Enya - The River Sings

Enya (born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, Irish pronunciation: [ˈɛnʲə ˈpˠad̪ˠɾˠiːnʲ nʲiː ˈvˠɾˠiːn̪ˠaːnʲ], anglicized as Enya Brennan, 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.[1][2][3]She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad, before leaving to perform solo. She gained wider recognition for her music in the 1986 BBC series The Celts. Shortly afterwards, her 1988 album Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her unique sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations.[4]She continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain sold 15 million copies[5] and she was named the world's best selling female artist of 2001.[6] She is Ireland's best-selling solo musician[7] and is officially the country's second-largest musical export after the band U2.[8] Her album sales were more than 75 million worldwide,[9] with over 26 million in album sales in the US.[10] Her work has earned her four Grammy awards and an Academy Award nomination. She has performed works in 10 languages.[11]Contents [hide] 1 Life and career1.1 1961–83: Musical upbringing and Clannad1.2 1984–87: Career beginnings1.3 1988–91: International breakthrough, Watermark, Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees1.4 1988–99: The Celts, The Memory of Trees, and Paint the Sky with Stars1.5 2000–04: A Day Without Rain1.6 2005–08: Amarantine and And Winter Came1.7 2009–present: The Very Best of Enya and a new album2 Musical style and other projects3 Discography3.1 DVD releases4 Personal life5 Music videos6 Notable awards7 See also8 References9 External links[edit]Life and career[edit]1961–83: Musical upbringing and ClannadEnya was born and brought up in Gweedore (known in Irish as Gaoth Dobhair), County Donegal, in the northwest corner of Ireland. She is part of an Irish-speaking and musical family, the sixth of nine children.[12] Her grandparents were in a band that played throughout Ireland, her father was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band before opening Leo's Tavern, and her mother played in a dance band and later taught music at Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. From a young age, Enya appeared in many pantomimes onstage at Gweedore's local theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Derrybeg. She attended Loreto Community School in Milford, County Donegal and then moved away to attend college wanting to become a classical pianist, continuing her studies in music and also studying watercolour painting.Enya has four brothers and four sisters, several of whom formed the band An Clann As Dobhar in 1968. They renamed the band Clannad in the 1970s. In 1980, Enya worked with Clannad, the band composed of her siblings Máire (Moya), Pól, and Ciarán and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. Enya played the keyboard and provided backing vocals on their album Crann Úll (1980), although she was not officially a member of the group until the 1981 release Fuaim, when she appeared on the cover. During that same year, Enya was also a member of Ragairne, the band of Altan front-woman Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.[13] In 1982, shortly before Clannad became famous for "Theme From Harry's Game", producer and manager Nicky Ryan left the group and Enya joined him to start her own solo career. Enya then formed her own recording studio, named "Aigle", which is French for "Eagle".[edit]1984–87: Career beginningsEnya recorded two solo instrumental pieces called "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian" (Irish for "The Solar Wind") and "Miss Clare Remembers" that were released on the 1984 album Touch Travel.[14] She was first credited as Enya (as opposed to Eithne) for writing some of the music for the 1984 movie The Frog Prince, which was released on a soundtrack album of the same title. Another early appearance on record followed in 1987, where Enya provided spoken (not sung) vocals on the song "Never Get Old" on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album, The Lion and the Cobra.Enya was contracted to provide music for the soundtrack of the 1986 BBC television documentary The Celts. The music she produced was featured on her first solo album, Enya (1987), but it attracted little attention at the time.[15] The B-side single "Eclipse" is actually a reversed and modified version of Enya's song "Deireadh An Tuath" from this 1987 album.[16] The song "Boadicea", also from this album, would later be sampled by The Fugees on their single "Ready or Not" (1996), causing a brief stir because the group neither sought permission from Enya nor gave her credit initially, and by Mario Winans, who did give her credit (the Winans track, "I Don't Wanna Know" which features a rap by P. Diddy and is officially credited to all three artists, became Enya's highest charting single in the US, when it peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 in 2004).[12][edit]1988–91: International breakthrough, Watermark, Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees"Na Laetha Geal M'Óige" (1988)Irish language song from her album Watermark.Problems listening to this file? See media help.Enya achieved a breakthr