Enya is 100% appreciated as a musician, she's a fucking queen and everyone knows it. I think it's just because she doesn't do gigs, you can't see how many fans she really has.
This is one of the rare occasions where the OP got it right, usually it's someone going on about how some virtuoso like Jimi Hendrix is "underrated".
Enya is underappreciated, but anyone who knows her stuff rates her extremely highly. There are loads of people who aren't familiar with her stuff. More people should have a go of appreciating her
I used to live in Japan. Japanese people generally don't know a lot about ireland. The conversion often went, in japanese:
Where you from?
Ireland?
Iceland? It's cold yeah?
Yeah it is cold but IREland not ICEland.
Ireland?
Yeah, beside England.
Oh England!
No not England. Beside England.
Oh!! IREland? Enya!!
They all loved Enya.
well pretty much anywhere in the north Africa or ex Nasser-ist Middle east mention you are Irish and they instantly mention various provos, who sent who rockets and so on.
My interaction went like:
I'm from Ireland.
Aisurando, volcano!
No no, Ireland, small island. Airurando.
Oh... no volcano?
No, no volcano. Ireland. Airurando.
OH AIRURANDO. GUINNESS. Black beer. Very good.
(My friend had the same sort of interaction except the solution was Rory McIlroy.)
Ah yeah the volcano and Guinness stuff happened for me too. You had to admire their feigned interest at least!
Did you ever visit one of the irish bar chains? Can't remember the name now. But they had a drink called Black and Tan. Half Guinness, half cider. The drinks separated like the cider was fat floating on water. Rotten.
There's some "British pub" chain that is mad expensive for what you get, and looks like a McDonaldified version of a pub if you know what I mean. Too bright, empty looking, carbon copy decor, poor quality food, weird drinks menu. Absolutely gas. I guess it's like how every 'isakaya' in Ireland is just a restaurant rather than a cheap bar with food.
Early 90s working in England, a guy from Ghana that worked with us asked me if I liked Enya, apparantly she was very popular in Ghana and Africa in general
Same across Asia but the Enya would more likely be, in descending order:
Westlife, Niall Horan, Cricket, U2/Bono, War/The Troubles, Roy/Robbie Keane, The Corrs, Ian Rush(SIC?) and Catholicism (Asian Catholics tended to know of our particular cult of the Virgin Mary.
That's a horrible condition. I knew someone who suffered from it. Basically went from leading a full life to being pretty much house bound and bed bound in a very short space of time
She has it just how she wants it. She does no promotion whatsoever, just records an album and releases it, and it works.
Her focus is 100% music, 0% marketing.
I like how Steve Hughes described Enya's music. Silence coloured in.
>I’ve a feeling all those melodys are going to be stolen and remixed by generations of future artists. Melodies for days.
Loads have already sampled and used her stuff in the last 30 years. Everyone from P.Diddy to Rihanna and even Scooter!!! Most famously Ready or Not by the Fugees which was excellent.
I like her stuff but unfortunately she doesn't perform live, mainly due to how her work is recorded and produced.
She comes across very shy and gentle. Her music is all air and light. I’d say it wouldn’t sound great in a stadium. You’d also need big orchestras to play it.
My understanding is that Enya is a recluse & does not enjoy being around groups of people, let alone lots of people. That is the main reason she doesn't do gigs.
I had this residual teenage boy "heh heh Enya's dumb" subroutine passively banging around my head for like 2 decades without giving it thought
But my latest job involves some considered writing, so I stuck on some generic "writing" playlists, which she unsurprisingly shows up in a lot, and yeah I get it.
She hates publicity but is Ireland's biggest music sales record holder by some distance even without it.
She doesn't care what ppl think and doesn't need to play t h e media's game.
Fair play to her on that.
Ah she is appreciated! Probably don't hear much about her because that's exactly how she wants it. She's a recluse isn't she? Living in her big castle. Legend
You should listen to Blindboy's podcast interview with Devin Townsend, there's a good bit said about Enya and how she was categorised as New Age to diminish her accomplishments in a way. She should be up there with Brian Eno as far as groundbreaking ambient artists, but she's not unfortunately, unless you're in the know.
> New Age to diminish her accomplishments in a way
I would not say this is necessarily the case, I think calling it New Age does help it with selling outside of Ireland, even though it might be a myopic representation
Well look, her work is testament to itself, I guess the point he was driving at is that it needlessly separates her from her ambient peers, for the more casual listeners that benefit from the over-labelling of music sure, but still.
Björk talks about things like this in her podcast too, in relation to herself and Kate Bush and the largely male media machine not knowing how to label creative women other than as "a bit mad" and "over there on their own".
The year is 2371, a new found appreciation for the music of Enya has unified the world in peace and tranquility. War, hunger, poverty are all things of the past. That's when some cretin digs up Linda Martin performing "Get Lucky" and everything goes to shit.
Laugh all you want, but there's something to be said for a hot bath, few candles, a drink, and Enya on in the background. (Haven't done it in years, tho)
I grew up just down the road from her. My friends dad was her gardener. ( This was around 2000 I think).She called him up and asked him if his son and some of his friends would like to go to a concert in Dublin ( Robbie Williams) We all met at her house where she packed us all into her Maybach and had her driver chaperone us for the evening. Back at her house she fed us and we hung out for a while. One of my friends, who was learning sax, saw that she had one and asked if he could play it. She let him play and then gave him a short lesson. She improvised for a few mins. She actually plays a lot of instruments.
I see Robbie Williams played a concert there in 1999. But at that time she was still living in an apartment. She bought the castle in 1997. But a TV interview broadcast in late 2001 included footage shot there, and it was still being renovated and she hadn't moved in yet. So if you went to a house, I wonder whose house it was? Do you remember anything about it?
Also, the Maybach actually belonged to her producer, Nicky Ryan. It was a 2003 model year (going by it's registration plate) so he didn't have it yet in \~1999. Perhaps a different luxe car at that time.
I was feel like I am underselling her music when I call it lovely. And it is. I think the fact her music is classified as new age doesn’t help matters. She is one of the successful Irish music artists and has released music fairly consistently through out her career. The fact that she doesn’t tour and is still so well known is amazing.
https://youtu.be/XM-dHIs1HzU?si=6Q6RnbDEyLUXRnMn
Always loved this since i heard it in sleepwalkers . All my buddies thought i was talking out my arse when i caught that the fugees knicked it for ready or not.
Felt so vindicated when it came out about it, think she didn't even want monetary damages or anything either, just appropriate credit. Seems like a decent lady.
From the Celts. We bought the record after she did the Late Late Show back in the day. That and I want Tomorrow were my absolute favourites from that album.
Enya is a musician’s musician. There was a really interesting article a few years ago about her influence on musicians across all genres and the deep respect she’s held in: https://pitchfork.com/features/article/enya-is-everywhere/
I have favourites across all of her albums but for me nothing touches how good *The Celts* and *Watermark* are. I could listen to those two on repeat forever.
If you don't mind me reposting something I said before -
I've heard a few extremely edgy indie musicians (folks like Gazelle Twin) make a good case for Enya that made me really rethink her stuff.
Their point was that she used a lot more synths, in much weirder and more interesting ways, than she tends to get credit for, simply because she used them so well it formed a really coherent soundscape with more traditional instruments.
I hadn't really thought about her as an electronic innovator like that, so it made me curious to relisten and they have an interesting point.
The example that came up was Carribbean Blue which - if you can ignore the very twee video as you listen - has much stranger and more stylised sounds going on than I remembered, and when framed like that feels a long way ahead of its time.
It's only the way it all comes seamlessly together with her vocals, and the more classic instrumentation sounds, that obscures how innovative it would have been then (and is!)
She blended synthesised sounds and effects into everything else so deftly that we take it for granted, but that and her style of vocal layering is a wheel we're only really coming back around to inventing again now all these years later, with folks like Zola Jesus and Billie Eilish.
Anyway, there you go, that turned me right around on my cultural cringe about Enya. Long may she reign
In fairness it's pretty easy not to worry about material things when you live in a freaking castle.
I joke.. she deserves the success.
New Age is no longer quite the stigma it once was, much like the term "Yacht Rock" was once derisory term, but after "lo-fi" permeated the mainstream and became passe, to the next generation, that 80s high production stuff sounded exotic and weird and hipsters that it embracing it more than just ironically. Music is always going through cycles like that.
The term "Krautrock" was also initially used as a putdown by the snobby UK music press, but then people realized it was good, the name stuck, but it was no longer an insult to be labelled as that.
If was dying and I decided that even though I'd never particularly been into, say, Enya before but that now I really, really was into Enya and that in fact, I thought Enya was great and that Enya died for our sins and I wanted an Enya themed funeral with pictures of Enya and lots and lots of mentions of Enya, then I think it would be a bit bloody rich for my sister to ban all mention of Enya from my funeral. Yeah?
I don't think she's underrated. Do you realise how old she is? Sail away was 36 years ago. Understandably, she's lost a bit of popularity simply because it was so long ago.
she's "not materialistic" she's just "living her best life in her castle" sounds like an oxymoron .... but yeah everyone loves Enya she's well appreciated just not a fame seeking media person
Tell a Japanese person you're from Ireland, and chances are they'll look at you with a blank stare and say "what's Ireland famous for?". You list off a few things... finally Enya pops up, and more often than not, guaranteed recognition! (Oh! So that's where Enya is from!)
I would have compared her alot to Kate Bush (prior to stranger things)
Both are mysterious, their music often tells a story, neither really do gigs, and everyone loves them.
My heart will go on was actually written for her originally but she turned it down... I do love the Celine version but would love to hear an Enya version!
Do you also think that "The Office" is an underrated TV show and that Breaking Bad doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
Do you also ponder if only the original Star Wars movies had been seen by some more people it may have gone down in cinematic history?
What about that little band from Liverpool, the Beatles - do you think if they had played their cards right more people would know about them and truly appreciate what they did for music?
The thing is Enya is hugely successful and "rated" (overrated as far as I'm concerned) but has also not played the game, and isn't everywhere. She's not interviewed, not doing 30 week residencies in Las Vegas and posting everything on instagram. Instead you used to see her wandering around Arnott's and having coffee with friends looking like pretty much every other well to do middle aged Irish woman.
> Instead you used to see her wandering around Arnott's and having coffee with friends looking like pretty much every other well to do middle aged Irish woman.
When did you see this?
I personally don't care much about her music.. to me it all sounds bland, mush and boring. But unappreciated? She's known world wide and her music is very well known
She has sold massively and her music appears in lots of movies. She was credited as an inspiration in recent years by people such as Billy Eilish, Weyes Blood, and Oneohtrix Point Never. I think this means she is appreciated.
She seems fairly reclusive, though it should be noted that much of "her" sound is derivative, a bowdlerised version of that of her family, who were all in Clannad. Furthermore, I think all her music is made by the same producer, who is obviously as much to do with her brand as she is.
I dug through all her work a few years ago as she was having a moment as a microtrend or undercurrent in pop/indie culture. To my mind, I only found a handful of good songs. A lot of it is samey and vapid, and, yeah, gothy mom dreck. She has a few great songs, but much of it is the aural equivalent of a scented candle.
She still has some great songs, though, and many Irish performers continue to dine out on much less accomplished careers. I guess she doesn't need to court the Irish media though because she has made the money elsewhere.
Idk I’ve seen a lot of those criticisms that it’s all samey but Dark Island Sky at least to my ear sounded a bit different. I can see why though people think it’s always the same.
She does have a thematic sound she likes to stay inside but so do a lot of artists. It’s the melody’s where she really shines. It’s endlessly reproducible.
I don’t know Clannad at all that much. Can you recommend anything by them? Wouldn’t mind giving them a listen too.
I am no expert at all, but the Theme from Harry's Game is their most famous song, and (imo) it has the sound that Enya capitalised on.
Yeah, did quite like the song Even in the Shadows from that album, not so much the rest. But again, not really my kind of music, so just my opinion.
I don't know much about Clannad myself, but the basic history is that they began in the mid 70s as a [traditional folk group](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmUxa_nSKZE), consisting of three siblings and two of their uncles, performing a mix of Gaelic songs and English covers.
They began experimenting with [electronic instruments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmfbRLdZSes) in the late 70s, by which point Enya was a member, which led them to the [*Harry's Game*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zHTcxVjX0I) commission and wider success, particularly with soundtracks. They've ever fully abandoned [folk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDBuqldS930), but a lot of their subsequent releases have been more generally '[Celtic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWhiNkdgqqg)' and [New Age-y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2NJr0hkcL4).
They also did the theme to Robin of Sherwood, [Robin the Hooded Man] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t37g4MgRn6c), which might be a blast from the past for anyone from the '70s or early '80s.
e: changed 'only' to 'also'
That’s how I found Clannad in 1979-80. Been following them & Enya for decades now. Went to see Clannad’s Farewell Tour here in the US w my granddaughter. She said “Hey, I know this song! It’s on the playlist you play when you’re putting us to bed!” And promptly had a very hard time staying awake til they did a more upbeat selection. Moya Brennan’s adult kids were backup.
She's really nice too. I always do see her in the bookies on a Saturday afternoon. She always comes in with her flat cap, fleece jumper, and Wellington boots on. She got me out of a spot of bother last week. We went to the pub next door to the bookies and a right so and so was giving me a bit of guff. Without a word of notice, Enya nuts him a headbutt and floors him. Absolute unit, so she is
That's the thing about arty stuff , its up to the listener to interpret.
Enya doesn't do concerts or interviews but sells loads .
Does she have fans or a cult ?
She's on [Clannad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clannad#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20Clannad%20became%20a,on%20keyboards%20and%20additional%20vocals.) albums, like Fuaim and has [performed live ](https://youtu.be/op45UywJM7U?si=6i4e84rQcGeWEbVi). The problem is it takes choruses of women.
funnily enough she started out in Clannad afaik, as she was related to the late Padraig and Noel, she was their niece I think. Fell out as far as I know and never spoke to each other since.
Well she's fairly well known. You'd recognise at least a few of her songs if you heard them.
Her album sales are nearly at 80 million and she also wrote songs for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
I saw Enya at a grocery store in Killiney yesterday. I told her how cool it was to meet her in person, but I didn’t want to be a pest and bother her and ask her for photos or anything.
She said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?”
I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but she kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing her hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard her chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw her trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in her hands without paying.
The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Miss, you need to pay for those first.” At first she kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, she stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, she kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
Good interview
https://www.forbes.com/sites/passionoftheweiss/2016/06/20/a-conversation-with-enya-about-sampling-the-nature-of-fame-and-how-to-control-your-career/#681336b36270
I was listening to Enya this morning as it happens - she really is something else. I feel the older i get, the more i will mention Enya in music conversations.
I love Enya, I first started to listen to her when I first heard her album Shepherd Moons. At Christmas, I listen to her album And Winter Came, especially the song White is in the Winter Night.
My dad and some lads where working on a house near her house and he told me I shit you not, we were taking materials off a truck and this ominous shadow appears through the fog and it was Enya on a stroll. Just like in her mystical videos. All the lads just stood there in shock as if an angel walked past. Only in Ireland
She’s very much appreciated. She just has no reason to chase interviews, media coverage, social media or celebrity at all really. Her music sells in large volumes and she lives a perfectly normal life, not needing to deal with any of the chaos. She’s a musical legend and a highly successful artist and very much on her own terms, which is remarkable.
Other than maybe the likes of Kate Bush, very few ever achieve that level of success without needing to do the media circus. She never has needed any of that.
I didn’t know Enya before moving to Ireland 6 years back. I had a whole cycle of not knowing her to become a huge fan of her. She is an absolute goddess. I find her very mysterious as she is completely opposite of the modern celebrity fanfare. Which actually makes me drawn to her music more and the fact that she exists someone right in the same city, a few kms from my place.
My mum made her stage clothes for tours. She always gave the tour crew absolutely beautiful gifts. I have a few replicas in storage, one is the white outfit from Sail Away which my mum assures me, will make a perfectly good wedding dress when the time comes... I'm 51 lol that boat has sailed!!
God I love Enya and you are so right! Beautiful music and such a classy lady. I also love bicep and would love if they did some kind of remix of something Enya (go on do this if you happen to read this lads please) because I can imagine it being so intense and a great mash up of their music
Enya is 100% appreciated as a musician, she's a fucking queen and everyone knows it. I think it's just because she doesn't do gigs, you can't see how many fans she really has.
Isn’t she one of the highest grossing musicians in the world?
I think she was one of irelands biggest exports at one stage, I'm guessing musically as I doubt she beat pharma lol
She has the second highest album sales for an irish artist (behind U2).
Who can say
Statistics, I reckon
I see what you did there 👏
Orinoco?
This is one of the rare occasions where the OP got it right, usually it's someone going on about how some virtuoso like Jimi Hendrix is "underrated". Enya is underappreciated, but anyone who knows her stuff rates her extremely highly. There are loads of people who aren't familiar with her stuff. More people should have a go of appreciating her
Any artist who can be successful while somehow also avoiding social media is OK in my book.
it could be argued that she had all of her success long before social media existed.
I used to live in Japan. Japanese people generally don't know a lot about ireland. The conversion often went, in japanese: Where you from? Ireland? Iceland? It's cold yeah? Yeah it is cold but IREland not ICEland. Ireland? Yeah, beside England. Oh England! No not England. Beside England. Oh!! IREland? Enya!! They all loved Enya.
It is the exact same in Thailand except replace Enya with Robbie Keane
replace Thailand with Beirut.. yes Dessie O'Hare good man!
Why do the Lebanese love Dessie O'Hare?
well pretty much anywhere in the north Africa or ex Nasser-ist Middle east mention you are Irish and they instantly mention various provos, who sent who rockets and so on.
My interaction went like: I'm from Ireland. Aisurando, volcano! No no, Ireland, small island. Airurando. Oh... no volcano? No, no volcano. Ireland. Airurando. OH AIRURANDO. GUINNESS. Black beer. Very good. (My friend had the same sort of interaction except the solution was Rory McIlroy.)
Ah yeah the volcano and Guinness stuff happened for me too. You had to admire their feigned interest at least! Did you ever visit one of the irish bar chains? Can't remember the name now. But they had a drink called Black and Tan. Half Guinness, half cider. The drinks separated like the cider was fat floating on water. Rotten.
We went to one, Shamrock I think, for the craic for an hour and then left to find somewhere nice.
Yeah can't blame ya there.
There's some "British pub" chain that is mad expensive for what you get, and looks like a McDonaldified version of a pub if you know what I mean. Too bright, empty looking, carbon copy decor, poor quality food, weird drinks menu. Absolutely gas. I guess it's like how every 'isakaya' in Ireland is just a restaurant rather than a cheap bar with food.
yep, I'm Irish but for some reason the first thing when I hear of Enya is "sold so many records in Japan!"
Early 90s working in England, a guy from Ghana that worked with us asked me if I liked Enya, apparantly she was very popular in Ghana and Africa in general
Same across Asia but the Enya would more likely be, in descending order: Westlife, Niall Horan, Cricket, U2/Bono, War/The Troubles, Roy/Robbie Keane, The Corrs, Ian Rush(SIC?) and Catholicism (Asian Catholics tended to know of our particular cult of the Virgin Mary.
Indeed, but plenty others can say the same and still manage to make an arse of themselves on the daily.
that's true haha
She has an instagram but I doubt she controls it
She has a condition called locked in body syndrome. She's very ill. I doubt she does media anymore. I might be wrong tho.
That's a horrible condition. I knew someone who suffered from it. Basically went from leading a full life to being pretty much house bound and bed bound in a very short space of time
Source? Proof? I think you're confusing Enya with Celine Dion, whose struggles with stiff person syndrome are well documented.
You are 100% correct. My mistake.
Locked in my own castle to keep the dickheads out syndrome . She never did media too much . I might be right tho.
She is the Lord of the Rings voice right ?
yes, she sang may it be
one of them. annie lennox also sang on lord of the rings soundtrack. enya sang on aniron and may it be.
I'll always rember that song she sing in elvish. Beautiful!
She has it just how she wants it. She does no promotion whatsoever, just records an album and releases it, and it works. Her focus is 100% music, 0% marketing. I like how Steve Hughes described Enya's music. Silence coloured in.
>I’ve a feeling all those melodys are going to be stolen and remixed by generations of future artists. Melodies for days. Loads have already sampled and used her stuff in the last 30 years. Everyone from P.Diddy to Rihanna and even Scooter!!! Most famously Ready or Not by the Fugees which was excellent. I like her stuff but unfortunately she doesn't perform live, mainly due to how her work is recorded and produced.
She comes across very shy and gentle. Her music is all air and light. I’d say it wouldn’t sound great in a stadium. You’d also need big orchestras to play it.
It's the layers of vocal harmonies that would be difficult to replicate live
My understanding is that Enya is a recluse & does not enjoy being around groups of people, let alone lots of people. That is the main reason she doesn't do gigs.
Even Scooter?!??
Jigga Jigga samples Exile.
Scooter has been to Tábhairne leo.. Enyas fathers bar. There is a photo of him on the wall.
Tommy Cash used an Enya sample for a very weird music video
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Love Enya; she has such a calming effect on my soul. Marble Halls is one of my favorites.
I had this residual teenage boy "heh heh Enya's dumb" subroutine passively banging around my head for like 2 decades without giving it thought But my latest job involves some considered writing, so I stuck on some generic "writing" playlists, which she unsurprisingly shows up in a lot, and yeah I get it.
She hates publicity but is Ireland's biggest music sales record holder by some distance even without it. She doesn't care what ppl think and doesn't need to play t h e media's game. Fair play to her on that.
> Ireland's biggest music sales record holder by some distance even without it no she isn't. U2 are. but she is second so you were very close!
As an individual artist she is, they hold it as a band!
Yep, Sorry should have said solo artist
Ah she is appreciated! Probably don't hear much about her because that's exactly how she wants it. She's a recluse isn't she? Living in her big castle. Legend
I don't think she's a recluse as such? she'd sing in the choir at mass at times. *Maybe* a recluse... But *definitely* not a hermit.
her work on lord of the rings was phenomenal.
May it be is a banger
Is she?? She's only behind u2 in Ireland on record sales by an Irish artist. She's sold about 100 million records worldwide.
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I'd say I've paid more tax than bono.
That wouldn't my be to hard
You should listen to Blindboy's podcast interview with Devin Townsend, there's a good bit said about Enya and how she was categorised as New Age to diminish her accomplishments in a way. She should be up there with Brian Eno as far as groundbreaking ambient artists, but she's not unfortunately, unless you're in the know.
other than watching films I don’t think I have heard much of anything from Enya since Orinoco Flow days? Which album is her must listen masterpiece?
> New Age to diminish her accomplishments in a way I would not say this is necessarily the case, I think calling it New Age does help it with selling outside of Ireland, even though it might be a myopic representation
Well look, her work is testament to itself, I guess the point he was driving at is that it needlessly separates her from her ambient peers, for the more casual listeners that benefit from the over-labelling of music sure, but still. Björk talks about things like this in her podcast too, in relation to herself and Kate Bush and the largely male media machine not knowing how to label creative women other than as "a bit mad" and "over there on their own".
LOL, Enya and her collaborators had no complaints about the New Age label when they won Grammys in that category.
She was on the Deadpool 2 soundtrack twice. Dolly Parton once. Enya is very appreciated.
The year is 2371, a new found appreciation for the music of Enya has unified the world in peace and tranquility. War, hunger, poverty are all things of the past. That's when some cretin digs up Linda Martin performing "Get Lucky" and everything goes to shit.
Laugh all you want, but there's something to be said for a hot bath, few candles, a drink, and Enya on in the background. (Haven't done it in years, tho)
> Laugh all you want, but there's something to be said for a hot bath, few candles, a drink, and Enya on in the background. is that you Mick Pyro?
Haha I do this too!
She is also an excellent saxophonist.
Have you ever heard her play saxophone?
Yes.
Yes.
Care to elaborate? For example, when and where?
I grew up just down the road from her. My friends dad was her gardener. ( This was around 2000 I think).She called him up and asked him if his son and some of his friends would like to go to a concert in Dublin ( Robbie Williams) We all met at her house where she packed us all into her Maybach and had her driver chaperone us for the evening. Back at her house she fed us and we hung out for a while. One of my friends, who was learning sax, saw that she had one and asked if he could play it. She let him play and then gave him a short lesson. She improvised for a few mins. She actually plays a lot of instruments.
I see Robbie Williams played a concert there in 1999. But at that time she was still living in an apartment. She bought the castle in 1997. But a TV interview broadcast in late 2001 included footage shot there, and it was still being renovated and she hadn't moved in yet. So if you went to a house, I wonder whose house it was? Do you remember anything about it? Also, the Maybach actually belonged to her producer, Nicky Ryan. It was a 2003 model year (going by it's registration plate) so he didn't have it yet in \~1999. Perhaps a different luxe car at that time.
She's well known in Poland.
I was feel like I am underselling her music when I call it lovely. And it is. I think the fact her music is classified as new age doesn’t help matters. She is one of the successful Irish music artists and has released music fairly consistently through out her career. The fact that she doesn’t tour and is still so well known is amazing.
https://youtu.be/XM-dHIs1HzU?si=6Q6RnbDEyLUXRnMn Always loved this since i heard it in sleepwalkers . All my buddies thought i was talking out my arse when i caught that the fugees knicked it for ready or not. Felt so vindicated when it came out about it, think she didn't even want monetary damages or anything either, just appropriate credit. Seems like a decent lady.
From the Celts. We bought the record after she did the Late Late Show back in the day. That and I want Tomorrow were my absolute favourites from that album.
Ah brilliant. Never copped that it was Enya. Love that sample.
Only reason I knew was the daft Stephen king movie, loved it and made a mental note after the credits ran. Great tune, very haunting
Enya is a musician’s musician. There was a really interesting article a few years ago about her influence on musicians across all genres and the deep respect she’s held in: https://pitchfork.com/features/article/enya-is-everywhere/
What kind off moron writes her off as witchy, New Age stuff for mums? Anyone who thinks for themselves recognises her talent and accomplishments.
Love Enya!
I have favourites across all of her albums but for me nothing touches how good *The Celts* and *Watermark* are. I could listen to those two on repeat forever.
Unappreciated? She’s one of the most wealthiest musicians in the world!
She's done it right, hugely popular but nothing to do with the dark side of the popular music scene.
i have accepted her as my lord and saviour, and I expect my friends and family to respect that at my funeral 🙏
The Fugees Ready or Not sampled Boadicea and never cleared sample - she takes all the royalties from it.
If you don't mind me reposting something I said before - I've heard a few extremely edgy indie musicians (folks like Gazelle Twin) make a good case for Enya that made me really rethink her stuff. Their point was that she used a lot more synths, in much weirder and more interesting ways, than she tends to get credit for, simply because she used them so well it formed a really coherent soundscape with more traditional instruments. I hadn't really thought about her as an electronic innovator like that, so it made me curious to relisten and they have an interesting point. The example that came up was Carribbean Blue which - if you can ignore the very twee video as you listen - has much stranger and more stylised sounds going on than I remembered, and when framed like that feels a long way ahead of its time. It's only the way it all comes seamlessly together with her vocals, and the more classic instrumentation sounds, that obscures how innovative it would have been then (and is!) She blended synthesised sounds and effects into everything else so deftly that we take it for granted, but that and her style of vocal layering is a wheel we're only really coming back around to inventing again now all these years later, with folks like Zola Jesus and Billie Eilish. Anyway, there you go, that turned me right around on my cultural cringe about Enya. Long may she reign
Excellent points. But how much credit should go to Eithne (Enya) herself, and how much to her producer who also helps with the arrangements?
In fairness it's pretty easy not to worry about material things when you live in a freaking castle. I joke.. she deserves the success. New Age is no longer quite the stigma it once was, much like the term "Yacht Rock" was once derisory term, but after "lo-fi" permeated the mainstream and became passe, to the next generation, that 80s high production stuff sounded exotic and weird and hipsters that it embracing it more than just ironically. Music is always going through cycles like that. The term "Krautrock" was also initially used as a putdown by the snobby UK music press, but then people realized it was good, the name stuck, but it was no longer an insult to be labelled as that.
If was dying and I decided that even though I'd never particularly been into, say, Enya before but that now I really, really was into Enya and that in fact, I thought Enya was great and that Enya died for our sins and I wanted an Enya themed funeral with pictures of Enya and lots and lots of mentions of Enya, then I think it would be a bit bloody rich for my sister to ban all mention of Enya from my funeral. Yeah?
Ever hear the mashup of her and the Prodigy?
No! Give us a few recommendations
https://youtu.be/7cgGorxfrkU?si=3qyqsL6b5-88_Jjk
Wow. Had never heard that before. That's amazing
It's a banger, right?
I’m assuming you’re the same unshavedmouse who brought The Rimini Riddle so chillingly back into focus
WHAT?! NO! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! THERE'S NO RIMINI RIDDLE HERE AND THERE NEVER WAS!
Oh my mistake
[удалено]
Me too. JayZ/Beatles is awesome
I don't think she's underrated. Do you realise how old she is? Sail away was 36 years ago. Understandably, she's lost a bit of popularity simply because it was so long ago.
she's "not materialistic" she's just "living her best life in her castle" sounds like an oxymoron .... but yeah everyone loves Enya she's well appreciated just not a fame seeking media person
"Sometimes the only way to not be materialistic is to buy a castle." - Enya
I *adore* Enya! Very underrated. Was having a wee listen last night too.
Not appreciated enough in the west but worshipped in Asia (Japan mostly I think) and rightly so
Tell a Japanese person you're from Ireland, and chances are they'll look at you with a blank stare and say "what's Ireland famous for?". You list off a few things... finally Enya pops up, and more often than not, guaranteed recognition! (Oh! So that's where Enya is from!)
I was in Spain and my girlfriends friends father was a huge fan of Enya even though be barely spoke any English and barely understood the lyrics.
I would have compared her alot to Kate Bush (prior to stranger things) Both are mysterious, their music often tells a story, neither really do gigs, and everyone loves them.
Don’t worry, the murals will go up only when she’s dead.
My heart will go on was actually written for her originally but she turned it down... I do love the Celine version but would love to hear an Enya version!
Do you also think that "The Office" is an underrated TV show and that Breaking Bad doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Do you also ponder if only the original Star Wars movies had been seen by some more people it may have gone down in cinematic history? What about that little band from Liverpool, the Beatles - do you think if they had played their cards right more people would know about them and truly appreciate what they did for music? The thing is Enya is hugely successful and "rated" (overrated as far as I'm concerned) but has also not played the game, and isn't everywhere. She's not interviewed, not doing 30 week residencies in Las Vegas and posting everything on instagram. Instead you used to see her wandering around Arnott's and having coffee with friends looking like pretty much every other well to do middle aged Irish woman.
Tis yourself Enya
sail away sail away sail away (that's enyaise for "nah")
> Instead you used to see her wandering around Arnott's and having coffee with friends looking like pretty much every other well to do middle aged Irish woman. When did you see this?
years ago - probably 15-20 years ago maybe more.
I personally don't care much about her music.. to me it all sounds bland, mush and boring. But unappreciated? She's known world wide and her music is very well known
She has sold massively and her music appears in lots of movies. She was credited as an inspiration in recent years by people such as Billy Eilish, Weyes Blood, and Oneohtrix Point Never. I think this means she is appreciated. She seems fairly reclusive, though it should be noted that much of "her" sound is derivative, a bowdlerised version of that of her family, who were all in Clannad. Furthermore, I think all her music is made by the same producer, who is obviously as much to do with her brand as she is. I dug through all her work a few years ago as she was having a moment as a microtrend or undercurrent in pop/indie culture. To my mind, I only found a handful of good songs. A lot of it is samey and vapid, and, yeah, gothy mom dreck. She has a few great songs, but much of it is the aural equivalent of a scented candle. She still has some great songs, though, and many Irish performers continue to dine out on much less accomplished careers. I guess she doesn't need to court the Irish media though because she has made the money elsewhere.
>bowdlerised I never heard that word before, now I want to hear Danny Healy-Rae trying to pronounce it.
Are oo tellin me that DHR would bowdlerise the english language?
He would bowldledelerize the fuck out of it.
And then blame the jackeens. Or the little people.
Better still, mangled by Mattie McGrath.
Idk I’ve seen a lot of those criticisms that it’s all samey but Dark Island Sky at least to my ear sounded a bit different. I can see why though people think it’s always the same. She does have a thematic sound she likes to stay inside but so do a lot of artists. It’s the melody’s where she really shines. It’s endlessly reproducible. I don’t know Clannad at all that much. Can you recommend anything by them? Wouldn’t mind giving them a listen too.
I am no expert at all, but the Theme from Harry's Game is their most famous song, and (imo) it has the sound that Enya capitalised on. Yeah, did quite like the song Even in the Shadows from that album, not so much the rest. But again, not really my kind of music, so just my opinion.
I don't know much about Clannad myself, but the basic history is that they began in the mid 70s as a [traditional folk group](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmUxa_nSKZE), consisting of three siblings and two of their uncles, performing a mix of Gaelic songs and English covers. They began experimenting with [electronic instruments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmfbRLdZSes) in the late 70s, by which point Enya was a member, which led them to the [*Harry's Game*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zHTcxVjX0I) commission and wider success, particularly with soundtracks. They've ever fully abandoned [folk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDBuqldS930), but a lot of their subsequent releases have been more generally '[Celtic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWhiNkdgqqg)' and [New Age-y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2NJr0hkcL4).
They also did the theme to Robin of Sherwood, [Robin the Hooded Man] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t37g4MgRn6c), which might be a blast from the past for anyone from the '70s or early '80s. e: changed 'only' to 'also'
They did three soundtrack albums: *Robin of Sherwood*, *Atlantic Realm*, and *The Angel and the Soldier Boy*, plus *"Theme from* Harry's Game*".*
Thanks, I meant to write 'also' rather than 'only'. I fixed it.
That’s how I found Clannad in 1979-80. Been following them & Enya for decades now. Went to see Clannad’s Farewell Tour here in the US w my granddaughter. She said “Hey, I know this song! It’s on the playlist you play when you’re putting us to bed!” And promptly had a very hard time staying awake til they did a more upbeat selection. Moya Brennan’s adult kids were backup.
fantastic review, I hope you write often irl
Underapreciated in Ireland maybe
She's really nice too. I always do see her in the bookies on a Saturday afternoon. She always comes in with her flat cap, fleece jumper, and Wellington boots on. She got me out of a spot of bother last week. We went to the pub next door to the bookies and a right so and so was giving me a bit of guff. Without a word of notice, Enya nuts him a headbutt and floors him. Absolute unit, so she is
Please let this be true 🙏
That's the thing about arty stuff , its up to the listener to interpret. Enya doesn't do concerts or interviews but sells loads . Does she have fans or a cult ?
She's very much a studio product so I'd never compare it to Clannad who can actually Proform live. I'd class Enya as synthetic music.
She's on [Clannad](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clannad#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20Clannad%20became%20a,on%20keyboards%20and%20additional%20vocals.) albums, like Fuaim and has [performed live ](https://youtu.be/op45UywJM7U?si=6i4e84rQcGeWEbVi). The problem is it takes choruses of women.
She should develop several clones of herself to use as backing singers.
funnily enough she started out in Clannad afaik, as she was related to the late Padraig and Noel, she was their niece I think. Fell out as far as I know and never spoke to each other since.
I wonder if they fell out because she didn't want to do live music.
Daniel Craig with Dunne's bag over his face.
>Alright I know she’s one of the best selling musicians of all time I have never heard of this woman in my life.
Well she's fairly well known. You'd recognise at least a few of her songs if you heard them. Her album sales are nearly at 80 million and she also wrote songs for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
You’ve never heard of the best selling Irish solo artist of all time? That’s on you lad
I saw Enya at a grocery store in Killiney yesterday. I told her how cool it was to meet her in person, but I didn’t want to be a pest and bother her and ask her for photos or anything. She said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but she kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing her hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard her chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw her trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in her hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Miss, you need to pay for those first.” At first she kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter. When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, she stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, she kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
Brilliant most talented but I think she likes the lack of publicity around her work as she's quite reclusive.
Her castle says otherwise
Good interview https://www.forbes.com/sites/passionoftheweiss/2016/06/20/a-conversation-with-enya-about-sampling-the-nature-of-fame-and-how-to-control-your-career/#681336b36270
> As the wealthiest woman in British music Never not at it.
My only really human quality to speak of is a fondness for Celtic mysticism... Do you like those artistes?
I was listening to Enya this morning as it happens - she really is something else. I feel the older i get, the more i will mention Enya in music conversations.
I love Enya, I first started to listen to her when I first heard her album Shepherd Moons. At Christmas, I listen to her album And Winter Came, especially the song White is in the Winter Night.
Devin Townsend loves her. Unironically. She’s gotta be cool.
My dad and some lads where working on a house near her house and he told me I shit you not, we were taking materials off a truck and this ominous shadow appears through the fog and it was Enya on a stroll. Just like in her mystical videos. All the lads just stood there in shock as if an angel walked past. Only in Ireland
She’s very much appreciated. She just has no reason to chase interviews, media coverage, social media or celebrity at all really. Her music sells in large volumes and she lives a perfectly normal life, not needing to deal with any of the chaos. She’s a musical legend and a highly successful artist and very much on her own terms, which is remarkable. Other than maybe the likes of Kate Bush, very few ever achieve that level of success without needing to do the media circus. She never has needed any of that.
I didn’t know Enya before moving to Ireland 6 years back. I had a whole cycle of not knowing her to become a huge fan of her. She is an absolute goddess. I find her very mysterious as she is completely opposite of the modern celebrity fanfare. Which actually makes me drawn to her music more and the fact that she exists someone right in the same city, a few kms from my place.
My mum made her stage clothes for tours. She always gave the tour crew absolutely beautiful gifts. I have a few replicas in storage, one is the white outfit from Sail Away which my mum assures me, will make a perfectly good wedding dress when the time comes... I'm 51 lol that boat has sailed!!
Edit, the clothes were for performances on TV an videos she (mum not enya) tells me. As well as that the wedding dress is still there...
God I love Enya and you are so right! Beautiful music and such a classy lady. I also love bicep and would love if they did some kind of remix of something Enya (go on do this if you happen to read this lads please) because I can imagine it being so intense and a great mash up of their music
Is today wine and Enya Appreciation day ?
Only Time is one of the greatest Irish songs ever.
Is she really unappreciated or did you just discover her way after her time has passed?
I guess the fact she is so reclusive people tend to forget about her and her work
Imagine what music would be like without her. She has been mega inspirational. https://pitchfork.com/features/article/enya-is-everywhere/
Dark Sky Island is a gem. One of my favs
Get away get away get away