4. Enya – Enya / The Celts
I love Clannad and I adore traditional Irish music, because I dance to it. But I think what is in-credible is how Enya translates all of this, whilst focusing on their own recording process. It is a truly timeless record. They translate all of this history and make it into something new. This album encapsulates a lot of the music that I grew up with, and transform it though the record-ing process, I admire the way that they’ve done this, because this is always the challenge as a recording artist – how do you translate all of those musical influences?
I’ve been soaked, trwytho-d in music from all of the Celtic countries, so it’s a real jewel in the canon to have something this progressive sounding. I’m not sure that anyone has bet-tered it. Enya embodies being a Celtic artist rather than a ‘New Age’ artist, because her refer-ences are very, very clear and are steeped in history, tradition, and communities.
There is nothing flippant about her song or melodic choices. It stands the test of time because of this depth of knowledge and the fact that it bridges the ancient world with the future. She’s still so far into the future, and we’re still trying to catch up. The way that Enya processes her voice captures a complete human experience, but it’s not necessarily human, because it doesn’t sound like there are any humans present at the recording. The way that they utilise the recording processes is truly transcendent. Enya manages to embody thousands of years of experience, and there’s also an incredible chemistry between them as a trio. The Celts sits in such stark contrast to what we think music needs to be now, particularly in the com-mercial sphere, because it’s just music. They hit on something eternal, and that’s definitely something to do with Ireland’s historical timeline that just goes straight back, without a cut-off point.
