Michael Cretu

Anybody addicted to MTV in the 90s couldn’t have possibly missed images of elephants moving in slow motion in the background to curious Tibetan boys running around. The magnetic music of Enigma used to draw so many of us to the small screen. It was very much the Return to Innocence.

So, when Michael Cretu, the man behind Enigma, agreed to do a phone interview from Germany, it was an event all right. But five minutes into the conversation and you realise that the ‘event’ may not really unfold as planned.

When Enigma had a cult following in the 90s, the album covers didn’t mention anything about the creator or his whereabouts and now when Michael wants to come into the limelight it’s not easy.

“It was my wish in the beginning to keep the music in the front rather than who is doing it,” he tells GoodLife with a heavy German accent.

And so when you mention Enigma as a band, the man flares up. “Enigma is not a band,” Michael almost shouts. “It is a project. It is only me. Only some guest vocalists have featured in the albums.”

The album cover of A Posteriori

Despite attempts at different kinds of music, Michael made a mark with Enigma. “Enigma is the platform of music I would like to be remembered for,” he says. “It is like a solo project of mine. So, if I was working with other artistes, I was completely free to do what I wanted with their contribution.”

But from where did he draw the sounds of Enigma, the trademark chants and whistles? “There is no basic inspiration,” Michael says. “It was engineered like this. There was no concept as such. I was playing around and I liked this sound. I wanted to buy music like this but I couldn’t because it didn’t exist. So I produced it myself.”

Sounding very scientific in his artistic approach, Michael even defines the music of Enigma. “It is instrumental music with a human touch.” Period.

But it has not always been so — 2003’s Voyageur was a total makeover for the ‘project’. “I have always tried to transform the Enigma experience with new sounds and new kinds of music,” Michael explains. “So, I have kept changing the sound from one album to the other. From classical to sophisticated pop songs, the sound has always changed.”

Hasn’t that driven his fans away? “No,” claims Michael. “I think my fans are now used to these changes and the response to the new album has been incredibly good. The initial response makes many believe that it is the best Enigma album.”

This album that Michael wants to talk about is A Posteriori, the latest Enigma compilation, which was released worldwide on September 26 on EMI. “The collaboration with EMI has been good,” he states. “Next year will be 25 years together with them. They have respected and appreciated the music I have made.”

With A Posteriori too, Michael wants to take Enigma to a new level. “I am very happy with the results and to me it is one of the strangest albums I have done,” he elaborates. “I call it strange because it is completely different from what listeners are hearing today, totally against all odds. Strange compared to what is being made as music nowadays.”

And why call it A Posteriori? “It is a philosophic theory which says there are two directions — a priori and a posteriori,” Michael goes on. “A priori means before and a posteriori means after. A priori means that the way of our life is pre-programmed before birth but a posteriori says no, our life depends on how we behaved in our lives, the conclusion of the experiences and knowledge we learn day to day.”

Michael wants to add to his experiences by coming to India. “I would like to come to India as a tourist and not to promote my music,” he reveals.

“I wanted to come to India twice. First time, the son of Indira Gandhi was shot dead and there was total chaos. And then again I wanted to go to Kashmir and they had riots there. So, each time I book a ticket to India, something goes wrong in your country. I hope that I am not bringing you bad luck!”

While India plans can wait, he is readying for a holiday to an undecided destination.

“A few weeks of holiday and then again I will start some new project,” Michael whispers. “Maybe I will just play around the studio again and come up with a new sound.”

Enigmatic!