Reaction to album takes Enya by surprise

Press, 31 March 1989, Page 21

Reaction to album takes Enya by surprise

By

NEVIN TOPP

Eithne Ni Bhraonain, better known as Enya, is surprised at the reaction that the album, “Watermark,” has received world-wide. So enthusiastic has been the response since the release of “Watermark” in Britain late last year, followed by progressive releases elsewhere, that she has been busy promoting the LP through interviews, television appearances, and record store visits since then.

The strange mixture of traditional Irish music, classical styles, and pop, have stuck a chord. The single, “Orinoco Flow,” released by WEA Records, with permission of the three behind “Watermark,” Enya, and Nicky and Roma Ryan, is an unlikely pop hit. Enya says that what strikes her about the reaction to “Watermark” is how it affects people personally. “From meeting the public, it seems to me that ‘Watermark* is not considered just an ordinary LP. It seems to be an emotional LP, one that causes a personal reaction, although this was not the intention when the album was recorded.”

“Watermark” appears to have rewarded the faith of WEA’s U.K. managing director, Rod Dickens, in having offered Enya a recording contract. She left home, Gweedore, in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1980 to join her brothers and sisters in Clannad, the Irish group that also has traditional Celtic roots. However, she left the band in 1982, and teamed up with manager/producer, Nicky Ryan, and lyricist, Roma Ryan. The work of the trio came to the attention of director, David Puttman, who commissioned them to write music for his 1985 feature film, “The Frog Prince.” The producers of the television, series, “The . Celts,” had.. difficulty in finding the right music J to:. goA with “pictwes < *7'- untilEnya and crew came along. So successful was the BBC soundtrack that it was only kept from the top spot in Ireland by U2’s LP, “The Joshua tree.” It was from this soundtrack that Enya gave some indication of what the trio could do, especially in multi-tracking vocals and instruments, and where Dickens decided to sign Enya to WEA. The complexities of “Watermark,” with Enya playing all the instrumentation and doing all the vocals, in some cases up to 100 voices for multi-vocal effects, means that touring will be a difficult exercise, something that Enya recognises. Already there is talk of a second album, followed by touring, possibly using a choir and an orchestra, although Enya says that both a second LP and touring will be some time away yet. An indication of how Enya achieved the influence on the public ear is how she views the music herself. Having been raised in traditional Irish music, plus six years of classical training, she says she enjoys melodic music the most, and that in “Watermark” the sound was almost “self-indulgent” by recording music that was good to the ear. Therefore the emphasis is on harmonies, something that the trio worked on hard to achieve. Photograph, page 23