Enigma – MCMXC A.D. (1990) [Reissue 2016] [SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC]

Enigma – MCMXC A.D. (1990) [Reissue 2016] [SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 40:15 minutes | Scans included | 1,07 GB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 963 MB
or FLAC (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/44,1 kHz | Full Scans included | 452 MB

MCMXC a.D. is the first studio album by the German music project Enigma, headed by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. It was released on 10 December 1990 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom, and on 28 January 1991 by Charisma Records in the United States. Before he founded Enigma, Cretu had released several solo records, collaborated with various artists, and produced albums for his then wife, German pop singer Sandra. Following their marriage in 1988, Cretu developed an idea for a New-age music project and recorded MCMXC a.D. in eight months at A.R.T. Studios, his home studio in Ibiza, Spain. It is one of the first albums recorded onto a hard disk. Cretu makes extensive use of Gregorian chants, dance beats, and flute sounds.Michael Crétu’s attempt at fusing everything from easy listening sex music and hip-hop rhythms to centuries-old Gregorian chants couldn’t have been more designed to tweak the nose of high art, a joyously crass stab straight at a mainstream, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. The result is something that shouldn’t exist, but in its own way results in as much of a cultural scramble and explosion as anything Public Enemy were doing around the same time, crossing over the Euro-disco and new age spheres with style. Credit Crétu for an open ear for whatever works, which is precisely why “Sadeness,” the first part of a longer track called “Principles of Lust,” turned into a fluke worldwide hit. Snippets of monks invoking the Almighty effortlessly glide in and out of a polite but still strong breakbeat, shimmering, atmospheric synth and flute lines and a Frenchwoman whispering in a way that sounds distinctly more carnal than spiritual (as her gasps for breath elsewhere make clear). Guitar and male vocals add to the album version’s try-anything-that-works approach, as do attempts at shuffling jazz beats and horns. If nothing quite equals that prime moment elsewhere on the album, MCMXC A.D. still trips out on the possibilities as it can, right from the opening “Voice of Enigma,” inviting all listeners to sit back, relax, and take a gentle trip. Crétu certainly isn’t trying to hide anything – “Callas Went Away” goes right ahead and adds a sample of Maria Callas herself to the chirping birds and soft beats, while elsewhere the flutes, beats, monks, and French voices merrily go about their glossy business. About the only thing missing is the kitchen sink, making the entire album the “MacArthur Park” of its day.

Tracklist:

01. The Voice Of Enigma
02. Principles Of Lust: Sadeness / Find Love / Sadeness (Reprise)
03. Callas Went Away
04. Mea Culpa
05. The Voice And The Snake
06. Knocking On Forbidden Doors
07. Back To The Rivers Of Belief: Way To Eternity / Hallelujah / The Rivers Of Belief

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