After Enigma

Tier 2

There are hints of Enigma and Enya in Ceredwen's music, but it really has a sound all its own. Vocals are provided by Ren�e Gray, and mix a processed sound with the traditional Celtic aesthetic. The music combines celtic instruments with electronic elements. A distinguishing trait of Ceredwen's is the mixture of traditional percussion with with modern recorded and electronic kits.

It is somewhat tempting to call this German-based group a direct rip-off of Enigma. This would be unfair. They really pick combine the Enigma sound with a dedicated choir. For the first two albums, the choir is all-male, but it becomes male-female mixed on the third. The choir's sound is similar to Gregorian Chant, and the lyrics are predominantly latin, but it really sounds more professional and classical than any featured elsewhere on this site. The juxtaposition of the choir with the world sound, ambient synths and various beats its truly awesome to behold. Lesiem is my newest favorite group, and I strongly recommend them to fans of Enigma who want to hear the sound progress (that should be anyone visiting this site). Check out Lesiem's website.

NB: Lesiem's albums are released by different labels, with different titles and packaging on different sides of the Atlantic. Living in Texas, I refer to the American releases.

So far there has only been one release from Magna Canta, and I've been unable to find any biographical information the group. Their record label is IntentCity, which is also managing American distribution of Lesiem. Common elements across Magna Canta's tracks are Gregorian chants and dancy beats, similar in style to Enigma's MCMXC A.D.

In her first album under a fresh new pseudonymn, Maire Brennan shares songs loosely based on the Celtic legend of the harp of Tara. There's quite a bit here that will appeal to fans of Maire's and Enya's works.

Paul Schwartz is the mind behind these three projects. They all involve an orchestra, a very unique electronic element, and beautiful female vocals. The vocals on the Aria albums are fairly operatic, those on the Paul Schwartz Project album are more poppy (in the sense that Sarah Brightman sounds poppy at times), and the State of Grace albums vary, with a mix of the poppier vocal style and the occasional use of a full classical choir. Very good stuff for fans of neo-classicism.

I'm really not very familiar with TYA yet - I found his second, and most recent CD at the store recently and picked it up. "He," in this case, is Martin Scherl, a German musician producer. His music basically follows the Enigma model, with a pretty tight focus on Aboriginal sounds. I really don't want to make any strong statements about his work as a whole until I hear his first album - the second is quite good, though. You can check out its site at Sequoia Records' website, but there's really not that much information there.