Enya

[Unicron]

I'll admit I was never into "Orinoco Flow" myself, even though it's a good track. I mainly got into her music with some of the other tracks on the Watermark album, chiefly "Storms in Africa."

The album version of "Only Time" is kind of nice too, as it differs from the single version in not having any percussion at all.

 

[Amaris]

I was working in Sears' Electronics Dept. when her CD "Only Time" was released. As the guy who started up everything in the morning, I also set the promo for the day on the TV screens. So when I received the "Only Time" demo (along with a bunch of other artists), I put it in and 42 television screens started broadcasting the goodness that is Enya.

 

[Jadzia]

I like a lot of her music, my favourite being "The Celts", and "Caribbean Blue".

I wouldn't describe it as spiritual, more natural worldly. Which is kind of interesting given that her voice seems to be engineered to sound like an instrument, albeit without losing its softness.

Also, she uses a lot of 'ahhh' and 'hmmm' sounds instead of strings, which is nice.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Book of Days is still my favourite Enya song (this version is the later version with English lyrics):

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goKLnMbnidU[/yt]

 

[Bad Bishop]

I enjoy her music and plan to buy the deluxe "Very Best of" collection soon.

I saw her perform "Only If" (live, apparently) on the Letterman show, years ago. Has she ever gone on tour?

 

[Christopher]

Book of Days is still my favourite Enya song (this version is the later version with English lyrics):

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goKLnMbnidU[/yt]

Is that Auto-Tuned?

 

[Jadzia]

No, I think that is the effect you get when you sing your own backing sounds -- lots of ahhhs and hmmms superimposed over the song proper are in natural harmony with her own voice, so reinforces the note.

There's also a reverb effect, plus probably an EQ adjustment there too, as it sounds like some of the bass and treble of her voice has been removed.

 

[Sakrysta]

I enjoy her music and plan to buy the deluxe "Very Best of" collection soon.

I saw her perform "Only If" (live, apparently) on the Letterman show, years ago. Has she ever gone on tour?

Not that I know of. When asked years ago about touring, she said it would be very difficult, because her music is all about layering and electronic manipulation, and it wouldn't sound the same live as it does on the recordings.

 

[JoeZhang]

Not a fan, interestingly she seems to be more popular with plastic paddies than in Ireland.

 

[Christopher]

There's also a reverb effect, plus probably an EQ adjustment there too, as it sounds like some of the bass and treble of her voice has been removed.

That's almost as bad. I remember her as having a very beautiful voice, but all that processing ruins it.

 

[AnyStar]

i recall seing an interview with her several years ago, where she described the effect.

it wasnt so much EQ editing, but merely layering multiple recordings, and playing with the timing for an "in the round" effect (row row row your boat etc)

 

[Sakrysta]

Talk of how Enya produces her music reminded me of Imogen Heap, who does something similar, yet very different. And now I can't get "Just for Now" out of my head.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25VGdNU3nrU[/yt]

 

[777]

Carribean Blue

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeYL3uhYv48&feature=related[/yt]

 

[777]

Storms in Africa:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THWREky6w2s&feature=related[/yt]

The Celts:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyR1c7CWCQw&feature=related[/yt]

 

[Wynterhawk]

I like Enya to a point. She's good for meditation music but everyday listening, I'll have to pass. But, she is very good at what she does, that's for certain.

 

[JonathonWally]

There's also a reverb effect, plus probably an EQ adjustment there too, as it sounds like some of the bass and treble of her voice has been removed.

That's almost as bad. I remember her as having a very beautiful voice, but all that processing ruins it.

It's a layered delayed chorus effect.

It's her vocals layered multiple times with very very minor time shifting.

 

[Unicron]

Storms in Africa is really best with both halves of the song, as I think the video version only uses the English half.

 

[Joy]

I ADORE Enya. She rocks.

Currently, I'm absolutely in LOVE with the track "My My, Time Flies" on her latest album. Just so... different... from her normal work, and I think that's what makes it really stand out. Love it to PIECES.

 

[spartanhun]

There's also a reverb effect, plus probably an EQ adjustment there too, as it sounds like some of the bass and treble of her voice has been removed.

That's almost as bad. I remember her as having a very beautiful voice, but all that processing ruins it.

It's a layered delayed chorus effect.

It's her vocals layered multiple times with very very minor time shifting.

There's a serious confusion about her vocals. She sings every vocal layer separately. Every vocal part is real, not a digitally modified version of a previous one. It's not a delayed chorus effect. Only reverb is used. As she mentioned in several interviews sometimes it takes weeks to sing all the vocal layers for one song. Sometimes she sings almost the same with a slight difference, sometimes you can hear the same melody sung one octave higher or lower and the resulting sound of these vocal layers is what you can hear in her music.
I think this is important, because that's why her sound is different from the sound of others trying to make something similar, using the digital approximation of this time-consuming technique. But human ear can easily notice the difference between the two.

 

[tharpdevenport]

My favorites:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0NoHN1TU5I[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfVJ11GXzXQ[/yt]