person trying to achieve a new mental state encounters love and peace. Songs like "20,000 Miles Over the Sea," "Invisible Love" and "Message from Io" indicate this. Electronic beats soar and dancing lightly across the gleaming solar lights. The person is swooping away through space, floating blissfully, with no cares or worries at all. "Sitting on the Moon" is the last song before the two finales, "The Alchemist" and "Goodbye Milky Way. " "The Alchemist" begins with those daring percussions and light techno strings begin to swirl. The person meditating is going through a change. Different facets are about to blended. A transformation is taking place. The person practicing transcendence has doing alchemy, by mixing his new self with the self that we all carry with us no matter what we go through. It brings to mind one of the first lines from Enigma's third album, "Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi!" "Things are changing, but nothing changes/And still, there are changes."
Once "Goodbye Milky Way" begins, the transformation is complete. The person has achieved a new kind of mental state; he has achieved transcendence. With this song, he says leaves the universe he once knew and goes to the new one. The farewell begins with the humming sounds of a child because this song is about a return to innocence and the child in us. The person who started this journey meditating has returned to his state of innocence, his true self. As he leaves, he reminds us all to love and live our lives. He teaches us what he has learned. As the stars take him away, he sings "Mission is over, mission is done/ I will miss you children of the sun/I will not desecrate/ goodbye Milky Way." This stage is over for our narrator, his work is done.
Or is it? Could this song really be Cretu saying farewell to all his fans, as this might be the last Enigma project? The song can be interpreted as either the former or the latter. There has been no word of Cretu saying "A Posteriori" will be Enigma's finale. In addition, he signed with Virgin Records to create Enigma projects until the year 2012. So, are there many more to come?
Even so, "A Posteriori" is a journey worth taking. It takes you to high altitudes and deep dimensions. It takes you to stars, moons and galaxies. It makes you envision a universe, instead of another world. Aforementioned, Cretu likes to break his own rules and try something different. No more otherworldliness for him, it seems. Now he is taking us into our solar system, a beyond. There's a certain peace that comes with that thought.
As serene as the listener may feel with "A Posteriori," he can't but feel a sense of disappointment. There's something missing here, something not quite Enigma. With the exception of "Eppur Si Muove" and "20,000 Miles Over the Sea," there aren't any Gregorian or ethnic chants here. But that's OK, the listener can adjust to that. But the problem is, there are hardly vocals on this album, it's almost entirely instrumental and sometimes the rhythm sounds like it is repeating itself over and over again. The lack of vocals, and constant instrumentals, can make this album sound very empty. The listener can either embrace it joyfully, as many Enigma loyalists have done already, or wonder if Cretu has lost his creative genius, which is another verdict some fans have offered.
Either way, "A Posteriori" holds your interest, despite its differences compared to the previous five albums. You can't help listening again and again. And before you know it, you may just find yourself liking the latest journey that is Enigma.
For more information, visit Enigma's official website. "A Posteriori" was released Sept. 25 on Virgin Records.
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