Good afternoon. If you could just disrobe behind the screen, wrap this teeny-tiny towel around your nether regions and lie on your stomach with your face in the hole. Thank you.
Now, I'll warm my hands, apply essential oils and play ENYA !!
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (Enya Patricia Brennan) could hardly avoid being a musician. Her family, two brothers, a sister and two twin uncles, were the Irish Band Clannad. Completing the group was Nicky Ryan, their manager and sound engineer and his wife Roma. In 1980 when she was 19 Enya was brought in to the band playing keyboards and backing vocals.
By 1982 after a few internal issues, Enya, Nicky and Roma left to promote Enya as a solo artist. Things were a bit bleak for a while, Enya giving piano lessons and the Ryans scrimping and scraping enough money together to build a basic recording studio in their garden shed. In 1983 the three of them became directors of their own music company, Aigle Music. With Nicky as her producer and arranger and Roma as her lyricist they worked on and developed Enya's 'choir of one' sound, loosely based on Phil Spectors 'wall of sound' technique.
Her break came in 1987 when she was asked to compose a song for a TV show called 'The Celts'. The idea was that various composers would do one episode each. Enya had previously recorded a track named 'March of the Celts', purely coincidentally, so she sent it in. The producer of the show liked it so much he commissioned her to do the full series.
Titled 'Enya', the album of the soundtrack was renamed 'The Celts' for international release.
Then came Watermark in 1988.
Obviously the lead single and the song everyone always associates with Enya is 'Orinoco Flow'. Not surprisingly perhaps is that the album hit #1 in Ireland and New Zealand, but maybe slightly surprising is that it also made #1 in Switzerland !
The single 'Orinoco Flow' made #1 in Ireland, UK, Switzerland (again) and The Netherlands. Built into the lyrics were references to the co-producer of the album, Ross Cullum and the executive producer Rob Dickins ..
"We can steer, we can near
With Rob Dickins at the wheel
We can sigh, say goodbye Ross and his dependencies
We can sail, we can sail
(Sail away, sail away, sail away)"
Cheeky !!
Enya is possibly a strange choice for my review today, but to be honest, I really like some of her stuff (even though I dislike massages). In no particular order, from some of her later albums, these are amongst my favourites. 'Ebudae', 'Book of Days', 'Anywhere Is', 'Only If' and 'Only Time'.
Kick back, relax, stroke the cat and play some Enya. You'll be a better person for it.
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