Enya presented her latest accomplishment, to be released on November 21, at a special show at the Planetarium Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

“We’ve spent two years working on the album so it is obviously a very exciting time for me when everything finally comes to fruition and people get to hear what we’ve been doing.”

“Composing is a very slow process for me,” admits Enya who, while working in her own studio in Ireland, has often fought creative battles with long-time collaborator Nicky Ryan. “We are in the studio alone; anger and stress arise when our visions take different directions. Sometimes Roma has to settle our arguments,” adds the composer and producer [1], referring to his wife and lyricist who is another essential member of the creative team.

No tension is, however, evident on the new, approximately 50-minute, recording. The songs are full of hope and peace as well as passion and melancholy. “Music is a way to escape from everyday routine and find a moment to think about how beautiful the world is,” confesses the singer whose song ‘Only Time’ became a radio staple in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The new album is – from the opening ‘Less Then A Pearl’ to the closing ‘Water Shows The Hidden Heart’ – full of sublime melodies.

There are playful symphonic passages and nods to classical music and the trio’s Irish roots. The disc offers also up-tempo songs, like ‘It’s In The Rain’ or ‘Long Long Journey’, with easily memorable choruses you will hum along upon first listening. This description applies also to the title track, Amarantine. The word means everlasting or immortal. “Poets use the word to describe an everlasting flower and I loved the image of that,” Enya explains the origin of the album title.

The new record features another trademark of this 44-year-old singer, whose real name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin and who started her musical career in the family folk band Clannad – ethereal ballads like ‘If I Could Be Where You Are’, ‘Someone Said Goodbye’ or ‘Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)’, the latter based on a haiku by the Japanese poet Basho and like the other two songs, sung in Loxian [2].

This new language was invented by Roma Ryan. The idea arose when Enya was invited to record songs for The Lord Of The Rings soundtrack, including the Oscar-nominated hit single ‘May It Be’. “It allowed us to create the right sound and words, so the poetry of the lyrics fits the music,” remarks Ryan.

At the presentation in the Planetarium Hamburg, impressions from Amarantine were multiplied by plastic projections on the arched ceiling which illustrated the moods of the songs. Their theme was the night sky and clouds. The spectators made trips to various parts of the universe, saw satellite shots of the Earth, watched the planet spinning and snow, rain and leaves falling; trees reached out to them with their branches, they were carried away by psychedelic pictures and even a laser show illustrating the dancy ‘The River Sings’. “It was very creative and inspiring,” said the surprised singer.

Enya’s fans might see some of the projections at her concerts – if she does tour. “With each album, we talk about concerts. After the success of my first album Watermark, the recording company wanted me to record another, since it always takes me so long. Then there was The Lord Of The Rings and so on. Maybe it will happen this time,” said the singer who has released 6 albums to date, including a compilation, ‘Paint The Sky With The Stars’, and sold 65 million copies worldwide.

[1] Nicky has never been credited as a composer on any of Enya’s albums.

[2] ‘Sumiregusa’ is in Japanese, not in Loxian.

IDnes: Marek Dvořáček | November 9, 2005
translated by Merciful Squirrel