Twenty years after emerging with the landmark Watermark album, Enya is set to release her seventh studio album And Winter Came on November 10th on Warner Bros. Records. And Winter Came is the latest instalment in a phenomenally successful career that has encompassed 70 million album sales and four Grammy awards.

Two years in the making, And Winter Came was recorded at Aigle Studios near Dublin. Once again the result of Enya’s longstanding creative triumvirate alongside producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, And Winter Came was originally envisioned as a Christmas themed album. As recording progressed, it became apparent that a broader seasonal theme had emerged; beguiling songs such “Trains and Winter Rains” sit comfortably alongside the festive “Journey of the Angels.” A single, title still to be confirmed, will be released on CD and digital download formats on the same day as the album.

And Winter Came is the latest release in a catalog of work that has seen Enya sell 70 million albums. Each album since Watermark has been a multi-million selling release: Shepherd Moons, The Memory of Trees, A Day Without Rain, Amarantine and the compilation Paint The Sky With Stars have all ensured that Enya is one of the world’s biggest selling female solo artists. A Day Without Rain earned multi-Platinum status in ten countries and made Enya the world’s biggest selling artist in 2001.

Enya’s musical creativity has also yielded continued recognition from a number of the world’s most authoritative awards organisations. She has collected four Grammy Awards, winning Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons, The Memory of Trees, A Day Without Rain and Amarantine, as well as three World Music Awards in 2002 for Best Selling Female Artist, Best Selling Irish Artist and Best Selling New Age Artist.

Enya has also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, both in conjunction with her musical partners Nicky and Roma Ryan for the song ‘May It Be’, which was written and recorded for Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship Of The Ring at the personal request of director Peter Jackson. ‘May It Be’ also won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Song and was also nominated for a Hollywood Golden Globe Award.

Starpulse | October 14, 2008