One of Ireland’s most popular exports, Enya is second only to U2. With her blend of folk melodies, synthesized backdrops, and classical motifs, Enya creates a distinctive style that more closely resembles “new age” than the folk and Celtic music that provided her initial influences. (Although new age music is a label that has never been very clearly defined. New age is a term that was coming into popular use in the early 80s, around the same time as Enya’s introduction to the world at large.)

Enya is from Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland, which she left in 1980 to join the Irish band Clannad, the group that already featured her older brothers and sisters. She stayed with Clannad for two years, then left, hooking up with producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, with whom she recorded film and television scores. The result was a successful album of TV music for the BBC. Enya then recorded Watermark (1988), which featured her distinctive, flowing music ... read more »