SEVENTH WONDER TO PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE.
A Review By: Onur TEZGELDI, written in Ibiza – SPAIN,
Reformed on August 16th, 2008.
Exclusively For: www.EnigmaMusic.com – www.EnigmaMusica.com - www.Enigma-FanClub.com
ENIGMA ‘’Seven Lives Many Faces’’ released on:
19th September 2008 by EMI Music Germany GmbH & Co.KG
2354552 // 2271242
How can you ever believe that a wild dream comes true?...Four affiliate webmasters Martyn, Onur, Alonso and Stefano are in the A.R.T. Studios with the alchemist of ENIGMA, the mastermind Michael Cretu.. We are all wondering about the Seventh Wonder...
Michael performs a very short sound check with the first few seconds of “Seven Lives” then he says all okay, let’s rock..
Dimmed lights, we are exactly in the center of the studio against a perfect stereo installment supported by a pro-sub woofer just in front of us...No strong light inside, breaths are hold...We’re leaning to the closet that gave life to many productions including “Voyageur” and Ruth Ann’s “What About Us?” album...
Michael presses PLAY on a portable MAC... And leaves us alone with our own ENIGMA... Eye to eye...Face to face..To our own imaginations and interpretations for the Seventh Wonder for the Seventh Time...
 01 – Encounters - 03:12 
No layers… A sudden start of the seventh journey…The mysterious and never-heard before haunting female voice opens the grand ceremony…
Seven stars, seven days
Seven seals, seven gates,
Seven angels, seven skies,
Seven sins, seven lives
A heart beat…Strong synth…Ocean tides getting closer and closer to us… Enigmatic layers are all around again…A remarkable perfection and familiarization to PAST…
An inner connection to the bases of ENIGMA…Ambient waves and the full blast of a “helicopter” passing by side to side…Signature of ENIGMA, the overture fanfares a.k.a horns of ENIGMA…
Seven towers, seven eyes,
Seven wonders, SEVEN LIVES!!!
Somehow calming but scary?... Fading out like it will rest but…
02 - Seven Lives - 04:25
…fully surprising opening of title track shocks…Classical strings with symphonic touches from London Symphonic Orchestra...You think this is classical but a breaking glass marks the point and impressively morphs the time to the future we’ve all never seen , an electronic voice makes a mouth-drum noise sounding like ‘’Chill…chill…chill..’’ Earthy Hip-Hop-like beats with a beat boxing male in the background until the right time where Andru Donalds kicks in with his most powerful state of voice;
Traces, many faces,
Lost in the maze of time,
Blinded by the DARKNESS,
That’s the start of SEVEN LIVES!!!
Seven Lives is a very powerful modern track representing the futuristic aspect of ENIGMA. Definitely not as cold as the feeling of space that was on “A Posteriori”.. Rather warm and charming the audience with beauty… Probably Andru’s vocals are the best ever… Even more powerful than what we heard on “Modern Crusaders” or “Hello and Welcome”… A top notch single track… Finishes by the same string sound outro, just like it is vanishing to the unknown… Goose bumps are already given…There’s no way to escape…Run if you can…Now or never…
03 – Touchness – 03.36
…Towards the next piece, greeting the listener with again classical mood… But there’s something coming…But what?... There are moments in ENIGMA tracks that you simply cannot describe the feelings knowing that nobody will understand it and feel it like you do… That’s what ENIGMA is… “Touchness” is the killer track of the album.. Already a classic…Probably the best piece we’ve heard for a long long time…Violins Intro…An acoustic guitar loop stunningly blended with mind blowing bass sound… Earth is definitely shaking with the power of the track… Lots of highs and emotions…An unbelievably unique experience…Closing my eyes… feel it’s soo hot…hot…HOTTER than ever… Like we’re in the middle of a desert with delusions of mirage…
Touch and kiss me..
-Up and Down-
Touch and feel me,
-Up and Down-
At 02:03 we hear the signature female moaning voice… Elegantly blended with the classical choir (probably a digitized synth sample) that is hypnotizing with its all dimensions… No word can describe the madness… This is Cretuism… Nothing else….
03:01 spacey voices and moaning yet with the presence of the dark haunting choir…03:22 goes back to the classical bases where it all started… It’s raining and our love is breathing….
The year MMVIII gently passes greetings to MCMXC a.D, to the unfathomable games of Sadeness.. But this time it is “Touchness”.. Looking for a meaning in title?? It is all about touching itself, touching to our souls… A new love…
04 - The Same Parents – 05.20
…to classical guitar entrance… Sebastian Cretu starts by asking some questions to us…Who is willing to answer him? Who’s willing to explain the never-ending nonsense wars to this innocence?
We all had the same parents,
Many million years ago,
Why can’t we live in FREEDOM?
Without hunger with no war…
Heavy, very heavy drums all around.. ‘ATTENTION’’ is requested.. The voice says ‘’ATTENTION’’ to where we are … And what we’re into… Nikita Cretu is on the lead vocals for the very first time on ENIGMA… A manifested destiny???… 02.01 a booming bass with mesmerizing Dobro Guitar solo… This is the protest… A scream to the invisible social madness, illness…Voices are…
05 - Fata Morgana - 03:24
…In and out… In and out… Energetic drums and bass… What an amazing combo ever!!
Female mystery voice rises and says ‘’Take me now… Take me now…Take me NOW…’’
Again a “Sadeness” derivative bass beat but with a more powerful than ever bass line…
An exploding track to the electronic and edgy electro guitar parade at 01.42 which shows the strong feelings of Cretu playing in full emotion… Half realist, half surrealist…Is that real or not? Fata Morgana? Suddenly going away… Only an initial request remains…But “who will take me now”???...
06 - Hell's Heaven - 03:52
…Heaven or Hell…Starting with a message from past by 80’s like simple synth organ…Effects side to side…Fully spatial sound experience…Powerful synth transmissions from left to right, right to left…Complex and impressive bass beats…Time and times more powerful than 1997’s Olive smash ‘’Your’re Not Alone’’… Subtle but aggressive…Just like a genuine sequel to “Incognito”… Who will stay and where will we go?...
07 - La Puerta del Cielo – 03:28
… A Silence… To respect the depth of wisdom… Feeling of intensive experiences?...We are all poisoned by now… 61 years old “Margarita Roig” opens the piece of A.R.T.!.. Is it that necessary to understand her ancient lyrics??? The harmony speaks itself as a universal language, leaving everything behind… We see the door to heaven… It is just in front of 4 of us… And nobody else knows it so far… Something secret, something special kept safe for years and years…
Allà dins es canal
En es peu da sa muntanya,
Pareix que es senten picarols
Suau si es mou sa manada.
Dins es canta des riquets,
I es mussol crida sa calma,
I aquella olor que em pareix
De sa palla humilada…
This is a tribute to the old school ENIGMA sound… We are totally back to the mystery and feelings era of the first album… Such a rare moment and such are rare example of brilliance… 01:57 reveals a twist and turn with breathing all very ENIGMATIC, very ENIGMA we all know for a long time now… Margarita’s voice never let us go… Hi-hats probably resemble “Principles of Lust” in a way… How long have we been waiting for such masterpiece?? Very well deserving to be the lead single without any questions or doubts.…AWESOME!!!...An epic tale giving goose bumps with its each milliseconds…
08 - Distorted Love - 04:11
…Breathing…Breathing…Then enlightening Gregorian chants fade in… What a glorious moment!!! Truly ENIGMA… Our beloved sound signature is back…Andru Donalds is on lead vocals on this track.. There we re-meet our master’s tricks… Voices are instruments or instruments are voices philosophy works very well here again.. Andru’s high tone vocal sounds –not as distorted as the title suggests- almost like an electronic guitar…Sensual lyrics surround the entire room;
I need you, I love your body
-You need love-
Touch me, I’ll be your daddy,
Smell me, I’ll be your mommy,
Touch me, Feel me, Smell me…
09 - Je T'aime Till My Dying Day† - 04:19
…Do you love me too, do you..do you..Do you love me too?
Female voice sample keeps saying above… A groovy beat welcomes us.. Heavy bass sound is an understatement for this track… Sensual moanings, breathes side to side… Fully smelling love…Fully passionate…
Je t’aime, je t’aime mon amour,
-Do you really love me?-
Je t’aime
I’ll always love you…Till my dying day…
Andru is on lead vocals and he’s crying out like confessing the secret of the men’s lives… Just like singing out loud to the misty mountains, arms are wide open.. 03.02’s transition is unique… You have to experience the explosion of emotions, seduction of the mysterious lady…
10 - Déjà Vu - 02:56
…Breathing again…Breathing…We can hear the ocean and the tides…Some kind of a bell rings but in low key…How would you guess a track’s style with this title? Get excited, get ready for the mind blowing chant from “The Roundabout”…This is total madness!!! Are we visiting “Le Roi” once again? But no…This is today… This is ENIGMA in present…But Past is hiding down? The highly appreciated chant from Roundabout talking to the ones we hear on ‘’Between Mind & Heart”?? Are we that crazy to combine these two with some minor touches from ‘’Age of Loneliness”??? Insane…Insane… This is truly insane!!! You have to hear it for yourself to see how many ENIGMA songs are in this track in new fashion…
Very heavy drums in respect of “Weightless”?...
11 - Between Generations – 04:31
…into the second track featuring pure hypnotizing voice of Margarita Roig… What kind of mind torture is that??? Is Michael trying to kill us with combinations of all emotions??
Si penses que ma mare
Així dispara amb so canó gros
I tens raó
No t’hi pensis I aixi en tindrem es dos.
While discussing with Michael regarding the voice of Margarita he said.. ‘’I was looking for decent vocals in Mongolia years and years.. I didn’t know it was just near me..” This track is very powerful with her vocals and very impressive on the traditional/tribal atmosphere..As the song gains more momentum it becomes more and more catchy… You really don’t have to understand the meaning of lyrics… Just follow the ENIGMATIC flow… Follow your inner emotional guide…
12 - The Language of Sound - 04:21
…to the universal language of ENIGMA sound..To the grand collage of “Seven Lives Many Faces”…This track is full of voice samples.. Just imagine a fusion of different voices together in a radical harmony…01.46 breathing sample kicks in again…Beautifully blends into modern times –almost- blues type female vocal sample… Add “Déjà Vu”s chants to the ingredients…Here’s our alchemist.. He has the same ingredients everybody has, but he mixes them a little bit in a different way… That makes him the mastermind…
This experimental track starts to go down just like the unforgettable Ibiza sun.…..03.48 heart beats…boom boom…boom boom…It’s going down…Our heart is slowing down… more and more… Almost deceiving the audience “every second is like more than one?”…All the blurry faces we’ve seen disappears… To the unknown paths in life yet again….
Bonus Tracks:
01 - Superficial - 02 - We Are Nature - 03 - Downtown Silence -04 - Sunrise
05 - The Language Of Sound (Slow Edit)
Well you’ll ask what’s the deal with these tracks… As Michael says.. ‘’Bonus is the bonus…’’
No crossfades between them.. Just like a gift for all of us… These were produced coincide with the other ones on the main album and in the overall, you’ll hear more of a ‘’Chill-Out’’ feeling in these tracks.. ‘’We are Nature’’ features a combo of Ruth Ann and Margarita’s vocals.. Pretty impressive and a remarkable highlight from this additional CD. And also don’t expect to hear ‘’silence’’ from the track “Downtown Silence”.. This is absolutely “Michael Cretu” type silence… Wait and hear for yourself…We will not spoil the surprise…
Conclusion:
Okay, we’ve been through all the faces, all the voices.. You’ll definitely feel the MCMXC a.D in this post-modern composition. Without a doubt, “Seven Lives Many Faces” is a MASTERPIECE in all musical dimensions and feelings oozing from the fresh content and as Michael says ‘’like a mental vitamin tablet”...Just like the predecessor , this masterpiece is also produced on the newly invented mobile studio titled as ‘’The Alchemist’’. From the “Less is more” philosophy, Michael Cretu was able to increase the productivity and creativity..He even admits, less and less time for troubleshooting on technical stuff gave him freedom more than you’d ever imagine... Even though every ENIGMA album is a gem of its kind and era (and always unique), this piece is definitely surpassing the uniqueness and quality we all know in entirety and we can comfortably express that “seventh gem” is a lot better than the last few chapters...
A review by : Onur TEZGELDI, EnigmaMusic.com News Editor
In collaboration with affiliate web pages EnigmaMusica.com and Enigma-FanClub.com
Page design and Layout: Alonso Gutiérrez - EnigmaMusica.com
EnigmaMusic.com © August 2008
All Rights are reserved and any partial or entire re-publishing strictly requires
written permission from the author.
Seven Lives Many Faces by ENIGMA:
All songs published by 1-2-3 Music/Crocodile Music.
Arranged, Performed, Engineered and Produced by Michael Cretu
www.enigma.de // www.enigmaspace.com //www.emimusic.de // www.enigmamusic.com
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