Enigma — Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! (French for «The King is Dead, Long Live the King!») is a 1996 album created by the music project Enigma.
Released on November 25, 1996, the album reached to the top spot in Norway’s top 40 charts and third in the whole of Europe. Two singles from the album — «Beyond the Invisible» and «T.N.T. for the Brain» were also released at around the same time of its parent album. A planned third single, «The Roundabout» was scrapped at the last minute for unclear reasons, even though a remix had already been created by DJ Quicksilver.
This album continued Enigma’s trend, giving it a slightly more modern, futuristic sound by combining the elements of Enigma’s first album, MCMXC a.D. and their second album, The Cross of Changes. Michael Cretu, producer of the project, considered Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi to be the child of the previous two albums, with the first being the father and the second being the mother, as indicated by the 19-second track, «Third of its Kind».
There are two editions of the packaging; one with standard paper artwork, and another with translucent tray and booklet artwork printed on a heavier plastic.
Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! was nominated in the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album and Johann Zambryski’s album art design earned him a nomination for Best Recording Package.
The intro track begins with a sample of mission control contacting the Discovery from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The intro, including the famed «Enigma horn», is played in reverse for the closing track, «Odyssey of the Mind».
The track «T.N.T. for the Brain» contains samples taken from Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. The samples are just audible, underlying the main music. They can be most clearly heard at the start and the end of the track, but are just noticeable throughout.
Artist: Enigma
Album: Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
Genre: New Age, Ambient, Chillout
Format: mp3
Quality: 256 Kbps
Year: 1996
File Size: 81.91 MB
Track list:
1. «Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!» (Michael Cretu) – 1:57
2. «Morphing thru Time» (Cretu) – 5:47
3. «Third of Its Kind» (Cretu) – 0:19
4. «Beyond the Invisible» (Cretu, David Fairstein) – 5:00
5. «Why! …» (Cretu) – 4:59
6. «Shadows in Silence» (Cretu) – 4:21
7. «The Child in Us» (Cretu) – 5:06
8. «T.N.T. for the Brain» (Cretu) – 4:26
9. «Almost Full Moon» (Cretu) – 3:26
10. «The Roundabout» (Cretu, Fairstein) – 3:38
11. «Prism of Life» (Cretu, Fairstein) – 4:55
12. «Odyssey of the Mind» (Cretu) – 1:40
Enigma — The Screen Behind the Mirror
The Screen Behind the Mirror is a 1999 music album created by the musical project Enigma. Recorded at the A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, it was released worldwide by Virgin Records.
Supporters of the album credited it as the most mature album Michael Cretu had created, while critics lamented the use of extensive samples from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, even though it only appears on four out of the eleven tracks on the album.
Artist: Enigma
Album: The Screen Behind the Mirror
Genre: New Age, Ambient, Chillout
Format: mp3
Quality: 192 Kbps
Year: 2000
File Size: 106.59 MB
Track list:
1. «The Gate» (Michael Cretu) – 2:03
2. «Push the Limits» (Cretu, Jens Gad) – 6:27
3. «Gravity of Love» (Cretu) – 4:01
4. «Smell of Desire» (Cretu, David Fairstein) – 4:55
5. «Modern Crusaders» (Cretu) – 3:51
6. «Traces (Light and Weight)» (Cretu, Gad) – 4:13
7. «The Screen Behind the Mirror» (Cretu) – 3:59
8. «Endless Quest» (Cretu) – 3:07
9. «Camera Obscura» (Cretu) – 6:42
10. «Between Mind & Heart» (Cretu) – 4:09
11. «Silence Must Be Heard» (Cretu, Gad) – 5:20
+ Bonus
Enigma — MCMXC a.D.
CMXC a.D. (1990 in Roman numerals followed by a seemingly incorrect abbreviation of «Anno Domini») is a concept album created by the musical project Enigma, spearheaded by Michael Cretu. It was Enigma’s debut album and one of the most influential albums ever produced in the New Age genre. The project’s popularity soon soared beyond Cretu’s expectations after the album’s launch, as it reached number 1 position in charts of 41 countries.[1]
Four singles were excerpted from this album: «Sadeness (Part I)», «Principles of Lust», «Mea Culpa (Part II)» and «The Rivers of Belief». «Sadeness» and MCMXC a.D. itself hit No. 1 on the UK singles and albums charts respectively on its UK debut in January 1991. On the U.S. market «Sadeness (Part I)» reached fifth place on the Billboard Hot 100 and MCMXC a.D. made sixth place on the Billboard 200 and remained in the charts for a total of 282 weeks.
MCMXC a.D. was one of the first albums to be recorded on a hard disk after Cretu’s upgrade to the A.R.T. Studio.
Artist: Enigma
Album: MCMXC a.D.
Genre: New Age, Ambient, Chillout
Format: mp3
Quality: 192 Kbps
Year: 1990
File Size: 54.95 MB
Track list:
1. «The Voice of Enigma» (Curly M.C.) – 2:21
2. «Principles of Lust» – 11:43
A. «Sadeness» (Curly, F. Gregorian, David Fairstein)
B. «Find Love» (Curly)
C. «Sadeness (reprise)» (Curly, Gregorian, Fairstein)
3. «Callas Went Away» (Curly) – 4:27
4. «Mea Culpa» (Curly, Fairstein) – 5:03
5. «The Voice & The Snake» (Curly, Gregorian) – 1:39
6. «Knocking on Forbidden Doors» (Curly) – 4:31
7. «Back to the Rivers of Belief» – 10:32
A. «Way to Eternity» (Curly)
B. «Hallelujah» (Curly)
C. «The Rivers of Belief» (Curly, Fairstein)