Enigma – The Fall Of A Rebel Angel (2016)

posted by record facts

The Fall of a Rebel Angel is the eighth studio album by the German musical project Enigma, released on 11 November 2016 by Republic Records.
The first studio album since Seven Lives Many Faces (2008), it is a concept album that tells the story of a protagonist’s journey of development and change to find a new, fulfilling life.
The album was developed by Enigma’s founder, producer, and principal composer, Michael Cretu and German lyricist and librettist Michael Kunze. Its artwork was designed by Wolfgang Beltracchi

The story begins with the opening “Circle Eight,” featuring the spoken word vocals of Nanuk.
It is an ethereal, aerial track that pays homage to classic Enigma. The atmospheric electronics flow toward “The Omega Point,” an infinite soundscape that reaches outward, onward, toward the omega. There is a perfect sonic symbiosis here: we float from each chapter into the next without pause; the life of our protagonist unravels fluidly.

With “Diving,” there is a soft instrumental pause to keep us floating in place, preparing for the next chapter of our story. “The Die Is Cast” is that chapter: complete with faint Gregorian-style chanting reminiscent of “Sadness Part I” in the background.
In this Futurepop meets EDM, meets classic Enigma fusion, Brazilian Vocalist Mark Josher’s sublimely melodic voice beckons us toward the here and now. Enigma MMXVI.

French Singer-Songwriter Anggun enters as our ethereal mother goddess, welcoming and assuring us that our urges are natural. She is the perfect “Mother.” Mystical, melodic, spiritual, worldly, sensual, and yet serenely pure, if one wanted to coin a new phrase to describe Enigma’s music here, it would be “mysticapop.”
Gently urging the listener onward toward “Agnus Dei,” a musical prayer of sensual theatrics contains heavy bass and a deep, fat bottom end. Instrumental Enigma music is never simple: it is full of complex layers, stories, voices, and emotions.
Here, one is repentant and wanton; a sinner who is coming to terms with his sins.

First single/video “Sadeness (Part II),” featuring Anggun, does not pick up where the original left off. A track that questioned the sexual desires of the Marquis de Sade, the original took a timeless musical approach to lust; while “Part II” is the here and now.
With an organ telling our narrative, Anggun once again steps in with spoken word vocals – this time in a mix of French and English. Then listeners come up for air and lose themselves, momentarily, in the instrumental void of “Lost In Nothingness.”
Here their breaths fill their cells with necessary oxygen, their cells are nurtured, before moving into a state of “Oxygen Red.” With spliced vocals that create an out-of-body experience, Anggun takes on an almost alien quality as she urges the listener toward a better life. “Don’t be shy, don’t comply,” she instructs. Anggun is adamant that our lives are our own, we must live them as the individuals we are.

Moving on, “Confession of the Mind” takes an instrumental moment to ponder these words of sage wisdom and move toward a great epiphany.
In “Absolvo,” the listener arrives and are heralded by a choir of angels. Released prior to the album, the second single/video, “Amen,” is the “Hallelujah” moment of the disc. Featuring the British Dream-Pop duo Aquilo, the final chapter in the journey is the celebration; a beautifully poignant song that is classic Enigma mixed with the modern, creating an anthemic hymn of achievement for 2016.

 

The Fall of a Rebel Angel – Standard edition

  1. Circle Eight (featuring Nanuk) – 2:17
  2. The Omega Point – 5:39
  3. Diving – 2:52
  4. The Die Is Cast (featuring Mark Josher) – 4:17
  5. Mother (featuring Anggun) – 3:38
  6. Agnus Dei – 3:54
  7. Sadeness (Part II) (featuring Anggun) – 4:10
  8. Lost in Nothingness – 5:14
  9. Oxygen Red (featuring Anggun) – 4:03
  10. Confession of the Mind – 3:48
  11. Absolvo – 3:29
  12. Amen (featuring Aquilo) – 4:54

 

Enigma

  • Michael Cretu – music, lyrics, story, production, programming, arrangements, engineering

Additional personnel

  • Anggun – vocals on “Mother”, “Sadeness (Part II)”, and “Oxygen Red”
  • Aquilo – vocals on “Amen”
  • Nanuk – featured performer voice on “Circle Eight”
  • Mark Josher (Marcelo Amaral Pontello) – vocals on “The Die Is Cast”
  • Michael Kunze – story, co-author
  • Wolfgang Beltracchi – cover art
  • Ian Wood – album story narrator (English)
  • Manuel Sanchez Fraguas – album story narrator (Spanish)
  • Patrice Luc Doumeyrou – album story narrator (French)

Notes
Released: 11 November 2016
Recorded: March 2015 – May 2016 Studio Merlin, an all-in-one mobile digital studio
Genre: New age, electronica, downtempo, synth-pop
Length: 48:15
Producer: Michael Cretu

Label – Island Records

Leave a comment