description: original hummed or gentle singing is central to upbeat songs
Adiemus 
This group founded, produced and composed by Karl Jenkins, combines the rich vocal textures of Miriam Stockley with a very full orchestral backing. The language of the songs is a made-up one, inspired by African, Celtic and Arabian languages. The most famous, and probably the best, song from this project is the title-track Adiemus (from the first album) which has featured in the Delta Airlines commercial as well as a few others. Five albums have been released by this group (four original albums, and one 'best of' compilation). Besides the title song mentioned, all the other songs are neither bad nor exceptionally breathtaking -- the albums and tracks all start to sound a little similar.
This is a curious project: a soundtrack album entitled The Merlin Mystery released for a book with the same name. The music is composed by Julia Taylor-Stanley, Ian Lynn and Miriam Stockley (who is the lead singer for Adiemus). The album contains moody music featuring ethereal female vocals and the occasional drumming. The book is a puzzle book in which a successful reader could win a prize. Julia Taylor-Stanley used the text and illustrations in the book as inspiration for each of the fourteen tracks. Although there is synthesiser work, the rich musical tapestry is provided by The Merlin Philharmonic Orchestra as well as traditional instruments with sisters, Shelagh and Sheryle Gwynfar providing the main vocals and the author of the book, Jonathan Gunson, providing narration. Too often such 'soundtracks' are provided as an afterthought -- but this album is a wonderful addition and can be enjoyed without any need for the actual book. The soundtrack is available separately from Earthtone Records and was released in 1998.
Diane is the wife of prolific new-age composer/producer David Arkenstone. Together the two formed the recording-company NeoPacifica through which they have published a variety of well-produced meditation music and new-age artists. Diane has released two albums to date, the first being very new-age orientated. However it is Diane's second solo offering Aquaria (subtitled: a liquid blue transcendence) that is probably the best work the label has released to date. As you read reviews of this album across the Internet, descriptions like "seductive" and "enchanting" will keep cropping up. This is because Aquaria is a stunningly immersive journey that drags one beneath the waves into another world with it's airy synthesisers, programmed drumloops, earthy rhythms, electronic basslines and Diane's wispy Mythos-like vocals floating in and out of the mix like the ocean-tide. The album opens with a beckoning whisper that starts the 9-minute opus World of Light before kicking into gear with shakuhachi melody, light hip-hop drums and wordless intonations. About halfway through, the track moves into a more eerie territory with its rhythmic harp arpeggios panning from left-to-right, distant flutes and piano. The Water Garden is a much darker work with its growling synth basslines, atonal synth-horns, slowed violin and panflutes. Tracks move effortlessly from Celtic new-age, as on Through the Veil, to synth-orientated tracks like the title-song Aquaria. If the oceans had a soundtrack album, this would surely be it!
The Cirque du Soleil is a world-renowned circus troupe originating in Quebec, Canada. They are known as the circus without animals, preferring to concentrate on acrobatics. Their productions combine music, artistry, acrobatics and other incredible physical feats into a highly creative fairytale. For each of their productions, they have composed and released suitably-melodramatic accompaniment music covering a wide variety of musical styles and origins (not surprising considering the performers come from over 50 different countries!). Although their earlier albums are far more acoustic and therefore not of as much interest to Enigmatic fans, more recent productions such as the haunting vocals and intimate folk qualities of Quidam and especially the global tribal rhythms and sounds of Dralion will appeal more to fans of Enigma, Deep Forest and Enya. Special thanks to Alan O. Wong for providing some of this info
Coming across as heavily-inspired by Enya and Clannad (and occasionally feeling like a direct copy of them), the debut album m'Anchelii by Enam has one thing that differentiates it: the singer is a man! However, the swathes of multi-layered, non-lyrical alto-style vocals create a very warm, relaxing atmosphere and don't sound vastly different from any other artists listed in this category. As with Enya some tracks are completely instrumental, featuring piano and sparse synths. The majority of the songs feature beautiful themes, as on Socata Del Siero and Way Down the Hills, backed by rather simplistic and lightweight arrangements. Unfortunately, despite the occasional use of more exotic instruments and sounds, the music never dares to stray into uncharted territory -- leaving one with a sense of déjà-vu and the fact that the album has little to differentiate it from the artists to which it's being compared.
Enya is easily the most famous Irish female singer ever. She has been hugely successful worldwide with her five albums, published between 1986 and 2000. Enya's unmistakable sound is created by multi-layering vocals so that they create a rich and warm sound. She reportedly sings all the lyrics many times over, instead of using basic digital copying which would make it sound too clinical. For all her albums, her producer and the man responsible for the sound is Nicky Ryan. His wife, Roma, writes all the lyrics. Enya plays a myriad of instruments herself, and also composes each and every song. Her first album is a soundtrack to the television series The Celts which features arguably her best song Boadicea with a haunting hummed refrain and ominous tribal drumming. However the follow-up album Watermark was to be the one to gain Enya world recognition with her most famous song, the highly-infectious and uplifting Orinoco Flow (many people will know this song as "sail away, sail away, sail away...") Her third album was Shepherd Moons, and then The Memory of Trees which is one of my favourites from her. Listen to Pax Deorum off that album, for enigmatic chanting and moody atmospheres. All Enya's albums are laced with piano-only instrumental tracks as well as the usual radio-friendly hit single or two. A greatest hits collection Paint the Sky With Stars was released as well, featuring all her hit-singles to date. Finally in 2000, after a rather lengthy absence, she released A Day Without Rain which has more strings and pizzicato (another favourite of hers and Ryan's). Although perhaps her shortest and most lightweight album to date (concentrating heavily on the more hit-orientated style of hers) it proved that Enya is still as successful as ever: the album sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and won her a Grammy for Best New Age Artist 2001. Enya received even more worldwide attention recently when her unmistakable singing was featured in the film "Lord of the Rings" with her hit-song May it Be. Although her albums are not remarkably different from one another and never stray from the formula, they should be seen as an ongoing journey through a remarkable career.
Composed by Ingo Hauss, with lyrics by Hayo Panarinfo (both from Germany) and featuring the vocals of Irish-born Cora O'Donavan, this project's 1998 debut-album Time Passengers will appeal to anyone who enjoys Enya or Adiemus with its swirling synth-pads, pizzicato strings, bells and multi-layered Celtic-style English and non-English vocals. The first track, World of Wonders for example is very reminiscent of Enya's Caribbean Blue or Orinoco Flow. Unlike its comparisons, F.R.E.U.D. also make use of percussion, drumming and some electronic basslines on many tracks. It's all very joyous and inspiring, especially when the backing choir is used to support Cora's voice in the choruses. Thanks to Marcelino and Tim for recommending this artist.
Lisa was the lead singer for Dead Can Dance before going solo. Her first solo album was entitled The Mirror Pool and is similar to Dead Can Dance, but less dark and thankfully there are no male vocals this time. Her second solo album was entitled Duality and was another collaboration, this time with Pieter Bourke. The album consists of Lisa's haunting vocals (only one track though is English lyrics) combined with electronic rhythms and synthesiser, not very different from the style that made Dead can Dance famous. She most recently collaborated on Hans Zimmer's stunning score for the film "Gladiator". If you enjoyed that group or Delerium and Adiemus it is a worthwhile album to get.
The Irish television and film composer, who shot to stardom with his remarkable music for The Lord of the Dance released a solo album Solas in 1997. The album is filled with uptempo songs performed by Leslie Dowdall which are instantly memorable for their infectious melodies. The music is very layered, and is mostly synthesisers and keyboards but each track also showcases Hardiman's truly inspiring piano melodies which counterpoint the vocals beautifully. The first single Far Away features a distant chant in amongst the ominous music. A wonderful synth-meets-acoustic album, with English and Celtic singing. His follow-up album, Anthem was released to an enthusiastic fanbase who weren't to be disappointed. Although Ronan began to explore different styles on this new album, central still to the songs are his beautiful catchy piano themes, female vocals and dance basslines. One of the best tracks, Salve combines semi-operatic vocals with gentle harp, hip-hop beats and a large male choral accompaniment for the chorus.
Another French group that is producing superb Enigmatic music. Laurent Colson is the composer/producer/arranger behind this group, while female singer Naoline writes the somewhat-erotic lyrics and performs the seductive, mysterious vocals. Each track on the album, The Edge of Eternity features English singing, and is most reminiscent of Enigma's debut album and the vocal tracks of the more recent Delerium albums like Karma. The title-track starts with a large choir, before drifting back into a subdued atmosphere and eventually becoming a powerful dance song.
At the forefront of each song from this Canadian group is piano, acoustic guitar, synthesisers and beautiful female humming. The songs are composed by Bob D'Eith (who plays the piano and is the main producer) and Paul Schmidt (guitars and co-producer). Both are very well-trained performers and create songs that have distinct rhythm as well as ethereal female vocals. The debut album of this group was Introspection, released in 1996. However in 1998 they published a self-titled album, which is easier to get a hold of nowadays. This album contained 9 of the best tracks from Introspection as well as seven new ones - which makes it the best introductory album to the group. Songs like Sirens and June are true examples of high-quality mood music. The album following this in 2000 is entitled Reality of a Dreamer and continues the group's style, although overall it is more new-agey and not as impressive as Mythos before it. The booklets and cover illustrations are distinctive artworks by Bruvel, featuring clowns and other circus drawings.
A very mysterious project by this name has released an album entitled A Storm of Dreams. The album consists of deeply layered, ambient instrumental music with much spoken verse -- it is assumed the words are from Nostradamus' quatrains.
Pia is Gaurangi Devi Dasi who has performed with the likes of Boy George, John Richardson and Dream Academy. Her debut solo album, published in 1998 by the New World Music label, is entitled Benediction Moon and features 6 ambient and moody songs ranging from dark to light. Mostly New-Age synthesiser music and multi-layered female vocals, as the booklet mentions: "If you like Enya and Clannad, you will adore Pia." All tracks are composed by Pia and Peter J Booker who also provides the keyboards and programming. There is some African djembe drumming and rhythm on the fairly lengthy tracks, with the epic Siren Song being the most impressive track on the album. In 2000, she released her follow-up album which continues in the style of her debut.
Although technically there are very few vocals on her albums, Monica deserves to be mentioned in the Enigmatic category. Her albums combine emotive classical harp with modern dance-beats and keyboards. Born in Chile, she now lives in Sweden where she collaborated with Per Andréasson whose idea it was to make such a marvellous marriage of sound. Two albums have been released: The Wind From the Sea published in 1993, and the exceptionally beautiful Moai in 1997 published by MNW Records Group AB. Monica does speak and sing on some of the songs, but the main attraction is her expressive and superb harp-playing combined with Andréasson's moody, upbeat music. Silencio Profundo serves as the perfect introduction to their music, high-pitched harp and almost trip-hop like drumloops. Ocean features an unyielding techno-beat and an infectious chorus theme. Eternidad is one of the best tracks on the album, beginning all dark and slowly we are introduced to a plaintive Spanish guitar melody later combined with the harp. Pensameintos (which means 'pondering') would in all likelihood be the best track on the album. For that track, Monica sings in her smoky voice along with humming, heavy drumloops and the usual beautiful harp sounds. The album ranges from relaxing titles to the much more lively ones, and if you enjoy the artists mentioned in this category you owe yourself a listen to Monica Ramos. Her new album, the 12-track Behind That Light released in 2001, is a disappointing follow-up with its lighter, more pop orientated route. The album features more vocals and a more 'live' feel than on previous efforts.
Well if the word 'spirit' is in the project-name there's a good chance it'll be a Klaus Zundel production: there's been Ancient Spirit, Sacred Spirit and even World Spirit. And indeed the Brave is at it again; no sooner had he finished Moroccan Spirit, did he start work on this new project featuring one of Native America's best-known singer/songwriters, the angelic-voiced Rose Moore. The two had collaborated before on some tracks for Zundel's most recent Sacred Spirit album. The 13-track album was released in September 2002 and contained some well-known Zundel songs like Nanita and Dela Dela.
This Welsh-born songwriter released a solo album Child of Transference in 1999 under the New World Music label. The album features multi-layered vocals (a trick that Enya does) along with brooding synthesisers, ominous effects, electronic rhythms and a smattering of acoustic guitar. Wendy's voice is very evocative and she is most of the time humming or singing in a made-up, rhythmic language. However her vocals do not feature throughout, the album is largely instrumental but well constructed and layered. There are also references to psychology, such as the title which relates to a phenomenon Freud diagnosed, and the track Animus Anima which is named after concepts formulated by psychologist Carl Jung.
This exceptionally talented Japanese lady has written numerous songs for other artists and worked on the music for more than 200 television commercials! Her first, full-length album Mai is a haunting collection of music, each track features Sugai's voice multi-layered many times. This is the same technique Enya uses to create a full body of sound, one voice sounds like a choir. Eight of the songs are original compositions, while the remaining two are based on traditional Japanese folk songs. Ethnic drumming, Chinese flutes, Koto and washes of synthesiser are to be heard throughout. If you are looking for something different from Enya, but with that same unmistakable mood, look no further than Eri Sugai.
Eric Mouquet, one half of the revolutionary group Deep Forest, opted for something different with this project published in 2000 by Universal Music France. He features primarily as keyboardist and arranger on this curious concept-album which is intended as a 'soundtrack' to accompany the popular French graphic-novel series of the same name -- each track corresponds to different parts of the story. Philippe Malempré came up with the idea and, along with his good friend Henri-Denis Golenvaux, composed a host of beautiful and romantic French songs with lyrics co-written by Jean Luc Goossens. Mouquet was then invited to flesh out the songs with his usual flair for exotic synth-arrangements, as well as compose some tracks of his own. Frail chanteuse vocals flow in and out of a mixture of synth and classical moods all supported by electronic and acoustic drumming making for an uplifting, more pop-orientated album. Mouquet effortlessly moves from Celtic-French-traditional fusion in tracks like Terre du Nord and Terre du milieu to more intimate French ballads like Mon Bel Amour with its heart-wrenching piano; from the minimalist darkness of the various spoken tracks to the infectious carefree sound of the pizzicato-strings in Louve. The sweeping, epic work of La mémoire des vivants - Part 1 & 2 makes it the highlight of the album with its rousing vocal theme underpinned by ritualistic drumbeats all culminating in an inspiring distant tin whistle melody and neo-ethnic choir. Rituels is one of a handful of tracks that also features previous Mouquet-collaborator Catherine Lara with her violin-playing supporting indistinct quasi-opera, before dropping away for a cascading piano line and deep, guttaral vocoder chanting by Mouquet. If you're a fan of French ambient-pop, or enjoyed Mouquet's other side projects you will surely love this (but don't expect a Deep Forest sound)! As with Mouquet's other Celtic-French outing Dao Dezi, this won't necessarily be easy to find outside of its native France but the 18 tracks of Thorgal will take you on a thrilling and mystical journey. Another winning work by Eric Mouquet! Some information courtesy the Deep in the Jungle Deep Forest site.