Enigma on ARD (Germany), January 14, 1995

By Hartmut Keller, January 16, 1995

January 13:

Tomorrow, Saturday, 01/14/95, 12:30: the german TV channel ARD shows half an hour Enigma. ARD can be received in most parts of Europe via the ASTRA Satellite, 11.494 GHz, horizontal polarisation, sound subcarriers 7.02/7.20 Mhz.

Here's the description given in my TV magazine (TV-Spielfilm):

"Ein Musikphaenomen rund um die Welt" hat die ARD in Michael Cretus Projekt "Enigma" ausgemacht. Und wirklich: Der gebuertige Rumaene stuermt seit 1990 mit einer bis dahin nie gehoerten Melange aus klassischen Chorgesaengen, Ethnoklaengen und Popsounds die Charts. Weltweit verkaufte er mehr als zwoelf Millionen Platten und wurde in 25 Laendern mit Gold und Platin ausgezeichnet.

I'll try a translation. It's rather bad, but my German/English dictionary on WWW just went down today. :-(

"A music phenomenon around the world" was discovered by the ARD in Michael Cretu's project "Enigma". Indeed: born in romania, he attacs the charts with a not yet heard mixture of classical choir chants, ethno sounds and pop sounds. He sold more than twelve million albums worldwide and went gold and platinum in 25 countries.

The broadcasting is in stereo.



January 16:

I will give a summary of the 25 minutes special here:

The whole thing starts with impressions of Ibiza to the music of Rivers of believe, going soon to the video of Sadeness. Now follow impressions of Michael Cretu's house on Ibiza, his studio, his pool, his gold and platinum albums on the wall. Then follows The dream of the dolphin with M.C. playing the keyboards in his studio and the video The eyes of truth. After that we see M.C. sitting in front of his Computers playing some sound samples. The last video is Return to Innocence.

Every now and then there are pieces of an interview with M.C. thrown in. There he tells that he had liked it if it had never gotten known who is behind of Enigma, as he doesn't like it how there's always made a cult out of such a project. His change from classic music to pop music was when he heard YES. He also likes groups like Emmerson Lake & Palmer or Jethro Tull, bands in general that have a thread in their songs. During the beginning, the formation of his songs he has to be totally alone, to concentrate on his feelings and emotions to bring them into the form of music. This often takes some time and he should not be interrupted in these phases. If someone comes in and just says "Hello" he often needs another two hours to get back to the right mood.

The whole thing ends with the following statement about Enigma:

"Das ist wahrscheinlich mit die beste Arbeit, die ich je gemacht habe. ... Ob's Enigma 3 geben wird oder nicht, weiss ich nicht. Ich habe mir vorgenommen, solange mir eigentlich strange Ideen noch einfallen, wo ich wirklich dieses Level, diesen Anspruch an irgendwas erfinderisches hinter der Musik, so ein bisschen das Jules-Verne-artige aufrecht erhalten kann, da wird es Spass machen, unter dem Namen Enigma was zu machen; und ich werde garantiert etwas, was so schoen gelaufen ist und mir soviel bedeutet und gegeben hat, auch in kuenstlerischer Art und Weise, werde ich nie zerstoeren nur aus kommerziellen Gruenden und sag: 'Na ja, der Name ist noch gut genug, mir faellt zwar nichts mehr ein, aber druecken wir denen noch Enigma 3 rein', oder so. Das werde ich garantiert nicht machen. Und wer mich gut kennt, weiss, ich mein's wirklich ehrlich."

(And again the more or less successful translation)

"This is probably the best thing I've ever done. ... Whether there will be Enigma 3 or not, I don't know. I think, as long as I have strange ideas, as long as I can hold this level, this inventive demand, the Jules-Verne-kind of things, it'll be fun to make music under the name of Enigma; and I definitely won't destroy something that went so well and that means so much to me and that has given me so much artistically; just to make the quick money, and say: 'Well, the name is still good enough, I don't come up with something new, but let's push another Enigma 3'. This, I definitely won't do. And those who now me well enough, know, I truly mean it."


Updated February 10, 1995 by Joar Grimstvedt joarg@hsr.no