It’s been five months since we got the long-awaited Enya album and a lot has happened since then. The new ‘Dark Sky Island’ album page I finished this weekend summarizes the most important information. I also updated text and pictures at ‘About Enya.sk’ in case you want to learn more about this amazingly wonderful site.
P.S.: Let me know if you think I missed anything important about DSI, I’ll try to update the article with your info!
21 April 2016 at 2:15 PM
More pictures , video, please!!!!!!!!!
22 April 2016 at 6:38 AM
#purple GIF deserves the Adorable Award of the Century.
25 April 2016 at 2:33 PM
So… I don’t speak English well, but I understand what you write.
I love your blog – it’s my daily inspiration.
I believe that should continue this wonderful work (Google Translator wins #huehue).
Kisses from Brazil!
PS:Can I use your giphs (with the appropriate credits)?
25 April 2016 at 7:55 PM
Renata, I’m brazilian too!!!Write to me! patricia_cezar@hotmail.com.br
Patricia
26 April 2016 at 12:14 PM
@Patricia: hohoho, I’ll sent you a mail ;)
26 April 2016 at 5:11 PM
I was very unsure whether to provide a direct link to this article, or not?
It is a very lazy rehash by the English newspaper ‘The Mirror’ of an annual feature originally in the Irish newspaper ‘Sunday Independent’, (which is nearly entirely based on estimates and speculation).
It is really nothing more than file stories and file pictures that we have all read and seen before, but perhaps it may add to the collection of newspaper articles about Enya?
I finally decided to post here under ‘Five Months With Dark Sky Island’ as I suspect the estimates of Enya’s wealth in this most recent ‘Sunday Independent’ article are based on her recent sales so far of the new album.
http://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/topstories/inside-the-life-of-%E2%80%98recluse%E2%80%99-enya-%E2%80%93-the-singer-who-tops-the-music-rich-list-with-%C2%A391million/ar-BBsgs7L?li=BBr5KbJ&ocid=mailsignout
26 April 2016 at 7:32 PM
Correction!
The original article I provided the link to in the above post was in the Irish newspaper ‘The Sunday Times’ not ‘The Sunday Independent’ as I wrote by mistake. Apologies for any confusion caused. :-)
26 April 2016 at 10:41 PM
Hello Brian! I understand your hesitation as various versions of this article have been circulating and I decided not to post them. However, I must say that I have not seen the one you linked and after reading it, I believe it is by far the best one, all the others portray Enya as a bitter old recluse surrounded by cats. Maybe it’s because it was published on an Irish site?
27 April 2016 at 12:06 AM
Brian and Lucia
I read the article of the “Reclusive artist” and I didn’t like it at all. Same haters trying to push Enya down…If they don’t want or they don’t like Enya please don’t need to ‘write’ about her with a lot of speculation and lack of thruth. It’s desgusting. Nobody needs to love Enya like us but I’m tired to see her and her music without the respect they deserve.
>(
27 April 2016 at 12:07 AM
Yes, Renata! Lots of fun between us isn’t?
27 April 2016 at 11:52 AM
Hello Lucia and Patricia,
Perhaps I should explain that ‘The Sunday Times’ in Ireland is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper that publishes its ‘Rich List’ once a year. The ‘Rich List’ is little more than a table of successful people in all sorts of different categories of Industry, Services, and Entertainment and their estimated wealth.
The article in the link provided added content contributed by at least two other English tabloid newspapers ‘The Mirror’ and ‘The Sun’. This was then added to the MSN News Homepage where I first noticed it yesterday. The one thing articles like this reveal to those of us who have an interest or knowledge in different topics is how poor and inaccurate some journalism can be.
Having read both your replies I now consider it a mistake to have provided the link and I won’t do it again. :-/ My apologies for any offense posting the link to this article caused. :-(
Let me reassure you both I very much admire Enya’s music as you both also do. :-)
27 April 2016 at 4:05 PM
I once observed on this site how her siblings, Moya, Pól , Ciaran
and her uncles Noel and Padraig (i.e Clannad) were very open
and interactive with their fans. After a 2 1/2 hour performance
they would spend 1-2 hours with their fans, signing autographs,
chatting about Donegal, etc. Moya even hosts musical sightseeing tours of Ireland and the Caribbean.
Eithne always seemed to be the exact opposite.
However, since the release of Dark Sky Island, I have noticed
a change. Some of her interviews have been interesting beyond
the nornal talk of how and why she made the album. She
spoke about her personal preferences, her childhood experiences during the “Troubles,” the split with Clannad. We even learned her
father was not born in the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking section of
Ireland). Also, her appearance on Reddit not only gave some
interesting insights, but showed that she is willing to be more
interactive with her fans.
I think there has been a definite attempt to be more
responsive and shed past images.
Slán agus beannacht
27 April 2016 at 6:31 PM
No no no Brian, my dearest friend.
I wasn’t offended by your post but I felt this way in relation to some part of the press. After 27 years following Enya some things I can’t accept anymore. As Seoirse said a changed happened after Dark Sky Island and Enya is more open really with us, so this boring “reclusive artist’ thing is something I don’t accept anymore. They don’t have anything good to write?
And Brian I know you are a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE fan of her too of course you are! :-)
27 April 2016 at 8:56 PM
Seoirse, I very much agree with your observations. Some of the post release interviews Eithne has given about ‘Dark Sky Island’ have contained interesting insights into her personal life. For me a remarkable feature of the new album was the number of songs about an unrequited love she has experienced. Yes, the Reddit interactive interview was excellent.
Patricia, thanks for those kind remarks. I was in doubt as to whether I should have posted the link to the article or not. And that should have informed my decision. It was a terrible media stereotyped blend of past articles over many years. Not uncommon in journalism I’m afraid. Patricia did you get mt text message?
27 April 2016 at 9:19 PM
Brian, yes received and I’m ‘working’ on my answer to you hahhaha
Please one day more, I promise it it will be looooooooooong
:*
27 April 2016 at 9:33 PM
Take your time Patricia. There is no hurry. I just wanted to make sure I had your correct mobile phone number. :-)
27 April 2016 at 9:57 PM
Brian Honey… my correct phone number…I guess I didn’t receive your message over here. Just saw my mobile and there’s no messages from you ! Could you please send it again?
28 April 2016 at 9:15 AM
Hello Brian,
I was definitely not offended and I believe the link you posted can be a source of an insightful discussion. I know this kind of articles about Enya exists and I sometimes struggle with how to adress them – ignore them or post them but give context? It’s a question I still don’t have an answer to, so I appreciate when other fans share their opinion.
In words of Terry Prattchet, “A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.”
Hello Renata,
thank you for your message! I sometimes read the Brazilian Enya fanpages using Google Translate. You have a big and active community of fans.
28 April 2016 at 3:46 PM
“I’ve just dropped in to see you all
I’ll only stay awhile
I want to hear how you’re getting on
I want to hear you smile
I’m happy to be back again
And greet you big and small
For there’s no place on earth just like
The homes of Donegal
I long to see your smiling children
Standing by the door
The kettle boiling on the hearth
As I walk up the floor
And then to see a welcome free
For travelers one and all
For your hearts are like your mountains
In the homes of Donegal.”
From “The Homes of Donegal”
often sung by Leo Brennan
Says a lot more than any tabloid.
Does not sound like a place that a “bitter
recluse” would come from!
28 April 2016 at 4:09 PM
Seoirse….
AMAZING!!!! You made me cry….
28 April 2016 at 7:09 PM
“The Homes of Donegal” was written by
Sean McBride in 1955, he was from the
Rosses, a stone’s throw from where Eithne
was born and raised. If the people are like
the song, I would love to visit this area
some day. By all indications they are.
I can not imagine Eithne being any
different, despite all the tabloid hype.
28 April 2016 at 11:15 PM
I love your blog Lucia! Thank you for update it always… I’m from Paraguay and we speak spanish, so I learned a lot about Enya and english too… hahaha
2 May 2016 at 9:35 PM
I agree, the “recluse” label is really getting annoying now! And as of now, it’s completely false. Her HuffPost Live conversation with me two months ago and the Reddit AMA session with Lucia and other fans is indisputable proof that she’s slowly but surely opening up more. Plus, didn’t she say in the Reddit AMA that she doesn’t have any pets? Yet the press said she has three cats (that would be nice if it was true since I have five). Obviously, those writers have nothing better to write about…
3 May 2016 at 12:30 AM
Guys…the time passed away but I still thrilled with this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI-U6Rp0mpA
“There’s only one Enya (Patricia)” :D
WOW….impact, Briaaaaannn
3 May 2016 at 5:55 PM
Patricia!!!!! I remember this TV commercial here in Ireland. Seeing it again has my heart jumping, my throat swelling, and tears welling-up in my eyes. I don’t know why I’m fighting back the tears??
A wonderful, impacting, expensive, joyous commercial! Pity not many of these are seen anymore.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Thanks for sharing it Patricia!! :-D
P.S: Did you get my two e-mails?
4 May 2016 at 12:25 AM
YES, Brian, honey…so wonderful….I cried the first time I saw it…Enya in all her glory as always…I love when they write ” There’s only one Enya”…
And yes, honey, I received your two e-mails, just thinking about them to return them to you :D
I’ll share all with you…;-) You deserve it !
Oh my God, thanks for giving us Enya!
4 May 2016 at 1:36 AM
YES!!!! There is only one Enya. :-D I loved that line too. ;-)
I know the record industry has gone through a rough time in recent years with sales of full CDs being reduced due to download technology. Yuk!! :-(
But, I think a special exception should be made for an artist as talented as Enya and they should bring back full expensive commercials like this one for all her new albums.
Sadly, I only saw once a short commercial on the TV for ‘Dark Sky Island’ and it was nowhere near as good as the one you posted above. :-( Bring back expensive commercials for Enya!! Millions of Euros per minute. :-D
4 May 2016 at 2:02 AM
https://www.dropbox.com/s/itmhvsqibc9y4zq/one%20enya.png?dl=0
4 May 2016 at 4:22 PM
Nice 2 min review of Eithne’s career up to that point.
I would love the last verse of her last song of her last
album to be:
“This is my homeland, the place I was born in
No matter where I go it’s in my soul
My feet may wander a thousand places
But my heart will lead me back home to my Donegal.”
But hopefully that’s a long ways off.
4 May 2016 at 10:51 PM
Hey, this guy has made an amazing cover of Fallen Embers, as well as Even In The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjApF-gG5Ik&ab_channel=LuizKhalaf
Check it out!
4 May 2016 at 11:52 PM
Sounds really original Douglas. The young man sings it from deep inside his heart; and I think his version is really inspired.
What about Even in the Shadows?
You mean the young man blended the two songs? or? I didn’t understand that.
I’m pleased to see young people strumming their guitar so sweetly and originally, especially if they play Enya’s music. There’s hope, that’s what it makes me feel.
4 May 2016 at 11:56 PM
oops, sorry Douglas. I found the version of Even in the Shadows you’ve been talking about. Lovely!
I’ll surely rehearse that on my guitar for the summer!
The guy suited it perfectly for a single, unplugged guitar.
5 May 2016 at 3:37 PM
I sang “Dark Sky Island” at an Irish music session last
night. Trying to get some of my fellow musicians/singers
into learning, playing and singing some of Eithne’s
new creations.
5 May 2016 at 4:40 PM
Brian, they should back this kind of Advertising really. This is a pearl . After this one I didn’t see anything like this. I saw the one for Dark sky Island but we dont see the same impact. And when they did those one for And Winter came they selected beautiful scenes of Enya like her look at the camera in “Caribbean blue” and they did a mosaic very well done.
Because of the millions WEA spends to do this and because Enya sells always well they declined to do it, unfotunately.
6 May 2016 at 1:23 AM
Patricia, yes I agree WEA should really spend more on advertising for their biggest artists/musicians. But, I suppose the spend they do commit to is a “sign of the times” in the Record Industry.
Also, I suspect there may have been some doubt as to what sales Enya’s new album would achieve after such a long break since her last album, and consequently if there would be a sufficient return from a large advertising budget. Little did WEA, (or Enya), think what a big success ‘Dark Sky Island’ would be after only five months.
Do you know what I would really love to see? I would love to watch and download from You Tube all the main television advertisements going right back to ‘Watermark’. But, sadly many of these seem to have been lost over time. :-(
Many thanks for your e-mails Patricia! My reply is on its way very soon. :-D
10 May 2016 at 12:00 PM
Dark Sky Island es un gran disco! En mi opinión el mejor de los últimos dos que grabó. Todas las canciones me parecen buenas por igual y por eso me gusta de principio a fin. Espero que Dark Sky Island no sea su último álbum. Saludos desde Argentina, South America.
10 May 2016 at 2:37 PM
Dario I completely agree with you! It’s an unique identity through the songs. They are diverse but also they have the same direction. I also think DSI is the best so far
10 May 2016 at 6:06 PM
I’ve been listening to the beautiful ‘Shepherd Moons’ in the last couple of days.
One little observation which has intrigued and delighted me is both the resemblance of sounds/tone and theme/subject between the songs Ebudæ and The Forge of The Angels. I love both songs and both albums!
Looking forward to making lots more discoveries about ‘Dark Sky Island’ over many months to come.
10 May 2016 at 7:41 PM
Recently I had a few good opportunities for long night driving sessions on the mountain. And so I also had the delight to listen to DSI again and again without the enthusiasm of the newly released album.
So it slowly starts to be one more of those Enya albums whose sound is totally familiar to my memory and my senses.
The dark sky behind the tree tops of the forest; the smooth sound of the car rolling down the mountain road; and the fresh May air whistling smoothly around the car’s frame. And that’s more or less the place and the time where I encounter the Muse and Timelessness.
Always there, ready to take you to that same moment, same feelings; continue that same endless slow conversation; and those intervals of silence which flood an instance, every now and then, simply meant to confirm the natural consent which words hardly describe.
10 May 2016 at 8:12 PM
My favourite track on dsi is pale blue grass . I think its about birds .?..
Does anyone else like this track
10 May 2016 at 11:16 PM
Juliee….ME!!! Pale blue grass is one of my favorites and I think it’s based on a poem the same name. But I also love The Loxian gates and Dark sky Island, The humming….In fact listen to this album at least many times. It’s simply perfect!!!
The Loxian gates it’s an absurd!!!! :D
11 May 2016 at 9:48 AM
*Comments under this article have been moderated.*
Enya’s sexual orientation is her personal matter and I removed all posts related to the topic. I don’t care about who she decides to date, she’s an adult woman and she can do whatever she wants.
Also, I will not tolerate any insults directed at other commenters, Enya or the gay community. I was really disappointed by what went on here and I hope it won’t happen again.
11 May 2016 at 6:23 PM
Well done, Lucia. Thanks and sorry if I offended you giving an answer. I’ll never answer provocations again. I’m aso bothered.
Sorry
Patricia
11 May 2016 at 6:30 PM
Dark sky island tracklist people?
Mine TOP 5
1- The Loxian Gates – amazing the mix between traditional folk & synth. Melody to have goose bumps!!! :D Loxian lyrics also perfect, perfect melody….WOW
2-Pale Blue Grass – arrangement amazing, and I gues this could be on the regular edition too
3-The Humming…Oh my God those ” and all the years and Nemesis/ and …..and…made a very good effect on the song!!! Arrangement also great.
4-Dark sky island – Melodious and misterious too
5-The forge of the angelsssssssssssssss……..great instrumentations. It’s like Enya could make a “dialogue” between instruments and her voice.
And you guys? :D
11 May 2016 at 9:32 PM
I’ll leave Echoes in Rain and Even in the Shadows out of the list as I’ve listened to those two many more times than I listened to the rest album titles.
My No.1 choice is Astra Et Luna. The orchestral arrangement is in perfect unison to the genuine Enya sound. The melody is elegant and the lyrics just right.
2- The Loxian Gates & The Forge of Angels; those two are somehow equally appealing to me.
4- Solace. Its melody continues one same, single epos; a particular musical genre which exists in all her albums.
More than a couple more songs compete for the 5th position :)
11 May 2016 at 9:52 PM
1. Pale blue grass – love the words
2. The humming – love the beat
3. Even in the shadows
4, astra et luna
5. The forge of angels
My other favs off other albums
Are
Water shows the hidden heart
Storms in africa
Does any body know where I could get Enyas autograph from?
Its my dream to meet her one day. Think will never happen :(
12 May 2016 at 1:03 AM
Good question! I listen to songs from the album a lot while walking and driving, so I heard the uptempo pieces more often that the quiet one. The Loxian Gates is perfect for walking and I love listening to Echoes in Rain while driving and singing along.
But the most beautiful song from the album for me is Astra et Luna.
@Julie Getting autographs is not easy as Enya doesn’t do signings very often and she did none for Dark Sky Island. There were signed cds offered as prizes in competitions on enya.com in the past, so maybe it’ll happen again? I am reluctant to recommend eBay as the signed items are often expensive and/or fake. I’d certainly like to meet her too :)
12 May 2016 at 9:57 PM
Do u have her autograph Lucia ?
13 May 2016 at 12:32 PM
@Julie Yes, I have autographs of Enya and Roma but not signed in person. I won a competition on enya.com and received them by mail :)
13 May 2016 at 10:17 PM
Lucia
Wow thats amazing lucky you. Perhaps you will get to meet her one day as you have made this lovely site dedicated to her. She must be very pleased as this is definatly the best fan site. I love it and check on here every day for the last 2 years.
She might even come on here and read what us fans are saying. You never know. I look on instagram for #enya to see if any new photos of her their are some interesting ones on @enyaspain. And @enya2016
16 May 2016 at 7:46 PM
A Eithne,
Lá breithe sona duit, ar do 55ú bliain.
17 May 2016 at 1:33 AM
Hi guys!!!!
Just passing to show you my new site about Enya, in portuguese. This is my homage to her in her 55th anniversary!
enya.hostdroid.com.br
Thanks
Patricia
17 May 2016 at 4:18 AM
Hi, all.
I come from Indonesia.
I’m a fan of Enya since her first international debut Orinoco Flow single in 1988 and watermark album. Her music is so different and very inspiring to me. Adore her Gaelic – Latin – Japanese and mostly Loxian language created by Roma Ryan.
I collected all of her CD singles album, included the limited collectible : Only Time The Collections and Dark Sky Island Deluxe Version, but i don’t have the CD format only of it :(..
My fav songs from Dark Sky Island album are :
1. The Humming
2. Even In The Shadows
3. The Forge of The Angels
4. Echoes in Rain
5. The Loxian Gates
6. Diamonds on The Water
7. Pale Grass Blue
Hopefuly Enya next album will have summer theme / inspiration. More than A Day Without Rain.
I miss her gaelic and instrumental song. Will it be in 3 years from now ?
Thank’s and regards,
Robbie
17 May 2016 at 5:56 PM
Patricia, congratulations and well done on launching your beautiful web site on Enya’s 55th. Birthday.
Robbie, I am also a fan of Enya’s music since Orinoco Flow and Watermark. I agree with you about her adorable use of languages. Enya is one of the only musicians I know to use so many languages to suit her songs so perfectly.
I look forward to reading more of your posts Robbie.
18 May 2016 at 12:12 PM
Hi, Robbie. Saya org indonesia juga..
Salam kenal. I am a fan since 2012.
My fav from DSI:
1. Even in the shadows
2. The Humming
3. The Loxian Gates
19 May 2016 at 7:46 AM
Hi, Brian.
I see. well, there are two things i discovered and it’s kind of similarity. When you hear Anywhere Is ( from the album The Memory of Trees ), listen carefully to the drum beat. It’s similar with the drum that used in The Humming.
When you hear Only Time ( from the album A Day Without Rain ), listen carefully to the ticking instrument. It’s similar with the ticking sound that used in Diamonds on The Water.
Hi, SpecimenThings.
Salam kenal. Bangga karena ada juga penggemar Enya dari Indonesia. Apa ada tahu fans club atau web page penggemar Enya di Indonesia ?
Regards,
Robbie
19 May 2016 at 11:59 AM
Hi Robbie,
Yes, I will listen for the similarities between Anywhere Is from The Memory of Trees and The Humming from Dark Sky Island as you suggested. Thanks for your observations!
An observation I recently made is the resemblance of sounds, tone and theme, and subject between the songs Ebudæ and The Forge of The Angels as you may have read in one of my earlier posts under this page. I absolutely love The Memory of Trees and would probably estimate it as high as Watermark.
There is a lot to listen to, relate to, and understand in Dark Sky Island. That I am still doing, (and will do for some time I suspect), but reading your own impressions and favourites from the album, I would tend to agree with a lot of what you have written. Reading other people’s impressions and favourites there are three or four songs that are being named repeatedly.
I should point out that I think Dark Sky Island is a lovely new album. It is just one of those albums, (I know from my experience of other musicians I like), that will take time for me to fully appreciate. A “slow burner” so to speak. ;-)
Thanks again, Robbie.
20 May 2016 at 2:24 AM
Hi, Brian.
Thank you for the depth analyst.
Noticed that mostly in every Enya’s album started with an instrumental song, except Amarantine and Dark Sky Island.
Watermark – A Day Without Rain – Dark Sky Island are my fav album of all.
My! My! Time Flies ! and Even in The Shadows are two phenomenal songs to me, because it’s very different.
Regards.
Robbie
20 May 2016 at 11:55 AM
Hi Robbie,
I’ve just started playing my A Day Without Rain CD. It is too long since I last gave this album a spin.
As with all of Enya’s piano instrumentals, (especially at the start of her albums), I love ‘A Day Without Rain’. It is slow, gentle, and inviting. But, there are lots of tracks I love on this album. ‘Wild Child’, ‘Tempus Vernum’, ‘Silver Inches’, and ‘The First of Autumn’ to mention some. Actually, it almost unfair 0f me to mention any particular favourites from this album Robbie as I consider the whole album so accomplished.
It may not be to everybody’s taste, but I also think the collaborative artwork for the album between Sheila Rock and Simon Fowler deserves special mention. I really like it.
Like you Robbie, I have all of Enya’s albums, singles, B-sides, and most of her rarities. The trouble is my busy lifestyle allows me little time to enjoy them all. Thanks Robbie for prompting me to give A Day Without Rain a spin.
21 May 2016 at 1:19 PM
@Robbie Dulu pernah dengar ada fansite namanya Dreamerville dari Indonesia, tapi mungkin sekarang sudah tidak aktif. Mungkin karena nama Enya sudah asing lagi di Indonesia, tapi beberapa lagunya masih populer.
23 May 2016 at 7:35 AM
@SpecimenThings
Ayo dibuat fansite untuk gathering Enya fan di Indonesia.
@ Brian
You’re welcome :)
I just read from Enya official fanpage : http://www.enya.com
here’s the link : http://enya.com/2016/04/11/salvatore-dive-feat-enya/
Regards,
Robbie
24 May 2016 at 5:38 PM
Thanks very much for the news and the links, Robbie. The song could have escaped my attention if you had not drawn my attention to it.
‘Boadicea’ has been used yet again, (this time with permissions it would appear). From the little I’ve read about the artist, it seems that the song could be described as Dance/Urban.
Haha! I watched it in full on You Tube and felt very old knowing where the ‘Boadicea’ sample came from. Some who commented on You Tube seemed to think the song originated with The Fugees.
Thanks again Robbie. And do remember some of us “oldies” if you come across new Enya samples. At least I feel I’m up-to-date again with the respect being payed to Enya by some of these modern D.J’s/Producers/Recording Artists. :D
24 May 2016 at 11:16 PM
That Salvatore – Dive (feat. Enya & Alex Aris), is at least one generation beyond the original Boadicea song.
Currently there’s this Xfactor show playing on TV.
Fortunately, the judges are much kinder in their communication than those judges 5-6 years ago. So I often leave the TV play in the background, put off my earbuds and listen to those young artists who try to take a bite from the biggest cake currently available for beginners in the music industry.
I am older, no doubt, but there are, or there could be those certain circumstances where I could immerse into and enjoy that newer sound; why not, love it, some part of it a least.
But as the years go passing by I consider those 20-something year old aspiring artists and wonder if they can feel those certain ways the pre-cellular-phone generations used to feel.
Those generations who had black&white photography and colour imagination.
No doubt. In our era industrial production and distribution is the only way for a musician to survive.
But heck, never forget: music existed thousands of years before industry did. Food existed long ago before fodd can was invented.
Let us never forget that. Leo is a musician, Enya is a musician, Salvatore is a musician. And music as broad and available as never before.
Catchy sound. I’d love to hear one take of it recorded at Abbey Road studios with orchestra :)
26 May 2016 at 3:49 PM
HI J. Grinbo,
I agree with your thoughts,
‘I am older, no doubt, but there are, or there could be those certain circumstances where I could immerse into and enjoy that newer sound; why not, love it, some part of it a least.’
I like to keep up-to-date with how younger music producers use samples from my favourite musicians like Enya – especially if they have sought permission from Aigle Music/WEA. I also like to keep-up-to date with any musicians who would like to collaborate with Enya on a project. For me it shows how respected Enya’s music is.
One activity I would still have concerns about are covers or renditions of Enya’s songs. But, that doesn’t appear to be the case with more modern music producers that I have come across so far.
26 May 2016 at 8:32 PM
Hi Brian,
as always I hope you excuse my few typos and poor syntax.
I understand that someone “takes the earbuds off” instead of “putting them off’. Likewise “food” tastes better than ‘fodd’ :)
I heard concerns from several artists about cover versions of songs and sample ‘theft’. There’s plenty of media, Youtube, Grooveshark, and numerous others so it may be even harder for less popular artists to keep their work reserved. The vinyl-record era was so elegantly safe.
Nevertheless, for artists of Enya’s radiance I think the rights management concern lies more with the contracted company rather than the artist personally.
I am glad that I don’t need to make a living by creating copyrighted art. But surely many others need to, and I understand it is a very complicated legal procedure to protect someone’s intellectual property.
27 May 2016 at 12:54 AM
Hi J. Grinbo,
Not that it really matters, but in my humble opinion, your mastery of the English language is increasing all the time – apart from the odd typo or syntax error which we all make from time to time. :)
I don’t claim to have any particular knowledge of copyright law, or far less any insight into the music business, but I was merely expressing a personal reservation about many “covers” I hear, (quite apart from samples), in general terms.
With regard to Enya’s work for example, in the last couple of days I heard possibly 60 seconds or a fraction more of the highly respected Opera Singer Kiri Te Kanawa perform a stage rendition of Enya’s ‘May It Be’ among a wide collection of other songs by a variety of musicians. Now, the much talented Kiri performed the song with full operatic effect and backing orchestra, but I had to turn it off very quickly. It was just too much and too far removed in style from Enya’s original for me. Thinking further about this one example, my imagination tells me that perhaps Enya would be delighted and highly complimented to have such a respected Opera Singer as Kiri Te Kanawa sing one of her songs, (given her stated regard for Opera).
But, simply for me it didn’t appeal in the slightest. I’m well aware such a question would be very current at the moment given the avid discussion and speculation that is ongoing about Enya’s performance of her music in a live setting. That’s not a discussion I would know enough about music or performance to contribute to. The best I can do, (as I’m sure you recognise J.), is share my personal preferences.
I do however share the same sympathies as you about the very challenging commercial realities all musicians are faced with nowadays. It must be very difficult.
27 May 2016 at 1:42 AM
For Lucia,
Hi Lucia. :) I was just wondering if you have considered the possibility of keeping an updated page listing songs and musicians Enya’s music has been sampled in? Or maybe adding the information to your Guest Appearances page?
On the other hand, perhaps you might not consider this such a good idea as it is mostly, (if not entirely), ‘Boadicea’ that has been sampled by various musicians?
Just a thought.
28 May 2016 at 9:50 AM
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28 May 2016 at 6:21 PM
@Brian
Thank you for the suggestion, it is an interesting idea. I looked up Enya samples and it seems that she was sampled in over 60 songs! I certainly didn’t expect such a high number. I will probably list only the most notable ones (Rihanna, Salvatore, The Fugees…) and add a link to the complete list at the end of the page.
Scooter sampled Exile, who would have thought? I used to like one of their songs back when I was a teen. The sample is more of a cover really – a female singer sings over Enya’s melody – but I think it’s very well done. It’s a pity that the rest of the song is in such a different style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtiXUrQ-iD4
(fast-forward to 0:47 to hear the Exile sample)
30 May 2016 at 1:20 PM
Well, well well!
I have just looked up the Who Sampled app and had no idea of the extent to which a variety of songs by Enya have been sampled, covered, remixed, etc. I wonder how many of them were actually approved by Aigle Music/WEA?
I must admit I’m feeling a bit depressed now after listening to one example, and don’t feel in a hurry to discover any more. :/ Thanks for the information, Lucia.
22 June 2016 at 2:18 PM
It has just been announced in the last hour that Leo Brennan died this morning at 90 years of age. He was surrounded by all of his family in his final days.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
22 June 2016 at 3:20 PM
One of the last times Leo sang “Homes of Donegal”
https://youtu.be/jg91jCnVkrs
Moya and Pól Brennan accompanying him
opposite. Talented family? Go Cinnte !
Brian, Aontú le do chomhbhróin
22 June 2016 at 10:10 PM
Rest in peace leo. I will say a pray for your family x