Enigma

Starting out as a keyboard player with Milli Vanilli/Boney M producer Frank Farian, Michael Cretu produced hits for his future wife Sandra Lauer before launching his solo career. Minor success fizzled out but he returned with the pioneering electronic project Enigma, determined to create ethereal, emotive soundscapes. "I didn't want to write songs, I wanted to write moods," he said. Inspired by Jean Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield, his debut album MCMXC a.D. (1990) mixed Gregorian chants with dance beats, synthesizers and flutes while exploring religion and sexuality. Led by single Sadeness (Part 1), it reached Number 1 in 24 different countries (including the UK) and sold more than 22 million. Cretu maintained an elusive, mysterious persona as subsequent albums The Cross Of Changes (1993), Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! (1996) and The Screen Behind The Mirror (1999) brought more success by mixing rock, pop and techno, resulting in accumulated worldwide sales of over 55 million. Later efforts were less successful, but his music continues to be used in TV and movies like Charlie's Angels, The Matrix and Sliver.

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