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Will Enya ever tour? The reason behind Irish singer's lack of live performances

E nya is Ireland's best selling solo artist despite never going on tour. The Co Donegal native is Ireland's second best selling artist overall behind U2 . She sold over 75 million records worldwide since her solo career began in the 1980s.

Despite being the most mainstream voice of Celtic folk with fans in every corner of the globe, the 62-year-old has never once toured. She has fleetingly performed live during TV and awards show appearances over the years, but never once has she embarked on a concert tour.

Fans have long wondered why such a successful musician has never cashed in on touring when her record sales suggest she'd sell out venues in numerous countries. A variety of theories have been suggested over the years.

Read more: Enya: Her career and private life, including Irish castle and huge fortune

Read more: U2 hit No. 1 in new Billboard chart for first time

In some of her TV performances - such as when she performed Orinoco Flow on Top of the Pops in 1988 - the singer lip-synced. For this reason, some people believe Enya won't tour because she can't sing live,

However, there were a string of televised TV performances throughout her career where she sings clearly into a microphone.

Others say the four-time Grammy winner won't tour due to the boundaries she sets for her fame. Enya is a notoriously private person, disappearing from the public eye for years between albums and taking steps to keep her personal life private.

"The music is what sells," she has previously said. "Not me, or what I stand for. That's the way I've always wanted it."

While this may be a contributing factor, Enya said her biggest concern about touring is trying to replicate the unique sound she achieves in the studio on stage. Her tracks famously contain complex vocal arrangements, like those heard on Orinoco Flow or Only Time.

In order to achieve the haunting vocals her songs are renowned for, her voice has to be layered hundreds of times in a painstaking process. The singer told the BBC in 2015 that in the early years of her career, replicating that on stage "wouldn't really have been possible".

"Now it is very, very possible," she said. "You see wonderful concerts. There are orchestras there, choirs there, so it's a different time.

"But I don't know if that's something I would do."

Read more: Watch: Students perform spectacular version of Barbie by Dua Lipa in the Irish language

Read more: Irishman Darren Kiely started playing music in Irish pubs and is now selling out US shows

The singer got in the habit of not touring due to contractual requirements with her record label in the early years of her career.

"We actually had in my contract that we would have two to three years between each album," she said, explaining that the lengthy construction of her songs plus a tour would have lengthened the gap.

"So that's why I ended up not touring. The success of [debut album] Watermark caught them by surprise, as it did me. They were worried that if I went on tour and then had three years to work on the next album, it would be too much of a gap."

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One of the coolest, most epic shows I have ever witnessed was Enya’s live set. Enya Brennan’s illustrious voice goes up a whole different level beyond belief when you add a complete live orchestra and full choir. A true orgasm for your ears. Even the set-up for the stage added to the epic-ness; with a screen flashing of thunder and other natural occurrences, she took the stage in front of the full female choir. The orchestra was set in the pit but was completely within sight (all of its members female). Clad in a long red dress, Enya looked and sounded angelic. Immediately after the first song, she thanked the crowd and talked a little about how excited she was to be performing in Los Angeles, California. Other songs from her set included “Its In The Rain,” “Only Time,” and “Wild Child.”

The best performance of the night was “Orinoco Flow.” There are absolutely no words to describe the live version of this song, because epic just doesn’t cut it. As soon as the strings started the iconic introduction, the whole audience braced for the song. As the song starts to build up, you become surrounded by the perfect harmonization of voices. And when she finished, the whole place fired up with well deserved, deafening applause.

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Enya tour 2024.

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This year has been incredible for Enya and their latest tour is the proof of that. There is plenty of evidence for that. A big number of fans are gathering at these concerts for one single purpose – to enjoy the gift of music. Only the biggest venues get the chance to host these fantastic events. With us, it is not a problem getting a Enya VIP package that includes only the best tickets.

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You can’t really find anything similar to a live performance anywhere else. A lot of people are eager to see a Enya concert at least once and get the truly amazing experience. They won’t be able to get the same level of excitement and emotion from listening to a concert and just looking at the computer screen. The Enya tour is something truly special, and if you don’t want to miss it then check our deals as soon as possible.

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Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan , ; born 17 May 1961), known professionally as Enya , is an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore in County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, and folk music. She has sung in ten languages.

Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts , which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the international top-10 hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995) and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took an extended break from music; she returned in 2012 and released Dark Sky Island (2015).

She is Ireland's best-selling solo artist and second-best-selling artist behind U2, with a discography that has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won awards including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

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Enya Is Everywhere

By Jenn Pelly

In a year pitched to endless anxiety and rife with perilous unknowns, I have spent a tremendous amount of time thinking about Enya . Maybe it is because the Irish musician born Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, who has never toured and yet has become her own enchanted genre over the last 33 years, moved to a 19th-century Victorian castle just south of Dublin at the turn of the century and has been a practitioner of self-isolation ever since. Maybe it is because her atmospheric compositions are full of imagination, of openness, each note like a new horizon coming into focus. Maybe it is because her many-layered catalog is so sad and healing at once, or because it makes the complex work of being indefinitely alone sound easy.

Last December, after noticing a substantial uptick in the number of effusive Enya fans in my orbit—both friends and musicians I follow—I finally asked someone for a mix of her best work. I now feel that the 19-song Enya primer I received in the final days of 2019 was cosmically tailored to prepare me for the impending hell of 2020. From the windswept dream pop of “I Want Tomorrow” to the skylike chorus on “Anywhere Is,” from the wild arpeggiations of “Aldebaran” to the shaded beats and Gaelic lyrics on “Ebudae,” my journey with Enya became a reminder of how music could hold the days together when it felt like reality was in a free fall.

At 59, Enya has now released eight studio albums. Most popular among them are the earliest: her cinematic 1987 debut, The Celts ; 1988’s Watermark , the unlikeliest of pop smashes; and 1991’s oceanic Shepherd Moons , which sold even more. Each mixes the ancient with the modern, folklore and ambience, the human and the electronic, containing hundreds of ornate layers of Enya’s own vocals and rhythms woven like cloth. She and longtime collaborators Nicky and Roma Ryan turned this choral synthesizer music into the obsessive sound of serenity.

But what especially intrigued me on that mix was a song called “Even in the Shadows.” Amid Enya’s many decades of candlelit mystique and mythological lyrics, it’s an outlier—an inquisitive ode to love lost, like an ambient girl-group 45—and as it snuck up on me, its pull became overwhelming. “Even in the Shadows” reminded me of music by younger artists whom I knew Enya inspired, like Ioanna Gika , but it was, beguilingly, from her most recent album, 2015’s Dark Sky Island . “That song is me exposing myself,” Enya said then. “It’s a heartbreak song. I’ve never done a heartbreak song before.” She was 54.

Last year, when the ambient artist and Florist songwriter Emily Sprague told me that “Even in the Shadows” was her favorite song of all time, I had no idea it was so recent—that Enya was continuing to do her best work 30 years on. It only affirmed my idea that Enya and the present had formed a perfect eclipse. Sprague, who is 26, said that, despite Enya’s cultural ubiquity, she can feel like “a strange cult classic” among her peer group. She said the allure of “Even in the Shadows” lies in how it’s a comfort even as it gives voice to “loss and failure and searching and desire and the ultimate impermanence” of it all. “It makes me feel great!” Sprague said. “And what I’m feeling great about is an existence with everything on the table.”

I began to see Enya everywhere. And as I did, I came to think of her like a Rosetta Stone for a particular thread of modern pop—music that is slow and hypnotic and restorative, with operatic melancholy, solitary strength, and a discernibly feminine sense of craft. Natalie Mering, who records as Weyes Blood , has called Enya a “matriarchal force.” When FKA twigs mentioned how Enya inspired her song “ thousand eyes ” last year, she went as far as to compare her to the queens of art pop, Björk and Kate Bush, calling her “a mother.” Current mother-to-be Nicki Minaj listened to Enya in the studio while making 2014’s The Pinkprint . Grimes once included 1987’s “Boadicea” on a list of her personal greatest songs of all time. Last October, Angel Olsen listened to Enya’s epochal hit “Orinoco Flow” with a radio host and said, “I told my manager this is going to be my next move.” Back in March, Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius inquired on Twitter: “Was Enya the first to ever pop off.”

In a recent interview with The Guardian , R&B icon Brandy —herself an influence on the likes of Frank Ocean and Solange—also proudly asserted her fandom, reflecting on how Enya’s stacked vocals particularly influenced her 2002 album Full Moon . When the Guardian reporter questioned her taste, Brandy defensively arched both brows: “Enya’s a joke to you?”

Brandy’s question is a pointed one. How and why, like so many women artists of the ’90s, was an innovator like Enya once so widely reduced to a cultural punchline ? What has finally broken that stigma down? To start, music at large has become a less patriarchal place than it was when she debuted in the late ’80s. And new age—which Enya herself helped popularize but has long rejected as a marketing term—has largely been artistically redeemed, no longer relegated to the status of patchouli-scented muzak. But more to the point, internet-raised music fans have learned to listen adventurously, beyond the borders of genre, and Enya—despite having won four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album—has always transcended them. Perhaps it is a prevailing ethos of open-mindedness in music that makes her stirring melodies and enveloping textures as beloved today by mainstream rappers and independent singer-songwriters as by the heavier reaches of the avant-garde. A generation of artists who grew up on Enya have now arrived to recover the nuances of her artistry and reclaim her as a role model.

This shift is not lost on the ambient artist Julianna Barwick . With her ecstatic, richly layered, often wordless sound, Barwick has been likened to Enya since at least 2009, when The New York Times dubbed her “The New Enya” (with the clarification that “there’s no shame whatsoever” in such a distinction). She calls Enya a formative, if subconscious, influence. But even for a noted fan like Barwick—who taught herself to play Watermark ’s “Evening Falls” on piano at age 8, and says she has “every single nuance to every single song” in the early Enya catalog ingrained in her memory—the comparison, back then, was complicated. “Ten years ago, it was like: ugggh ,” she recalls. “But the uncoolness factor has definitely diminished.”

To move beyond the stereotype, Barwick encourages a closer listen. “With Enya, or artists like myself and Sigur Rós, we’ll get stuck with this ‘ethereal’ word,” she says. “It’s a common misconception that Enya’s music is all floaty shit. It’s not. Some of her songs are dark and goth and badass.” She cites “ Boadicea ” in particular as “very sinister.” A deep cut from The Celts that is comprised solely of synths and humming, “Boadicea” was famously sampled by the Fugees on 1996’s “ Ready or Not ,” brooding beneath Lauryn Hill’s bars. The sample has since traveled to P. Diddy and Mario Winans’ 2004 track “ I Don’t Wanna Know ,” and it can currently be heard on the radio via Rotimi and Wale’s “ In My Bed .”

Enya’s doomier atmospheres are alive in the work of the Denver death metal band Blood Incantation , who have thanked her in the credits of both 2016’s Starspawn and 2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race . Like Barwick, vocalist and guitarist Paul Riedl has spent most of his life absorbing Enya’s otherworldly productions, which he says transport the listener “to a pastoral heathen realm beyond linear time.” Riedl has the Enya logo painted onto his leather jacket alongside those of doom metal bands like Mournful Congregation, and says that Watermark ’s “Exile” is on his “funeral mixtape.” In Riedl’s view, “Anyone claiming to worship at the altar of deep, dark, atmospheric, and most importantly beautiful music is absolutely posing if they deny the power of Enya.”

For acolytes like Riedl and Barwick, Enya is foundational. “She’s been so omnipresent… she’s almost like the Beatles,” Barwick says. “It’s so rad that she wrote the music, she sang all of those parts, she played the instruments, and here’s this totally inimitable sound: She’s doing it all herself.”

Blood Incantation frontman Paul Riedl’s leather jacket with the Enya logo. Photo courtesy of the artist. Treatment by Drew Litowitz.

Enya was born into a musical household in the rural Gweedore district of County Donegal in 1961. Her father was the former leader of the Slieve Foy Dance Band, who toured Irish ballrooms in the 1950s and ’60s, before going on to run a pub and venue. Her mother was a music teacher. Enya was the fifth of nine children in a family of “constant hustle and bustle and crying and chaos,” she once said, and she first played onstage with her siblings at the age of 3, in competitions of Irish balladry. Her noisy home life made her yearn for quiet. When she was finally sent to boarding school to study classical piano, she called it “a dream come true.” It was there she learned English; her first language was Irish.

She began her music career in earnest at 18 when she joined her older siblings and uncles in the Celtic folk-rock band Clannad. Enya made her mark on the group by updating the traditional sound of tunes like “Gathering Mushrooms” with harmonies and electronic keyboards. Two years later, though, Clannad had a falling out with its sound-engineer-turned-manager, Nicky Ryan, and when the split transpired, Enya decided to go with Ryan.

Broke and at a creative crossroads, she left her family behind, taking up residence with Ryan and his wife, Roma, at their house in Dublin. There, the Ryans spent their life savings transforming a shed into a small 16-track studio, where Enya spent four tentative years experimenting with an elemental sound—an expanding universe of singing and synthesizers conducted by the moods of one woman—that would go on to sell more than 80 million records.

In the Ryans’ studio, Enya drew from the elegance and drama of classical music and the melancholy of traditional Irish sounds; from church hymns and silence; from her own green world of cliff tops, rolling hills, and the vastness of the sea. She composed the stately melodies and performed nearly all of the instruments, while Ryan, 12 years her senior, produced. A devotee of Brian Wilson and Phil Spector who once toured with Thin Lizzy, Ryan channeled his pop predecessors’ harmonic splendor as well as their reclusiveness. He had an idea to create his own cathedral-scaling version of the Wall of Sound by overdubbing dozens of what he called “multi-vocals” into a “choir of one.” This intrigued Enya. The concept would eventually see Enya and Ryan record up to 500 individual takes of her hushed singing for a single song, layered slowly over weeks, or months, or even a year. Roma, a poet, observed this process, and wrote lyrics infused with the mythology of Ireland. A trinity was born, and it has continued ever since.

The first Enya releases were scores, including, when she was 24, the BBC docu-series The Celts: Rich Traditions and Ancient Myths . (She also appeared in it, and can be seen in bonus footage walking on the beach of her youth and discussing its proximity to the cemetery where her grandparents are buried, like a true ’80s goth.) An Irish Times article from 1986 described Enya’s “cherished dream [of] winning an Oscar for best film score.” She became a cryptic pop star instead.

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Enya’s albums Watermark and Shepherd Moons became fixtures on the pop charts alongside the likes of Guns N’ Roses and fellow Irish ambassadors U2. “This is not mainstream music!” proclaimed a Good Morning America host during Enya’s first television interview in 1991, genuinely bewildered by how such an unusual sound would be so universally popular as to spawn international chart-busting hits. Enya’s guess was as good as hers.

Weyes Blood could have helped explain the first wave of Enya-mania, though she was only a small child back then. As one of the biggest Enya heads in modern music, Natalie Mering has been “trying to get everybody back on the Enya train” for well over a decade. “For people that remember when she was really popular, it was like mall music, adult contemporary—it wasn’t badass,” Mering says. “But I always thought it was.”

Growing up in the ’90s, Mering’s parents kept Watermark and Shepherd Moons in their five-disc CD changer and played them constantly. “It was such a huge part of my psyche,” she says. She’d twirl around the living room to the shimmering sorcery of “Caribbean Blue,” still her favorite: “I could blast that for all eternity.” Mering cites Enya’s influence on her exquisite 2016 breakthrough Front Row Seat to Earth as well as 2019’s baroque-pop epic Titanic Rising . She says she’s observed a new generation embrace Enya’s unique beauty—younger fans who don’t necessarily have the baggage of its past life as “doctor’s office music.”

When Mering first started playing music in the early 2000s, she struggled to find bandmates, and instead layered her voice on a loop pedal, in the spirit of her idol. Around 2006, she was traveling in noise and experimental music circles, and would try to play Enya for her male peers—explaining, as she puts it, how “Enya’s a drone artist, she’s like the most mainstream noise artist there ever was”—but the connection would elude them. A decade later, when Mering was making Front Row Seat to Earth with producer Chris Cohen, she layered vocals and harmonizer on the ballad “ Generation Why .” “He couldn’t relate to the Enya quality,” Mering recalls. “He said, ‘Uh, it kind of sounds like Enya,’ like in a bad way. And I was like: Ohhh, you don’t get it . I was always coming up against people who didn’t go for it. And then all of a sudden, the coin flipped.”

As a little kid, Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas yearned to be a part of something. And the immersive world of Enya made him feel included. “I immediately responded to it,” Hadreas says. “Something about Enya connected to the witchy part of my brain.” This occultish association makes sense: The circular, curative properties of Enya’s music recall some of the qualities that once made witches seem so threatening to society.

The young Hadreas was drawn in by the music’s “overtly magical” calm along with its haunting undercurrents, which seemed to validate a real darkness. Enya’s songs felt religious, but not in the “off-putting” way of Christianity, from which he already felt alienated. “It felt like a deeper thing, this secret,” Hadreas says, “like I know that I am connected to something, and I know the way I am is OK.” Hadreas cites his song “ Gay Angels ,” from 2010’s Learning , as especially Enya-inspired, and says the ambient, meditative textures throughout his catalog bear out her influence.

“There’s something about Enya being so mainstream that is really soothing to me,” Hadreas adds, recalling the times he would listen to her celestial sounds with his mother. “Everybody knows who Enya is, but there’s also this feeling that it’s something spiritual and strange.” That she was on television while maintaining a secretive aura only contributed to her many mysteries.

Despite her omnipresence for more than 30 years, Enya has managed to remain a relative enigma, rising to notoriety not through the usual mechanisms of celebrity but through something more ineffable. Despite her success, she can still go to the grocery store.

From the start, Enya wrote fame out of the equation, seeing it as false and a potential detriment to her process. When she was signed to Warner Brothers UK by exec Rob Dickins—who had previously signed Joni Mitchell, Prince, and the Sex Pistols (and oddly is shouted-out in the lyrics of “Orinoco Flow”)—she ensured that her contract allowed her three years between each album. Warner Brothers tried to make Enya’s image “more rock’n’roll,” but she rejected it. In the mid ’90s, she turned down an offer to score Titanic .

Enya was still unknown when Watermark exploded in 1988. “I had a career that wasn’t dependent on what I looked like,” she has said. She was 27 by then, and had been playing music professionally for nearly a decade, so she knew to avoid the games of the industry. To promote her personality seemed futile. “I realized, there’s no rulebook that says, ‘Your music is successful; you must now become famous,’” she later reflected.

This creative control has itself been a source of inspiration to many artists I spoke with. The world that Enya and the Ryans architected and protected has always been a closed one—the core trio in their own studios without a single other engineer, assistant, or friend—and perhaps it’s that self-contained environment that has resulted in such an intimate sound. Mering calls the effect “womblike” and “overtly feminine.” The effect is an audibly non-masculine one, an écriture féminine of electronic studio technique by way of Enya’s inexhaustible chorus of herself. “You can tell there’s not a guy pulling the strings in Enya’s studio,” Mering has observed. And it is no surprise that FKA twigs’ sensuous MAGDALENE ballad “ daybed ”—about a woman’s self-pleasure in the throes of depression—contained “a lot of our Enya conversations embedded in it,” according to collaborator Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never .

Enya’s epic studio innovations have not always been at the center of her narrative, but they are central to why Lopatin sees her “almost as a deity.” In the 2010s, Lopatin was at the forefront of an underground music culture that fused experimental electronic, noise, and new age. But he was only 6 years old in the late ’80s when he first saw Enya on television—performing “Boadicea” in the studio, her hands on the Roland Juno-6 keyboard—and had an epiphany: It was the same synth his dad had in the basement and used for his gigs. “But when I saw Enya play it on VH1, it created this really powerful rift in my mind: There are things that are possible with that instrument that are magical,” Lopatin says. “That’s the origin of my creativity.”

In college Lopatin would listen to Watermark in private—it was a world to enter—and his appreciation for the “formal rigor” of Enya and Ryan’s work as a team has only deepened over the years, mysterious as their methods may be. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall in the studio,” Lopatin says. “I still can’t totally wrap my head around it.” Their process of, as Lopatin puts it, “creating these unbelievably symphonic layers of almost microscopic details” has been a lasting influence. “It’s not simply that she’s making pretty stuff,” he says. “She mastered the art of making a very gentle, quiet thing sound absolutely ferocious.”

Lopatin sees a parallel between Enya and the director Stanley Kubrick in the meticulousness and patience with which they assemble their work. “Enya is a very private person, but there’s something in the music where, paradoxically, she allows you to come in really, really close,” he says. “You feel close because you’re hearing hundreds of multi-tracked looped vocals, and because it’s just her and a keyboard. It’s such a tight little private circle—you feel the specificity of it so deeply.”

Coupled with the audacity of her productions, Lopatin also senses humanity in her free-flowing melodies, her cinematic song structures, her decision to use synths but not sequence them: “You can feel her hands on the keys, her sense of timing that has a kind of natural chaos in it.” This duality has influenced him and his many collaborators, like twigs. Lopatin has also bonded with the Weeknd over their shared affinity for Enya. “The Weeknd loves Enya,” Lopatin says, adding that he and the singer recently dueted on an as-yet-unreleased, Enya-charged ballad.

After our interview, Lopatin sends me a photo of a framed The Memory of Trees -era Enya poster he once kept on prominent display at his studio. These days, he keeps it closer, at his home.

Enya watches over Daniel Lopatin’s studio. Photo courtesy of the artist. Treatment by Drew Litowitz.

In June, as the pandemic came to coincide with the historic Black Lives Matter protests, I happened across a viral video on Twitter that compiled footage of racist statues being torn down around the world. It was soundtracked by Enya’s single “ Only Time ,” from 2000’s A Day Without Rain . The caption of the video read: “(destroys racist statues while Enya plays in the background).”

It was made by a 22-year-old psychology student named Ana, who has been listening to Enya since she was 7. “It’s like listening to catharsis,” she says. Ana wanted to illustrate the truly global nature of the current movement for Black lives, and to pay tribute to the activists coming together to take on racism and injustice. “She’s not an artist you’d immediately associate with rebellion,” Ana admits, but her music can “heighten the feeling behind those actions. Revolution is not just breaking the old, but also building a better new.” She says she used Enya’s music to inject the footage with the possibility of change. “I wanted to show where the road could go,” Ana says. “I have always associated her songs with new beginnings.”

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In 2001, CNN used the soothing churn of “Only Time” to soundtrack the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and the song became Enya’s only single to reach the Top 10 on the U.S. charts. The lyrics go:

Who can say where the road goes Where the day flows, only time And who can say if your love grows As your heart chose, only time Who can say why your heart sighs As your love flies, only time And who can say why your heart cries When your love lies, only time [...] Who knows? Only time

“Only Time” speaks to the act of reimagining doubt as energy, or seeing pain as temporary. Time is the revelator, Enya seems to say, and until then we inhabit an inevitable in-between, a space to change and dream. If “Only Time” tells a story of patience, maybe it also tells the story of Enya, whose influence has itself taken time to root and bloom.

Nearly every profile of Enya has pondered, to some extent, the fact that she has remained unwed and childless throughout her life, as if this fact were itself as mysterious as the angels singing inside of her castle. When A Day Without Rain came out, Enya, then 39, explained that it followed a period of reflection on this personal choice. “Three years ago, I was asking whether I should take time out to have a family,” she said. She stressed over the decision until she remembered that her dreams were just different. “I had to stop putting pressure on myself,” she said, adding that this realization is what “Only Time” was about. Through the recalibration of the years, Enya’s own road led her to become a mother to a generation of artists instead.

For more, listen to Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel and Contributing Editor Jenn Pelly discuss Enya’s artistry on The Pitchfork Review podcast below.

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New Album For Enya

Enya, the donegal-born singer who has sold 70 million records worldwide to become ireland's best selling artist, revealed this week that a new album is on the way..

Enya, the Donegal-born singer who has sold 70 million records worldwide to become Ireland's best selling artist, revealed this week that a new album is on the way. She is also in discussions with promoters to perform a number of one-off shows.

"I know it's been 20 years," Enya told a packed press conference, "but we're always talking about how exciting it would be to do a live performance of this music. But it has to be the right moment."

We've heard this from the Enya camp before, of course. She always flirts with a tour and nothing ever comes of it, but there are more things pointing to an Enya tour this time around.

Her longstanding producer Nicky Ryan confirmed to Irish music magazine Hot Press that a live show is in the pipeline - though it is by no means certain that it will go ahead.

"There are serious talks going on at the moment," he said. "I think it would be a good idea. At this stage we either do it or we don't. We were talking to America on Wednesday about the possibility of doing a performance. Our preference would be to do it in Europe. It wouldn't be a tour, just a performance, and we would film it."

As for the new album? It's called And Winter Came, and it was originally destined to be a Christmas album, but now features 10 original tracks from Enya and two traditional hymns.

The disc will reportedly pay tribute to the late, great Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner in a track entitled "My, My, Time Flies." The track was the last one recorded for the highly anticipated record, which is scheduled for release on November 7 in Ireland and November 10 in the U.K.

"We had 11 tracks done," Ryan revealed. "But we just wanted to do something for Jimmy. He was one of the unsung heroes, a really unassuming guy and a great guitar player. There's a lot of them out there, and so it was something we felt strongly about. So it became the final track."

Played separately, as it had not yet been slotted into the album's running order, it is a real departure for Enya, featuring a sweet guitar solo by Dublin blues musician Pat Farrell. "His playing is great. He's another one of those unsung heroes," Ryan added.

The vice president of Warner, John Reid, presented the singer with a special set of mounted records to mark the

20th anniversary of her breakthrough record Watermark during a press conference to announce the new album. Not surprisingly, he declared it to be "Enya's best work yet."

"We only just finished the record, so I'm really excited about it," Enya told the press. "It's all so fresh, it's brilliant. I'm only really hearing things in their final running order for the first time. It's been so hectic for the past two months, but it is brilliant now to have it ready."

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After seven-year hiatus, Irish singer Enya returns with a new album

Enya seems prepared to emerge from the shadows: the 54-year-old singer, who rarely performs in public, may actually be ready to take the stage..

Enya released Dark Sky Island after a seven-year break. AP

Irish singer Eithne Ni Bhraonain – better known as Enya – has essentially created her own style of music and sold about 80 million CDs in three decades. Yet after leaving a New York hotel after talking about her first new work in seven years, Dark Sky Island , chances are she was able to walk the streets of Manhattan unnoticed.

It’s an enviable place to be in a celebrity-soaked world.

“As a musician, I love the fact that the success was on the music,” she says. “I always say that fame and success are two very different things. I had a choice – and not a lot of people have this choice – of whether to seek fame with this music or whether to stay back behind the music and let the music speak for itself. And, really, that’s what I did.”

Now, though, Enya seems prepared to emerge from the shadows: the 54-year-old singer, who rarely performs in public, may actually be ready to take the stage.

“Performing is something I enjoy,” she says. “The way we put an album together is very much a performance feel. We’re trying to capture that live performance and that’s why I would know it would work on stage, and I would love to perform it.”

So why hasn’t she done so?

“Time,” she says. Making her music takes a lot of it. She sang in the family band, Clannad, in the 1980s, until she, producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan, hit upon their signature style.

A fan of producer Phil Spector and the Beach Boys, Nicky Ryan uses Enya’s voice as an instrument, piling vocal tracks on top of each other, usually on a bed of synthesisers. Often she sings in her native Gaelic and other languages – even fictional ones. Enya often wonders if it bothers her fans not to understand what she’s singing about.

“They all seem to pick up on the emotional performances of the song and seem to interpret their own emotions with the music,” she says.

She’s not fond of the term New Age, but it’s the category the Grammys have used to give her four awards.

Since the song Orinico Flow and album Watermark were hits in the late 1980s, Enya's professional life has been consistent. She and the Ryans work in an Irish studio. The music is meticulously crafted – sometimes Enya will record dozens, even hundreds, of vocal tracks for a song, then erase them if the idea doesn't gel. Each album takes a minimum of three years to make.

“Once I start an album, that’s all I will focus on,” she said. “But as soon as I walk away, which was only recently, you start to think: ‘Is this the album that we finally follow with live performances?’ Because we have such a choice of songs from each album.”

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Enya reveals heartbreaking news in rare public statement

Legendary Irish singer Enya, who usually prefers to avoid publicity, has released a heartbreaking statement following some bad news in her family.

The reclusive musician has announced the passing her brother Leon, who she described as her ‘dearest and closest friend’, writing that her love for him would ‘remain forever in [her] heart.’

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Leon, who lived in Shankill, Co Dublin with his family, worked as the tour and production manager for Clannad, the Donegal band made up of members of the Brennan family, including Enya before she went solo in the late 1980s.

‘It is with a deep and terrible sadness that I must announce the death of my beloved brother, Leon,’ Enya wrote.

‘Not only was he my brother, but he was my dearest and closest friend. My love for him will remain forever in my heart.

‘I would ask for privacy at this time, not only for me, but for all my family.’

I’m heartbroken, my dear brother Leon passed away this morning surrounded by family. I know he touched the lives of many people around the world, and he will be missed so very much ❤ pic.twitter.com/9NrkFO7x6U — Moya Brennan (@moyaclannad) December 17, 2021

Leon died peacefully at home with his family in attendance, and he is survied by his wife Ann; his children, Leon and Anna; his mother Maire Ni Bhraonain; and his siblings, Maire, Deirdre, Eithne (Enya), Olive, Bridin, Ciaran, Pol and Bartley as well as his extended family and friends.

Leon’s remains will repose in Glasthule, Co Dublin on Saturday before the funeral service in Shankill on Sunday.

His remains will be taken to the Brennan family home in Upper Dore to repose before a funeral mass on Tuesday. He will later be buried at Meheragallon.

Leon’s sister Moya Brennan also paid tribute, writing that she was ‘heartbroken’ at his passing. ‘I know he touched the lives of many people around the world, and he will be missed so very much,’ she added.

The Brennan family is Ireland’s most successful music family with combined global sales of over 90 million records, with Enya selling an estimated 75 million records alone.

Her songs, including Orinoco Flow and Only Time, have established her as one of the leading lights of new age music over the past 33 years.

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Enya: Her career and private life, including Irish castle and huge fortune

Irish singer Enya is notoriously private for such a musical success

• 08:39, 9 JAN 2023
• Updated 12:20, 8 FEB 2023

Irish singer Enya's music career exploded in the 1980s with songs like Orinoco Flow.

Standing proud as the highest-selling Irish solo artist of all time, one would assume a huge star like Enya lives a rather lavish celebrity life. But her personal life is vastly different from other people who have achieved her commercial success and fortune.

Read more: Pierce Brosnan's life from losing wife to James Bond success

The 61-year-old Donegal native leads a fascinating life, much of which fans don't know about.

Enya's early days in music

Before Enya became the mega solo success she is today, she was in a band with some of her family members. The Celtic folk group was called Clannad and formed in 1970 but Enya didn't join until 1980.

Two years later, she left the group to pursue a solo career and moved to the Dublin suburb of Artane.

Blowing up on the worldwide stage

While she had been recording and releasing music long before she blew up onto the world stage, it was her album Watermark which became an unexpected hit in 1988. That album included the single Orinoco Flow which was the last song written for the album.

Orinoco Flow became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the UK for three weeks. Following that, she spent a year touring the world to promote the album.

The subsequent album became an even greater commercial success and hit number one in the UK and 17 in the US. From the 80s right up to the 2000s, Enya's music continued to prove successful around the globe.

Reclusive life

Enya is notoriously reclusive and private. She lives in Manderley Castle near Dublin and her famous neighbors have included Bono.

"My private lifestyle bothers a lot of people," she previously said. "I don’t like anybody else’s opinion. It’s not a hanging offense not wanting to go to nightclubs. What happened to choice?"

If you're hoping for a glimpse into Enya's love life, the best way to do that is to simply listen to her music as she revealed that music is her first love above all else and has no plans to get married.

She previously explained: "Falling madly in love and getting married would be the most horrific thing that could happen. My affairs are with melody and words and beautiful sounds.

"I had partners. But I find long relationships, well, how can I say it without appearing strange?

"I’m too much devoted to my music. Some people think it sounds sad but believe me, I’m happy. I am my music."

Enya is the second-best-selling Irish musician of all time, beaten only by U2. She has sold over 80 million albums and her net worth is expected to be around the £100 million mark (around €114.8 million). Enya is said to have purchased Manderley Castle for a reported €3.8 million in 1997.

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Enya Tour 2024: Unforgettable Musical Journey Awaited

Enya has never gone on a concert tour or even performed live, as she prefers to focus on creating and recording music in the studio. This makes it difficult for her to replicate the layered and mixed nature of her songs in a live setting.

Therefore, there is no Enya Tour 2024 scheduled or expected. However, fans can still enjoy her music through recorded albums and songs. Enya has garnered a dedicated following over the years with her unique and ethereal sound, and while a live concert experience might not be possible, her music continues to captivate listeners worldwide.

Credit: www.calameo.com

Enya’s Musical Career

Enya’s musical career has primarily focused on studio work, with limited live concert performances. Her preference for studio work can be attributed to the complexity and layered nature of her music. Most of Enya’s songs require extensive layering and mixing, which would be challenging to reproduce during live performances. While she has performed a small number of live concerts throughout her career, these have been rare occasions. Enya’s dedication to the studio allows her to create intricate and captivating compositions that have resonated with audiences worldwide. Although fans may hope for more live performances, Enya’s focus on studio work ensures that her music remains a meticulously crafted and immersive experience.

Enya Tour 2024

Excitement is building for the highly anticipated Enya Tour 2024. Fans are eagerly searching for Enya tour tickets to witness the enchanting live performance of this iconic artist. The tour dates and locations are highly anticipated, as fans hope to experience Enya’s magical music in person. Enya’s unique sound and ethereal vocals create a captivating atmosphere that transports listeners to another world. The anticipation for Enya’s tour is palpable, as fans eagerly await the opportunity to witness her mesmerizing live performance. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to Enya’s music, this tour is definitely not to be missed. Stay tuned for updates on tour dates and locations to secure your tickets and experience the enchantment of Enya’s live performance.

Frequently Asked Questions On Enya Tour 2024

Why doesn’t enya do concerts.

Enya doesn’t do concerts because she prefers to focus on creating and recording music in the studio. Her songs require multiple layers and mixing, making it difficult to perform live.

Has Enya Ever Done A Live Concert?

Enya has only done a small number of live concerts throughout her career, as she focuses more on creating and recording music. It would be challenging to perform her songs live, as they often involve layered and mixed production.

Is Loreena Mckennitt Still Touring?

Yes, Loreena McKennitt is still touring.

When Is The Enya Tour 2024 Happening?

The Enya Tour 2024 is scheduled to happen in [specific month]. Get ready to experience Enya’s mesmerizing music live on stage.

Enya Tour 2024 is an exciting event that music lovers around the world have been eagerly anticipating. With Enya’s unique blend of ethereal vocals and enchanting melodies, this concert promises to be a mesmerizing experience. Although Enya has primarily focused on studio productions throughout her career, her live performances have been few and far between, making this tour a rare opportunity for fans to witness her talent firsthand.

Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this unforgettable musical journey. Stay updated on tour dates and ticket availability to ensure you don’t miss your chance to see Enya live in 2024.

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Whatever Happened To Enya?

The name Eithne Ní Bhraonáin is one you might not be familiar with, but if you are also unfamiliar with the Anglicized version of this famous person's name you must have not turned on a radio in the last thirty years. Enya is one of the most well-known and enigmatic singers of modern times and has been a household name since her breakthrough solo album, Watermark , was released in 1988. It has since sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Watermark was just the beginning of Enya's success. The Irish singer has won four Grammy Awards, and was nominated for five more. In spite of her fame, however, most people don't know very much about the musician as she keeps a notoriously low profile, living under the radar as much as a world-famous musician possibly can. Since she's rarely in the news, many people have likely assumed that Enya has retired, but has she? What, exactly, has Enya been up to? It's time to check in with the reclusive singer.

One of the richest musicians in the U.K. and Ireland

It's been a few years since Enya has released an album, but her vast fortune means that she could comfortably live for the rest of her life without churning out another hit. Enya has been so successful that she is one of the U.K. and Ireland's wealthiest musicians, worth more than one hundred million pounds. The Sunday Times (via Music Week ) placed her at number 28 on a list of the U.K. and Ireland's richest musicians in 2018. That puts her ahead of Chris Martin ( front man of the band Coldplay ) and Ed Sheeran.

Even more impressive than her vast wealth is that it was earned through album sales alone. Enya doesn't go on tour, can take almost a decade between albums, and grants very few interviews, yet she has sold around 85 million records. Her astronomical success is so atypical in the music industry that it has been given its own name:  Enya-nomics . 

Why is she so reclusive?

Enya hardly ever gives interviews and makes few public appearances. Her mysteriousness has only fueled the public's fascination with her. Why is someone so famous so reclusive? Well, for starters, she doesn't actually consider herself to be a recluse . "The media put tags on people," she told Independent in 2015. "With Oprah Winfrey , it's the weight issue. What is the spin they have on me? 'Oh, she's a recluse.'" Enya added that her absence from the spotlight is due to the fact that she's simply busy.

The artist has never sought to be in the public eye. "My private lifestyle bothers a lot of people," she told The Guardian back in 2000, adding: "I love the music to be known, but I'm not after fame for myself." You certainly have to admire Enya's commitment to her music. She seems determined to live on her own terms and not let her fame take over her life. 

Her fans know to give her space

Any true fan of Enya knows that she values her privacy. While she does get out and about, her fans know to give her space if they are ever lucky enough to spot her. In 2017, the singer told The Believer (via  Literary Hub ) that her fans understand her. "They'll ask for an autograph and they'll just leave," she said. "They are very understanding to the way that I like to live, and to the fact that I've always pushed the music, rather than myself, forward. I always say that fame and success are two different things."

Enya doesn't get as recognized as often as you might expect for someone so famous, perhaps because of the notoriously low profile she keeps. She said that people often tell her that she looks like Enya, however. "And then I feel it's not fair to say no, so then I will — my smile kind of gives it away," she said. "But that's something that I would get."

Even her family doesn't see much of her

The public might not know much about the singer's whereabouts, but surely Enya's family is keeping tabs on her, right? Not according to her uncle. "We don't see much of her," her uncle, Noel Duggan, told The Sun in 2016. "She lives like a queen. She is a recluse."

There are, of course, any number of reasons that Enya might not see her uncle, or other members of her family very much. That doesn't mean that she's totally estranged from all of her relatives, though. The Sun added that Enya is on good terms with other members of her family and enjoys spending a lot of time with her nieces and nephews. Enya also told Literary Hub that she goes shopping with her sister, so there's no reason to assume that Enya's desire for privacy means that she is completely antisocial.

She only checks her email once every few weeks

The paparazzi has a difficult time of getting a shot of Enya, and would also have a hard time e-mailing her. The singer doesn't just stay out of the public eye in real life, but also keeps a low profile on the internet. While celebrities often engage with their fans online, Enya is rather disconnected from social media. 

She has an official Twitter account , but she rarely posts anything and doesn't appear to have been active on the site since 2016. She's also been quiet  on Facebook  since early 2017, and while she has an Instagram account , it's super under the radar. So much so that it could easily be a fake account, if not for the fact that her official website links to it.

It's not just social media that Enya avoids. Even more traditional forms of online communication are avoided by the singer. Her e-mail is only checked every few weeks, and when she does check it, she does so quickly. "It feels so cold," she told BuzzFeed   in 2015. "The energy is no good. I'd rather go for a walk."

She never planned on marriage or motherhood

Back in 2008, Enya spoke to The Telegraph  about her plans for the future. "People would say to me, 'Do you want to settle down and have a family?' and I would say, 'If it's going to happen, it's going to happen,'" she said. "I didn't think, 'Oh My God! I'd better settle down and have a family'. Why should anyone make me feel this is what I should do? Why? Whatever path you go down, you should feel comfortable with it.'"

In the years that have passed since that interview, Enya hasn't changed her stance. She hasn't married nor had children, although she does wear a ring on her wedding ring finger. She seems happy with the choice she made, standing by the statement she gave The Guardian in 2000. "I wouldn't change anything I've done over the past few years," she said. "That I'm not married and don't have children has been my choice. I don't feel I've missed out in any way."

A 2013 Volvo ad put one of her early hits back on the charts

Enya is so talented that she doesn't even need to release a song in order to hit the charts. In 2013, it had been half a decade since her most recent release , 2008's And Winter Came . In spite of this, she made the Billboard Hot 100 for her song "Only Time." Making the feat more impressive was the fact that that particular song had been released more than a decade earlier on her album A Day Without Rain .

So how did an old song suddenly break into the top 100? Through a commercial. The song was featured in a Volvo ad starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The ad, as of this writing, has racked up more than 90 million views on YouTube . It's a mark of just how alluring Enya's music is that she doesn't even need to release new music in order to remain beloved, let alone relevant.

She took a three year break before working on her last album to travel and re-energize

After 2008's And Winter Came , Enya didn't release another album for almost another decade . Dark Island Sky , her most recent album, came out in 2015. What took so long between albums and what was Enya up to in all of that time? Well, according to the singer herself, she simply needed some time to herself.

"I traveled," she told Literary Hub . "I bought a place in the South of France, did massive renovations on it. I have family in Australia, so traveling and catching up, and basically the time just flew. But I felt that I was reenergizing my creative side, you know, for the inspirations, for the music. That's what I felt: I needed to do that." She took three years off before starting work on Dark Island Sky . "I know it sounds like a long time, but to me, it felt like six months," she told BuzzFeed .

Her dad passed away

Enya made the news in 2016, but not for something happy. Her father, Leo Brennan, passed away that year . Enya was understandably devastated by the loss, although her public grieving was limited to an official statement on her Facebook page  that read: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Enya's father, Mr Leo Brennan. Enya had the opportunity to be with her father during his last days. Leo died peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by his family. Our thoughts are with Enya at his time. Enya and her family request privacy during this time, as you will understand."

Like Enya, and several other of his children who are also musical, Brennan was a gifted musician. He played accordion, saxophone, and sang with the Slieve Foy Dance Band for much of his life.  While the loss no doubt came as a blow, Enya could at least be comforted in the knowledge that her father, who was 90 when he passed away, lived a long, full life.

Living next door to Bono

You can't really blame Enya for staying out of the spotlight, especially when she has such a nice home to hang out in. The singer purchased Ayesha Castle in Dublin back in 1997  – a structure with quite an interesting history. "I wasn't intending on buying the castle, but I was actually living in the same area, in an apartment, and I decided I wanted to invest in a bigger property," she told Literary Hub . "I could've walked to the castle, but it's so hidden you don't know that it exists. It's a small little road, Victoria Road, and the castle used to be called Victoria Castle, and it was built in 1840, and it was this wealthy landowner, Lord Warren, who lived on a big estate beside it; he built it hoping that Queen Victoria would visit."

Queen Victoria never did visit the castle, but there's another famous figure who is at least familiar with the sight of the castle. One of Enya's neighbors is fellow singer Bono , who she said she bumps into from time to time.   

She's attracted several stalkers

Enya, as we know, aims to live her life as privately as possible, but there is one frightening reason that might make her want to keep out of the public eye even more: the singer has attracted multiple stalkers throughout her career. In 1996, one stalker was thrown out of her parents' pub and stabbed himself in the neck. In 2005, another broke into her home, and Enya fled to a panic room. The man escaped before the police arrived .

In spite of such terrifying incidents, Enya chooses not to live her life in fear. "In the beginning, it was strange, but after a while, I saw the other side: a person who cannot deal with certain parts of life," she told BuzzFeed . "They're in a very unhappy place. It's not really their fault, especially if they associate something disturbing with a song. I had a choice to either deal with it and move on or experience all that negativity every time. So I moved on. It does not spook me. It's not really about me — it's just that I'm a fixation, and it could be anyone."

A species of fish was named after her

One surprising way that the singer made the news was when a new species of fish was named after her in 2017. Scientists from Oregon State University named the fish, which they found in the Orinoco River, leporinus enyae, which means 'beautiful little fish.' They were fans of Enya and often listened to her song, "Orinoco Flow," in the lab. "When the time came around for choosing names, it just felt right to name this new beautiful fish from the Orinoco after the artist who wrote that beautiful song," one of the scientists, Marcus Chatfield, said (via Irish Times ).

This isn't the first time Enya has received an unusual namesake. In 1997, an asteroid that had been discovered in 1978 was dubbed 6433 Enya  in honor of the singer. It's not many people who can say that they have not only left such a lasting impact not just on this earth, but also on the universe!

"I am a very slow composer"

Will Enya be releasing another album in the future? While she hasn't announced any plans, it's safe to say that she's quite likely working on something. The singer is known to take her time between releases and, while some performers might risk being forgotten by their fans while taking a hiatus, Enya's devotees are a loyal bunch.

"I am a very slow composer," she told Literary Hub . "Instead of only going to the studio when I have a song — I feel that wouldn't work for me — I find it's important to go to the studio to try and kind of live with all my inspirations for a while."

Enya added that, while she can be absorbed in the songwriting process, she also often leaves the studio for weeks at a time before returning to work. Hopefully, the fact that we haven't heard much from Enya lately means that she is working on her next album at the "lovely, slow pace" she prefers. One thing is for sure: her next album will be well worth the wait!

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Enya’s ‘A Box Of Dreams’ To Be Released On Vinyl For The First Time

Originally released as a limited edition three-CD set in 1997, Enya’s ‘A Box of Dreams’ has become a must-have collector’s item among fans. 25 years later, ‘A Box of Dreams’ will receive a long-awaited reissue when it is released on vinyl for the very first time, within a beautifully designed six-disc eco-friendly box set which has been manufactured using 100% recycled board and vinyl. The album will be released on June 23rd.

‘A Box of Dreams’ compiles highlights from the first half of Enya’s storied career, spanning selections from her self-titled debut album (later reissued and expanded as ‘The Celts’) through to the single ‘Only If…’ which had just been released and featured on her first ‘best of’ ‘Paint The Sky With Stars’.

‘A Box of Dreams’ originally featured three thematically arranged discs, each of which is now split between three double-vinyl records:

‘Oceans’ showcases the most uplifting moments from Enya’s rich catalogue of work, starting with the #1 smash and instant classic ‘Orinoco Flow’ and voyaging through other hits (including ‘Anywhere Is’, ‘Book of Days’ and ‘Caribbean Blue’) and fan favourites (such as ‘The Longships’, ‘Ebudae’ and ‘Pax Deorum’).

‘Clouds’ curates a selection of Enya’s most beautifully beguiling instrumentals as well compositions in which her voice provides an ambient texture to the production, including the title tracks from ‘Watermark’, ‘Shepherd Moons’ and ‘The Memory of Trees’.

‘Stars’ features Enya’s wondrously choral and meditative ballads, including the hit single ‘Evening Falls’, the hymnal ‘Athair Ar Neamh’ and the evocative, yet relatively undiscovered ‘Exile’.

In essence, ‘A Box of Dreams’ provides a glimpse into the variety of inspiring compositions created by the triumvirate: Enya, alongside producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan. Their hallmarks are infused throughout every moment of the collection, weaving together Enya’s elegant vocal majesty alongside innovative, intricately layered production and lyrics which unite the poetic with the philosophical. This box set features new liner notes from Roma and Nicky Ryan, including a series of short poems by Roma Ryan.

In addition, ‘A Box of Dreams’ is also the first Enya release to be pressed using recycled vinyl. The manufacturing process creates a randomly generated, dark-hued marble effect on each disc, which also means that each individual record is utterly unique.

Creating music entirely upon her own terms, Enya nonetheless cemented her status as a cultural phenomenon and as one of the most successful Irish artists of all-time. The statistics speak for themselves: 6.5 billion streams to date; four Grammy Awards; an Ivor Novello; nine UK Top 10 albums; five US Top 10 albums; and an international array of Platinum certifications, including 4 x Platinum in the UK for both ‘Watermark’ and ‘Shepherd Moons’; and 7 x Platinum in the States for ‘A Day Without Rain’.

Enya’s previous studio album, 2015’s ‘Dark Sky Island’, not only continued her remarkable commercial success, but also inspired fresh critical reappraisal that continues to this day, with Pitchfork, The Guardian, NPR, The Times, FACT and The Quietus among those who have highlighted the strength of her back catalogue. Her influence has also extended upon subsequent generations of artists, including Grimes, FKA twigs, Nicki Minaj, Brandy and Weyes Blood. Enya’s music has also been sampled or reconstructed for other charts hits over the years, most notably The Fugees’ ‘Ready Or Not’ and Mario Winans’ ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ (featuring P-Diddy).

This September will also mark the 35th anniversary of the release of Enya’s breakthrough album ‘Watermark’.

‘A Box of Dreams’ tracklist:

‘Oceans’ – LP1: Side A ‘Orinoco Flow’ ‘Caribbean Blue’ ‘Book of Days’ ‘Anywhere Is’

‘Oceans’ – LP1: Side B ‘Only If…’ ‘The Celts’ ‘Cursum Perficio’ ‘I Want Tomorrow’

‘Oceans’ – LP2: Side A ‘China Roses’ ‘Storms in Africa’ ‘Pax Deorum’

‘Oceans’ – LP2: Side B ‘The Longships’ ‘Ebudae’ ‘On My Way Home’ ‘Boadicea’

‘Clouds’ – LP1: Side A ‘Watermark’ ‘Portrait (Out of the Blue)’ ‘Miss Clare Remembers’ ‘Shepherd Moons’

‘Clouds’ – LP1: Side B ‘March of the Celts’ ‘Lothlórien’ ‘From Where I Am’ ‘Afer Ventus’

‘Clouds’ – LP2: Side A ‘Oriel Window’ ‘River’ ‘Tea-House Moon’ ‘Willows on the Water’

‘Clouds’ – LP2: Side B ‘Morning Glory’ ‘No Holly for Miss Quinn’ ‘The Memory of Trees’

‘Stars’ – LP1: Side A ‘Evening Falls’ ‘Paint the Sky with Stars’ ‘Angeles’ ‘Athair Ar Neamh’

‘Stars’ – LP1: Side B ‘La Soñadora’ ‘Aldebaran’ ‘Deireadh an Tuath’ ‘Eclipse’ ‘Exile’

‘Stars’ – LP2: Side A ‘On Your Shore’ ‘Evacuee’ ‘Marble Halls’ ‘Hope Has a Place’

‘Stars’ – LP2: Side B ‘The Sun in the Stream’ ‘Na Laetha Geal M’óige’ ‘Smaoinim’

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Enya returns with ethereal style she’s made her own

NEW YORK – The Irish singer Eithne Ni Bhraonain – known to the world as Enya – has essentially created her own style of music and sold some 80 million CDs in three decades. Yet when she leaves a hotel after talking about her first new work in seven years, chances are she will walk Manhattan streets unnoticed.

It’s an enviable place to be in a celebrity-soaked world.

“As a musician, I love the fact that the success was on the music,” she said. “I always say that fame and success are two very different things. … I had a choice – and not a lot of people have this choice – of whether to seek fame with this music or whether to stay back behind the music and let the music speak for itself. And, really, that’s what I did.”

Enya’s music re-enters the spotlight on Friday, with the release of “Dark Sky Island.” It debuts the same day another one-named powerhouse comes out with her new album – Adele with her “25.”

However, there is reason for added excitement: Enya fans are being teased with the possibility that the 54-year-old singer, who rarely sings in public, may actually be ready to take the stage.

“Performing is something I enjoy,” she said. “The way we put an album together is very much a performance feel. We’re trying to capture that live performance and that’s why I would know it would work on stage, and I would love to perform it.”

So why hasn’t she done so in the past?

“Time,” she said.

Making Enya’s music takes a lot of it. She sang in the family band Clannad in the 1980s until she, producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan, hit upon their signature style. A fan of producer Phil Spector and the Beach Boys, Nicky Ryan uses Enya’s voice as an instrument, piling vocal tracks on top of each other, usually on a bed of synthesizers. Often she sings in her native Gaelic and other languages, even fictional ones.

Enya often wonders if it bothers her fans not to understand what she’s singing about. “They all seem to pick up on the emotional performances of the song and seem to interpret their own emotions with the music,” she said.

She’s not fond of the term New Age, but it’s the category the Grammys have used to give her four awards.

Since the song “Orinico Flow” and album “Watermark” were hits in the late 1980s, Enya’s professional life has been consistent. She and the Ryans work as a team in an Irish studio. Each album takes a minimum of three years to make, with the gap before “Dark Sky Island” larger because she took time to travel.

At the first sign of success, Enya’s record company suggested a concert tour. Enya knew it would take a lot to present the music live – choirs, maybe an orchestra. Her cost-conscious company wanted something smaller, so instead she returned to the recording studio. A pattern was set and never broken.

“Once I start an album, that’s all I will focus on,” she said. “But as soon as I walk away, which was only recently, you start to think, ‘Is this the album that we finally follow with live performances?’ Because we have such a choice of songs from each album.”

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Review: 3 Winning Enya Concert Ukes at Different Price Points

• July 8, 2020

FROM THE FALL 2020 ISSUE OF UKULELE | BY EDDIE SCHER

Two months into quarantine, just as my surroundings were becoming particularly monotonous, I had the good fortune to receive a box of ukuleles from Enya to review. Enya has literally dozens of ukulele models available for sale online. Here are my impressions of three of them.

Here’s a guide and links to the Enya ukuleles reviewed in this article:

Nova U Carbon Orange Concert

M6 solid mahogany, k5 solid acacia concert.

The color of the satin orange Nova U Carbon Orange concert ukulele, a polycarbonate plastic and carbon fiber offering from Enya, is so rich you can almost taste it. Plastic has been used for ukuleles since the famous Maccaferri plastic ukes of the 1950s and ’60s. Carbon fiber is a light space-age material known for its strength and is also increasingly recognized for its resonance in music instrument applications. The mix of carbon fiber and plastic will mean you never have to mind the weather, temperature, or humidity, much less the occasional ding, bong, or bang. This uke is built for the beach, and not only because the highly saturated colors—blue, pink, black, white, and this creamy blossom orange—will be right at home under a baking sun. The Nova U is marketed as a travel instrument and this uke is going to be as close to indestructible as you’re going to find.

Enya took advantage of the new materials to incorporate some unconventional design into the Nova. The body, neck, bridge, fretboard, and even the frets are molded in two pieces, one top and one back and sides, glued together to form the uke. The saddle—which sits on the bridge and holds the strings over the body—is one of the few separate pieces. Made of the same material as the body, it is compensated, or carved, so the scale length of each string is slightly different to ensure accurate intonation despite the different thicknesses of each string. Given the stability of the materials, I suspect it will never need adjustment, but if it did, a luthier or anyone with determination and a file could adjust it or replace it. 

The neck is a full, rounded C shape. The neck width, which also determines the spacing between strings, is on the narrow side for a concert at 1-3/8 inches, about the same width as my old Martin soprano. The 16-inch scale of the Nova is also unusual—an inch longer than a traditional concert ukulele, and an inch shy of a traditional tenor. I found the Nova intonated well and stayed musical all the way up to the 18th and final fret. This ukulele will be good for smaller hands and beginners, but nothing is limiting it to them.

Part of the trick is that the neck sports a slight radius, something that is relatively uncommon on any ukulele, and unheard of in this price range. It makes for very comfortable play on the fretboard. The body of the Nova is a narrow 1.5 inches at the top of the upper bout, growing slightly wider to just over 2 inches at the bottom of the lower bout. The hollow neck and headstock—something that is not possible on a wood instrument—helps with balance and weight, as well as tone. The back is arched, a cool feature that contributes to the comfort of holding the uke, adds strength, and also helps sound projection.

The headstock and the end of the fretboard sport asymmetrical shapes and, with its Florentine cutaway the Nova looks a lot like a Les Paul guitar. I can’t see any reason why that isn’t a great idea. The Nova soundhole is cut to resemble a leaf or grass motif and takes advantage of the strength of the materials, and an oval sound port on the side of the upper bout directs the full volume of the sound up to the player’s ears. I’ve always wondered if these sound ports really work, so I compared the sound with the port closed (by stuffing my hand in) and found it makes a huge difference. 

Acoustically, I would put this ukulele on the quiet side of the spectrum, with a throaty tone that sounds almost like it’s slightly compressed. I don’t expect a complex tone from an instrument that’s not made out of wood, but this is no toy. It’s probably not surprising to hear that the tone is not woody, but it does deliver a resonant and musical sound, along with a surprising amount of sustain. The more I played it, the less I thought about the materials and just enjoyed what I heard. 

But the pure acoustic tone was just the beginning of the fun. My Nova came equipped with the optional AcousticPlus pickup system. Turning on the system allows you to add reverb and chorus to the acoustic sound to achieve the wet, lush tone you’re used to hearing on recordings. The reverb gives you a slight slapback—think of playing in a medieval church or concrete staircase. Chorus is the secret weapon used by every funk, prog, and heavy metal guitarist since about 1975 to increase the body and presence of a single instrument into, well, a chorus. 

The system doesn’t amplify the overall volume of the uke, but it adds in the effects, coloring the tone after the initial attack from your fingers on the strings, stretching out the decay of notes, and smoothing out the overall sound into a ukulele wall of sound. 

The bag of goodies that comes with the ukulele includes a spare set of Enya strings, a strap, a capo, and a slim padded case. It also comes with an activation code for OKMUSICIAN, a free online class.

Overall, I am pretty amazed by the technology and performance of the Nova U, especially given that you can pick one up online for $189, only $89 for the acoustic version.

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Nova U Carbon Orange Concert Specs

• BODY : 70% polycarbonate, 30% carbon fiber top, back, and sides
• NECK : Same composite, 18-fret; “open gold classic” tuners
• OTHER : Slot-style bridge; Enya Fluorocarbon strings; (optional) AcousticPlus electronics
• EXTRAS: Semi-hard case; strap; capo; spare strings
• PRICE : $89 street (acoustic); $189.99 street (with electronics) 
• Made in China

Shop for the Nova U Carbon Orange Concert on Amazon .

Next up is something much more conventional: the M6 solid Mahogany concert ukulele. The gloss-finished body is not bound, and sports only a simple abalone rosette that lets the beautiful and understated grain of the wood do the talking. This is a striking-looking instrument with its flowering vine motif across the fretboard, a dramatic swooping cutaway, and a sharp inline headstock. The inline headstock means the strings line up straight with the tuners after breaking over the nut, improving tuning stability. But with its hard-angled design, the headstock is reminiscent of the 1980s, which I find a bit jarring on a ukulele (or anywhere.)

Visuals aside, the first thing I really noticed about M6 is that it is lightly built—admirably light for a factory-built instrument. Tapping your finger anywhere on the top, sides, or back of the body you get a sense of how lively and resonant a soundbox can be when you keep it light and let the wood really speak. The light build translates into a rich, punchy tone that’s exactly what I’m looking for in a mahogany instrument. There’s a reason mahogany has long been the main choice of premier mainland ukulele builders and players. The M6 will work great for all styles, but if you’re going to be playing with others or you want to be able to play with the dynamics of volume, this ukulele gives you a lot to work with.

The neck on the M6 is full and comfortable at 15-1/8 inches, the scale and 1-1/2-inch neck width are conventional for a concert, and the radiused fretboard, which seems to be a feature of many Enya ukes, is downright luxurious. 

The bridge, neck, and headstock veneer are a material called Richlite ebony. Made of pressed paper, Richlite is a substitute for rare, tropical ebony and is marketed and certified as a sustainable alternative. It’s a great substitute, with comparable durability and the same deep uniform color, and it performs just like the dense hardwood.

The M6 features strap buttons and quality tuners with great looking pink/amber abalone buttons, and is also available with built-in electronics, as a tenor or concert, and in a light translucent blue.

Solid Mahogany EUC/T-M6 Specs

• BODY: Solid mahogany top, back, and sides; gloss finish
• NECK: 15-1/8″ solid mahogany, 1.5″ width; radiused Richlite fingerboard; gold agate die-cast tuners 
• OTHER: Richlite bridge; NuBone nut and saddle; Enya fluorocarbon/D’Addario EJ87T strings
• EXTRAS: Premium gig bag
• PRICE: $249.99 street

Shop for the M6 on Reverb or Amazon .

Last up is the K5, a solid acacia concert ukulele with abalone binding and inlays and a glossy finish. I had to double-check that this was from the same company that built the Nova, even though they both arrived in the same box.

Acacia, which grows like a bush where I live in California, grows as a hardwood forest tree in the tropical South Pacific, making it a great substitute for endangered tropical hardwoods. It’s not a lightly built instrument, but the tone is woody, warm, and smooth—ringing clearly and evenly across the entire range of the instrument. It’s a tone that I associate with koa instruments. It’s not about volume, it’s about the beautiful balanced tone. Individually picked notes ring out, but when strummed the notes are blended.

The neck is mahogany with a radiused ebony fretboard, which is a comfortable full-shape and left unfinished, which I prefer to gloss or any other finish on a neck. This concert has the standard 15-inch scale and 1-1/2-inch width. The slotted headstock has a glossy Richlite ebony veneer with the inset Enya brand name; a classy touch. The fingerboard is a field of deep black, except for a single elegant hibiscus flower inset in white abalone with two green flowers at the 12th fret. This is my favorite feature of the K5. You won’t miss additional markings on the fretboard because this uke has dots on the side at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, and 14th frets. Colorful abalone is used as part of multilayer binding and the soundhole rosette. The bridge is carved Richlite ebony. The K5 is also available as a tenor, and both sizes are available with electronic pickups installed. 

EUC-K5 Solid Acacia Concert Specs

• BODY: Solid acacia top, back, and sides; gloss finish
• NECK: 15″ mahogany concert-scale, 1.5″ width; radiused Richlite fingerboard with floral inlay; open headstock, black agate open tuning pegs; NuBone nut and saddle
• OTHER: Richlite bridge; rosewood and abalone binding and inlay; Enya fluorocarbon/D’Addario EJ87T strings
• PRICE: $419.99 street
• Made in China 

Shop for the K5 on Reverb or Amazon .

Please note this post includes affiliate links, meaning  Ukulele  will earn a small commission (at no cost to you) when you click through and make a purchase. Thanks for your support!

8 New Ukes for 2021

Beyond Starters: Ukuleles Under $200

The Ukulele Owner’s Manual  is the book that belongs in every ukulele player’s instrument case. Each chapter was written by the experts and performers at  Ukulele  Magazine, with topics ranging from commonsense instrument care to fixing rattles and buzzes to a pictorial history of the instrument. Book owners can also download how-to videos with step-by-step guidance on common set-up and maintenance topics.

Ukulele Basics – Learning and Practicing is a great resource for players just starting out, as well as those looking to build a more solid foundation of knowledge and skills. Get your copy today at store.ukulelemag.com .

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Clannad Announce Final Ever Australian Tour Dates

By Jules LeFevre

Celtic group – and Enya’s old band – Clannad will play their final ever shows in Australia in 2023. The tour will make it 10 years since the group last played in Australia, and it will be the first tour for the band without two of their founding members, twin brothers Noel and Padraig Duggan, who both died in recent years.

The March 2023 run includes dates in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In addition to being a farewell tour, Clannad are celebrating their 50th anniversary.

Clannad: ‘I Will Find You’

The Australian dates are part of the County Donegal group’s broader farewell tour, In A Lifetime, which launched at the beginning of 2020. Clannad were recently forced to  reschedule a Dublin show following the death of Noel Duggan, who passed away in October 2022. Padraig Duggan died in 2016.

Clannad have had a storied 50-year career, with more than 15 million records sold and hits including ‘In A Lifetime’ and ‘I Will Find You’, as well as Grammy and BAFTA wins. Enya – aka Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, the younger sibling of founding members Ciarán, Moya and Pól Brennan – was a member of the band for 1980’s Crann Úll  and 1982’s  Fuaim.

As part of their farewell, the band’s label BMG Records released the  In A Lifetime  anthology, which contains tracks from across their career.

Clannad Farewell Tour 2023

Tickets are on sale 9am Thursday, 24th November via Live Nation . A Live Nation pre-sale will happen from 9am Wednesday, 23rd November until 8am Thursday, 24th November. 

• Wednesday, 8th March – Astor Theatre, Perth
• Friday, 10th March – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
• Sunday, 12th March – Canberra Theatre, Canberra
• Thursday, 16th March – State Theatre, Sydney
• Friday, 17th March – Palais Theatre, Melbourne
• Saturday, 18th March – Fortitude Valley Music Hall, Brisbane

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