Enigma

Enigma is an electronic musical project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. Cretu is both the composer and the producer of the project. His former wife, pop singer Sandra, often provided vocals on Enigma tracks. Jens Gad co-arranged and played guitar on three of the Enigma albums. Peter Cornelius also contributed to Enigma during the 1990s.

Seven studio albums have been produced under the name of the project.

In December 1990, Cretu released Enigma's debut album, MCMXC A.D., which received over 60 platinum-level sales awards worldwide, and topped the charts in 41 countries, directly becoming the most successful Virgin Records act during that time. The album was Cretu's first commercial success through the single "Sadeness (Part I)". "Sadeness" quickly rose to the top of the charts in Germany and France; it went on to become a worldwide hit.

In 1993, Cretu was given an offer by producers to compose the full soundtrack of the motion picture Sliver, but he was unable to accept the offer. Instead, he came up with "Carly's Song" and "Carly's Loneliness," which were used in the movie and credited in the motion picture soundtrack as well.

In the same year, The Cross of Changes was released and tt sold 6 million copies in a year). However, both of the albums also hitched up lawsuits over the issue of sampling from other music sources.

In 1996, Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi! was released and it failed to achieve the same level of success that they enjoyed. The 2000 release of The Screen Behind the Mirror included samples from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana on four tracks on the album. Only "Gravity of Love" and "Push the Limits" were released as singles from the album. Ruth-Ann Boyle and Andru Donalds mark their first appearances on the Enigma project.

In 2001, Cretu released a new single called "Turn Around" together with Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits and Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection to end what he considers to be the first chapter of Enigma.

To commemorate the fifteen years of Enigma, a special limited-edition album called Fifteen Years was launched. It is the size of an LP vinyl disk, with Leonardo da Vinci's art in the cover, a big booklet with extra art, and featured eight compact discs: all the previous albums, the DVD Remember the Future, and a special and exclusive bonus CD, The Dusted Variations.

In September 2006, Enigma's sixth album A posteriori was released worldwide, containing "Hello and Welcome" and "Goodbye, Milky Way". The album is more techno- and pop-oriented electronic music than any previous one. A DVD version of A posteriori was released in December 2006, which featured kaleidoscope images in synchronization with the multi-channel remastered music.

In September 2008, Enigma's seventh album Seven Lives Many Faces was released worldwide. The lead single, "Seven Lives", is a fusion of modern and classical elements. The Platinum Collection, a 3-CD compilation, was released in November 2009 in Germany, and in February 2010 worldwide. The first CD contains Enigma hits. The second CD contains remixes. The third CD is a collection of "lost tracks", musical experiments which never were finalized and released previously.

In October 2010, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first album MCMXC a.D., The "Enigma's Social Song" project began. The final mix of the single named "MMX The Social Song" was released on December 15, 2010. It became the first song ever created for and by the fans via internet.

Music Videos

 * Beyond The Invisible
 * Boum-Boum
 * Carly's Song
 * Gravity of Love
 * Hello and Welcome
 * Mea Culpa
 * Out From The Deep
 * Principles of Lust
 * Push the Limits
 * Return to Innocence
 * Sadeness
 * TNT For The Brain
 * The Eyes of Truth
 * The Rivers of Belief
 * Turn Around
 * Voyageur