alternative to Enya
Steve Drees
Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
--
+-----------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|Steve Drees | keeper of apple2 directory on plains.nodak.edu.|
|dr...@plains.Nodak.Edu | Computer Science senior at UND. Please hire me.|
| "What about Headman Shabalala? Doesn't anybody care about justice?"-AA |
+-----------------------+------------------------------------------------+
jason 'Think!' steiner
>
> Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
well, you could try enya.
seriously, she's the -best- at what she does and if you find
traditional hymns offensive you should consider moving into a cave.
any "christian" rip-offs would be a gross insult to one of the
greatest artists in the world.
jason, who just completed his enya collection this weekend.
--
`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`
`,` "Every great gift is a kind of curse." - Camille Paglia `,`
`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,` jste...@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu ,`,`,`
Peter David THOMPSON
>dr...@plains.NoDak.edu (Steve Drees) writes:
>> Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
>well, you could try enya.
>seriously, she's the -best- at what she does and if you find
>traditional hymns offensive you should consider moving into a cave.
>any "christian" rip-offs would be a gross insult to one of the
>greatest artists in the world.
She doesn't sing all that many, and "bands of Christians" sing more than just
traditional hymns. Moreover, for "best" to mean anything, there must be
some kind of competition.
>jason, who just completed his enya collection this weekend.
>`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,` jste...@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu ,`,`,`
peter, who completed his enya collection some months ago.
There is an artist on the Word label called Iona. It's a similar style of
music; the two ablums available are called Iona and The Book Of Kells. I'm
not vehemenently recommending them, you understand; I've only heard Iona
& that was a while back.
John R Laplante
Since we're talking about Enya, can someone (jason?) tell me more
about he/she/them? I've heard bits and pieces of one album. As I recall
it was sort of "new age-ish" (a vague concept, I realize, but that's my
reaction to it as well). Things such as lyrical themes, musical style, etc,
please.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
john r la plante graduate student, Ohio State University
jr...@osu.edu political analysis done while you wait
andrew.j.whitman
>
>Since we're talking about Enya, can someone (jason?) tell me more
>about he/she/them? I've heard bits and pieces of one album. As I recall
>it was sort of "new age-ish" (a vague concept, I realize, but that's my
>reaction to it as well). Things such as lyrical themes, musical style, etc,
>please.
Enya is a she. That's her first name; her last name is some impossible
to spell and pronounce Gaelic thing that I'll leave for somebody who
frequents soc.culture.celtic.
She has three solo albums (a soundtrack to the BBC series "The Celts,"
"Watermark," and "Shepherd's Moon") and also appears on a couple of
early albums from the Irish folk group Clannad, where her sister
Maire holds forth as the main songwriter/singer.
I suppose "new-age-ish" is a fair way to categorize the music. It's
very quiet and subdued, quite ethereal, highly melodic, and awash
in synthesizers and wordless "ooohs" and "aaaahs." Lyrics?
Your guess is as good as mine. Her one hit song, "Orinoco Flow
(Sail Away)" is about sailing on a boat to various tropic locales.
She has a couple of "I'm sad and lonely" songs. Otherwise, her
lyrics tend to be either in Gaelic or Latin. And quite a bit of
her music is instrumental airiness accompanied by those "oooohs"
and "aaaahs." As far as I know she's not a Christian, so obviously
the lyrics aren't focused on Jesus and the Church. But there's
nothing there that makes me cringe either. I suppose she could
be hiding some diabolical messages in those Latin and Gaelic songs. :-)
She's very good at what she does. In fact, I'd go along with Jason
that any imitators would almost certainly pale in comparison. It's
very beautiful music, and it's done very creatively.
As far as alternatives - I'm not aware of anybody who sounds remotely
like her in Christian music. In the secular world, you might want
to look for some of the later releases from The Cocteau Twins
(especially "Blue Bell Knoll" and "Heaven or Las Vegas"), or
any of the "shoegazer" bands - My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush,
Pale Saints, Charlatans, The Boo Radleys, or The Sundays. There's
also a whole passel of bands on the 4AD label that specialize in
that kind of synth wash ambience - Dead Can Dance, Colourbox, This
Mortal Coil, Frazier Chorus, and lots of others. There are no exact
matches there - you either get a more harsh guitar sound or a more pop
oriented approach mixed in with the Enya atmospherics - but there's at
least some similarity in the sound. I'd probably recommend later Cocteau
Twins as the closest to the Enya sound, though.
And while I'm tossing out names here, let me highly recommend from
a *Christian* perspective either of the last two albums from Talk
Talk ("Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock") and Daniel Lanois'
solo album "Acadie."
Talk Talk started out as a boingy synth-dance band, a la New Order and
Depeche Mode, and I personally don't have much use for that style, but
the last two albums have moved miles beyond the early work. "Spirit of
Eden," in particular, is stunning - very atmospheric, very haunting,
beautiful music, interrupted by occasional feedback-laden staccato guitar
bursts, and featuring a French Horn as a lead instrument! Yes, it fits
together just fine. The lyrics are unmistakeably about surrendering to
God and loving and obeying Him. Aside from the latest albums from Van
Morrison, Mark Heard, T-Burnett, Sam Phillips, and Bruce Cockburn, I've
found it to be the most spiritually uplifting music I've heard in the
last couple of years. "Laughing Stock" is nearly as good, which makes
it merely wonderful.
Daniel Lanois is primarily known as a producer (U2, Bob Dylan, The
Neville Brothers, Peter Gabriel), and anybody who's heard U2's "The
Unforgettable Fire" or Dylan's "Oh Mercy" will immediately recognize
Lanois' signature sound - atmospheric, heavily flanged guitars.
You get all that in Lanois' solo album "Acadie" too, but you also
get some wonderful music about God, and the most seriously
hair-raising version of "Amazing Grace" I've ever heard, featuring the
angelic Aaron Neville on vocals. Soul meets U2. I like it a lot, and
I'd unhesitatingly recommend it to Enya fans and Otis Redding fans
alike :-).
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>john r la plante graduate student, Ohio State University
>jr...@osu.edu political analysis done while you wait
Andy Whitman
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio
att!cblpn!ajw or
a...@cblpn.att.com
janine przybylinski
Twila Paris has an album out (darn!! I've forgotten the name) that is
very much like enya.
Janine Przybylinski
("NIN" say 'neen')
jason 'Think!' steiner
> jste...@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu (jason 'Think!' steiner) writes:
> >dr...@plains.NoDak.edu (Steve Drees) writes:
> >> Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
>
> >well, you could try enya.
> >seriously, she's the -best- at what she does and if you find
> >traditional hymns offensive you should consider moving into a cave.
> >any "christian" rip-offs would be a gross insult to one of the
> >greatest artists in the world.
>
> Best is a matter of individual opinion; and what do hymns have to
> do with it? She doesn't sing all that many, and "bands of
> Christians" sing more than just traditional hymns. Moreover, for
> "best" to mean anything, there must be some kind of competition.
by "best" i mean that everyone i have talked to, read or otherwise
consulted believes her to be the best etherial/galaeic vocalist
ever. yes, there may be a few dissenting opinions, but overall,
she's tops.
i mentioned hymns because the main reason people want "christian"
alternatives is that they don't appreciate the message of the
"secular" variety. enya's message is not in conflict with
Christianity, and occasionally supports it.
> There is an artist on the Word label called Iona. It's a similar
> style of music; the two ablums available are called Iona and The
> Book Of Kells. I'm not vehemenently recommending them, you
> understand; I've only heard Iona & that was a while back.
i like this genre of music & would have to say i was rather disappointed
by Iona. there's something about listening to Shepherd Moons at
full volume on a dark night that completely ruins all competition.
jason
--
would you could you should you cross thru if i could wipe my eyes a blinding
compromise another pinky shave enlightens the brow now cow to die another day
if you prefer outside be blessed sir ostracize better bastard now forgotten
well instead of favored son of hell in hopes to open eyes - scaterd few, U
,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,` jste...@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu ,`,`,`
janine przybylinski
I must concur with Andy...his suggestion, and taste. The 4ad stuff
is definately the best to go to for ENYA-esque (used to be my big
THANG). (I had all the This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, etc...).
Their stuff is definately ethereal and esoteric... but I can't listen
to it all the time anymore. It's gotten to be too "hypnotic" for me
to be comfortable with it all. You HAVE to be careful--some of it
borders on NEW AGE stuff. REALLY. You have to investigate between
the lines, but it's there. If you don't put too much energy into it,
though, it can be quite a great label to go to.
I also absolutely agree with the TALK TALK stuff.
To add to the other alternative stuff listed try the ORIGIN. they're
really mellow. (This Picture is another)....
But, to bring it all back around to Christian stuff...try the CORAM
DEO (compilation ) CD. I like it. Susan Ashton's great Too.
Jason--try Kim Hill.
His, and yours
NIN
_____________________________________________________________________________
Janine Przybylinski " HI there. "
JANP...@SCOTT.SKIDMORE.EDU
skidmore collge, saratoga springs, ny 12866-1632
MARANATHA ("Come Lord Jesus!!!")
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
jason 'Think!' steiner
>
> Jason--try Kim Hill.
did. have one of her CDs & have listened to 2 others. very good,
but nothing like enya. which is cool. Christian musicians should
be themselves instead of trying to imitate something else.
jason
--
me
Lauren L. Crawford
>
>Twila Paris has an album out (darn!! I've forgotten the name) that is
>very much like enya.
Are you refering to "Sanctuary," her newest one? It's definitely more
Windham-Hill-esque than her previous efforts, very meditative. I don't
hear the vocal layering, though, that Enya uses, nor the
"otherworldliness" of Enya's stuff in it.
I like both artists, but for different reasons. Enya's music creates
atmosphere; Twyla's makes me worshipful. Both have a place.
--
The trick of reason is to get the imagination to seize the actual world --
if only from time to time. -- Annie Dillard, "An American Childhood"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lauren Crawford // craw...@ben.dev.upenn.edu
JOHN HIATT
Why not just listen to Enya? Her music is not about Jesus... but neither is
Pachelbel's Canon. No one asks for an alternative to good old Pachelbel.
They're on about the same level aren't they?
Just a thought.
John.
Stacey C. O'Brien
>
>Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
>--
The closest I've ever come to hearing that in CCM is an old group from
Sparrow Records - dunno if you can still get their stuff:
Wendy and Mary
Also, Wendy Talbot released a solo record on Sparrow that's hard to
get called "People of Promise" and the last section, a suite of songs
called "Noah" or something is an incredible acoustic guitar suite with
lots of layered vocals and guitars and pure writing genius - some of the
most original stuff I've ever heard to date.
--Stacey
Stacey C. O'Brien
>
Hi John!
Well, because of being, perhaps, just a bit concerned over *what* it might
be that she's singing in Latin, a friend of mine did a rough translation of
Afer Ventus, and unless you interpret African Wind to have some deep demonic
meaning, ya might find it tolerable. Anyways, I don't know Gaelic, even tho
I'm Irish, but here's ye latin.
* * *
Latin English
Afer Ventus | African Wind
Mare numbium. Umbriel. | Sea of clouds. Umbriel. (1)
Mare imbrium. Ariel. | Sea of showers. Ariel.
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars. (2)
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars.
Mare undarum. Io. Vela. | Sea of waves. Io. Vela.
Mirabile dictu. Mirabilia. | Amazing to say. Marvellous. (3)
Mirabile visu. Mirabilia. | Amizing to see. Wonderful.
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars.
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars.
Sempervirent. Rosetum. | Always fresh. (4) Rosetum. (5)
Afer Ventus. Zephyrus. | African Wind. Zephyrus. (6)
Volturnus. Africus. | Volturnus. (7) Africus. (8)
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars.
Et itur ad astra. | It goes to the stars.
Etesiarum. Eurus. | Etesians. (9) Eurus. (10)
Running verse:
Suus cuique mos. Suum cuique. | Each has its own inclination. Each its own.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus. | Mine to me, its own to each is dear. (11)
Mememto, terrigena. | Remember, [life is] earth-born,
Mememto, vita brevis. | Remember, life is brief.
Meus mihi, suus cuique carus. | Mine to me, its own to each is dear.
(1) Proper names I'm guessing--Umbriel, Ariel, Io, Vela.
Umbriel, Ariel - satellites of Uranus. Whereas all other planets
in the solar system have modesl inclinations, Uranus and its
moon system are tilted about 89 degrees from the ecliptic.
Io - large satelllite of Jupiter; named after one of Jupiter's lovers
whom he protected by turning into a cow.
Vela - name of constellation, "The Sails", which is one of the four
created from Ptolomey's constellation Argo.
(2) This is tough. "itur" is a poetic form, apparently. The phrase
may mean "without end" or "eternal".
(3) "mirabilia" (neuter plural) means literally "marvellous things";
translated as the singular and differently--English likes to vary.
(4) "sempervirent" == "evergreen".
(5) The Rosetta(?) river is one of the two main distributaries of the Nile,
flowing across the Nile delta. It waters the richest land in Africa.
(6) Zephyrus is a warm west wind.
(7) Volturnus is a river in Campania.
The Volturno River (latin Volturnus), south-central Italy, enters the
Tyrrhenian Sea at Castel Volturno, NW of Naples. Its discharge varies
by almost two orders of magnitude, from 70,000 cubic feet per second
to 1,130 cubit feet per second.
(8) Africus is the south-west storm-rain wind.
(9) The Etesians are winds that blow 40 days each year around
the "dog days".
These are remarkably steady southbound winds that flow over the
Eastern Mediterranean area in the summer, from mid-May to
mid-September. They are amazingly predictable, in direction,
duration, and speed.
(10) Eurus is the south-east wind.
(11) This is almost impossible to translate into English without doing
damage to word order. "mine is dear to me, its/his/her own is
dear to each."
* * *
more of my friend's comments:
Hmmm, indeed. It does seem rather "benign". I must admit, it is "kinda
neat".
But why all the references to African storms on another of her
albums? Doing the translation took be back about 20 years to a course
where we translated pastoral poety of Vergil and Horace (the thing
really smacks of Vergil). Lots of allusions to Dionysian themes--
"evergreen", "earth-born", "vita brevis". It just made me think
about the prevailing religion back then, which seems to be resurfacing
(if it ever really died!?).
More than you ever wanted to know, and that's just one song!
Anyways, I think there's a news group devoted to Enya out there somewhere,
and I wouldn't be surprised if you could get translations to everything
there.
Her sister and brothers have a group called "Clannad" which is equally
as refreshing, I think. I listen to them as much as I do to Enya. Some
albums are quite traditional in the Irish sense, such as Fauim, and
others are embarassingly "Pop".
--Stacey :-)
boyd johnson
>In article <1992Oct29.1...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> jlap...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (John R Laplante) writes:
>>
>>Since we're talking about Enya, can someone (jason?) tell me more
>>about he/she/them? I've heard bits and pieces of one album. As I recall
>>it was sort of "new age-ish" (a vague concept, I realize, but that's my
>>reaction to it as well). Things such as lyrical themes, musical style, etc,
>>please.
>
>Enya is a she. That's her first name; her last name is some impossible
>to spell and pronounce Gaelic thing that I'll leave for somebody who
>frequents soc.culture.celtic.
' '
Actually her name is Eithne Ni Bhraonain, pronounced "en-ya nee vree-nine".
(From the Enya FAQ list)
I've been a subscriber to the Enya mailing list since I saw the
following message.
It used to be very active, but it's down to a message every few days now.
I'll also include pointers to ftp-able files about Enya.
I'm always very cautious about music listed under New Age, but I believe
Enya is catagorized under New Age only because no other catagory fits
her music.
Enya does almost all of the instruments and singing on her albums and
singles by re-recording her voice over a hundred times to create
beautiful harmonies. Probably because of this and the fact she is a
very private person she hasn't done live performances.
#Article: 1889 of news.announce.newgroups
#From: t...@refuge.Colorado.EDU (Tim Hunter)
#Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,rec.music.misc,rec.music.newage,alt.music.alternative,alt.music.enya
#Subject: MAILING LIST: Musical Artist Enya
#Message-ID: <1992Apr20....@uunet.uu.net>
#Date: 20 Apr 92 14:53:19 GMT
#Reply-To: enya-r...@boulder.Colorado.EDU
#Followup-To: news.groups
#Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
#
#Announcing the Enya mailing list
#
#This list is intended, obviously, to be discussion of enya. This should
#take some pressure off those who are sick of enya on rec.music.newage,
#and those who hope alt.music.enya will go away.
#
#To subscribe, shoot off a mail message to:
# internet: enya-r...@boulder.colorado.edu
# or bitnet: enya-r...@colorado.bitnet
# or uucp: ...!{ncar|nbires}!boulder!enya-request
#
#you should get a welcome message soon after you mail enya-request.
FTP site and directories (from another Tim Hunter message):
ObEnya: lots of information about enya (including the famous Enya Papers)
can be found at dave datta's ftp site, cs.uwp.edu, in
pub/music/discog/enya{,2}
pub/music/lyrics/files/enya/*
pub/music/lists/enya/*
pub/music/pictures/enya/*
--
======== Boyd Johnson nosc!spectra.com!johnson San Diego, Ca. ========
Philip Nason Burt
>--
i personaly wouldn't stop listening to enya (she has some realy nifty
music). if you like her music you might try checking our
Windy Lyre
she is different, but has that same sort of sureal(sp) sound.
enjoy
phil
00bwan...@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu
> In article <BwtJr...@ns1.nodak.edu> dr...@plains.NoDak.edu (Steve Drees) writes:
>>
>>Does any one know of a band of christians with that enya sound?
Ummmm...how 'bout Enya? Not too sure she's "Christian brand X" but she's got a
lot of honest spirituality in her lyrics. Besides, it's wonderful study music.
8^) Also, check out Iona. Very hip pop with that Celtic flavour Enya has.
Hmmmm...any others? Check out Clannad (Enya's family's group).
>>--
>
> i personaly wouldn't stop listening to enya (she has some realy nifty
> music). if you like her music you might try checking our
>
> Windy Lyre
>
> she is different, but has that same sort of sureal(sp) sound.
Yes, it's wonderful stuff...8^)
>
> enjoy
>
> phil
Spock out...
--
.sig? We don' need no steenkin' .sig!
Bruce Anderson: A tradition of Chaos and Disorder since 1967
sp...@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (unix) 00bwan...@bsu-ucs.uucp (VAX)
Don't look at me in that tone of voice! BSU disclaims me, and I disclaim them.
pr...@videotron.ca
tazei...@gmail.com
Birgitta Veksler. Her cd called Where Shall I Go is in Hebrew. Listen to her song called I lift up my Soul. If you like Enya you’ll enjoy this song
Try Carolyn Hyde too. I wouldn’t say that she’s like Anya but it’s a different sound
How do you know that for Bergitta did for sure remind me of her but then again It’s all about ones opinion. If If you found some that I haven’t heard of I would like to know so you can wrap me at nightin...@msn.com.