Created by EnigmaMusic.com

1996

By 1996, Enigma was almost forgotten by the radio-stations and the street. But was Enigma ever the music of the street? There need be no answer to the question. After the success, Cretu was able to be entirely free to compose what he liked with no target audience. Success brings about credibility and other practical considerations that elevate the aim of making music from the humble status of an enjoyable way to make a living into pure and sublime catharsis that transcends the solitude of the composer to anyone who cares to listen; and millions did. The music of Enigma found its way around the Globe; knocking on forbidden doors, excusing itself through iron curtains and showing one more time that with race, class, and politics separating people, they remain more alike than they would ever care to admit.

"Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi" ( German Virgin CD 7243 8 42065 2 9 ) was the title. Michael Cretu had implied that he used the phrase in isolation of it historical context. The historical context, however, is not as exclusive to the death of a King as one might initially think. It is rather an expression of the continuity of office through the departure of individuals by disposal, malady, or death. The continuity of an idea was for sure relevant to Enigma for Cretu conceived the third album as a child of the previous two. The disappearance of Enigma for three years and its resurfacing time after time, fresh, new and isolated from any trend or identifiable source of energy was indeed as impressive and real as an idea would self-rejuvenate through time and circumstance surviving people and other immediacies.

There were two singles released from this album and an aborted plan for a third. "Beyond the Invisible" ( German Virgin CD 7243 8 93819 2 4 ) had appeared before the album in October 1996 and "T.N.T. for the Brain" ( German Virgin CD 7243 8 94049 2 0 ) was released in Febuary 1997. "The Roundabout" was to be released and a re-mix was reportedly prepared by trendy disc-jockey Quicksilver. However, the release was cancelled due to reasons that have little to do with the artistic value of the work.

The use of samples on the third album was less obvious. The samples supported the music and seldom drove it. The beats were less pronounced, however, the production was exhaustively layered and sophisticated. The third album had an atmosphere of indulgence, an internal journey that lent itself to interpretation and commentary more than it was itself a commentary on another time and place as were the previous two to varying degrees. There were flashes from the previous albums, as was the case again in the fourth album; however, those flashes only emphasized that Enigma was a totality wherein Cretu could combine the very same constituents a million times and each time there will be a new whole.
"Le Roi est Mort Vive le Roi" contained pieces that were dramatic and poignant. Both singles released bore tales of exploration and tragedy. The video for "Beyond the Invisible", driven by the beauty of a dreamy ice-skating ballet, was essentially a brief drama of escape and self-validation.

Michael Cretu ~ "I think those three figures are fantastic. Just like people imagined the "man-machine" a hundred years ago. And anyway, I like everything that's kind of Jules Verne."

Credits
Written and researched By Taha A. Al-Douri
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©EnigmaMusic.com and Martyn Woolley
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E-Mail : cretu@enigmamusic.com