New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Virgin/ EMI) - The onset of the 21st Century's second decade marks the 20th anniversary of a musical phenomenon which has always been ahead of its time: producer Michael Cretu's ENIGMA. To commemorate the milestone, Virgin/EMI will release a deluxe, career-spanning 3CD boxed set on February 9 titled ENIGMA: The Platinum Collection, featuring 17 standout album tracks, 12 sought-after remixes and 11 previously unreleased recordings. The collection will also be available for download purchase from all major digital service providers.
Romanian-born producer Michael Cretu has never shied away from breaking into uncharted terrain with his musical creations, catapulting his frequently experimental songs and albums into remarkable commercial dimensions. ENIGMA's many worldwide accomplishments include more than 50 million records sold, 100 gold and platinum sales awards and 50 number one positions in the international charts.
ENIGMA: The Platinum Collection sees Cretu not only taking stock of his success, but also presenting an impressively comprehensive portrait of his creative oeuvre.
Disc One, "The Greatest Hits," features 17 of ENIGMA's most popular and successful songs, all of them prototypes of a unique conglomeration of ethnic, electronic and classical music transformed into mythical, sensual pop symphonies. Vocal protagonists, from Ruth-Ann to Andru Donalds to ENIGMA's best-known Gregorian choirs, were integrated by Cretu into a sonic bed in which energetic rhythms and spherical spaces combine.
Disc Two, "The Remix Collection," showcases 12 of ENIGMA's tracks, remixed for lounge and club play, including favorites "Mea Culpa" and "Principles Of Lust" alongside more recent compositions "Voyageur" and "Dreaming of Andromeda."
Disc Three, "The Lost Ones," will be of particular interest to true ENIGMA fans, offering a 36-minute voyage through 11 drafts from the personal vault of sonic alchemist Michael Cretu, who describes the consecutively numbered curiosities, "Lost One" to "Lost Eleven," as follows: "Everything starts with trial and error. Sometimes it's a sound, then a melody, a harmony or a mood. The 'Lost Ones' are my way of instrumental drafts developed from a boiling cauldron full of unordered, naive and carefree musical ideas."
With ENIGMA, Cretu's musical power refracts like light in a kaleidoscope. The Platinum Collection is a prism for the senses, music for small and major escapes beyond all borders.
ENIGMA: The Platinum Collection (3CD, digital)
Disc One: THE GREATEST HITS
01. Sadeness (Part 1)
02. Mea Culpa (Orthodox Version)
03. Principles Of Lust
04. Rivers Of Belief
05. Return To Innocence
06. Age Of Loneliness
07. Out From The Deep
08. Beyond The Invisible
09. T.N.T. For The Brain
10. Gravity Of Love
11. Push The Limits
12. Turn Around
13. Voyageur
14. Boum-Boum
15. Following The Sun
16. Seven Lives
17. La Puerta Del Cielo
Disc Two: THE REMIX COLLECTION
01. Sadeness (U.S. Violent mix)
02. Mea Culpa (Fading Shades mix)
03. Principles Of Lust (Everlasting Lust mix)
04. Return To Innocence (Long and Alive version)
05. Age Of Loneliness (Enigmatic club mix)
06. Out From The Deep (Trance mix)
07. T.N.T. For The Brain (Midnight Man mix)
08. Gravity Of Love (Judgment Day club mix)
09. Push The Limits (ATB remix)
10. Voyageur (Club mix)
11. Boum-Boum (Chicane club edit)
12. Dreaming Of Andromeda (Jean F. Cochois remix)
Disc Three: THE LOST ONES
01. Lost One
02. Lost Two
03. Lost Three
04. Lost Four
05. Lost Five
06. Lost Six
07. Lost Seven
08. Lost Eight
09. Lost Nine
10. Lost Ten
11. Lost Eleven
