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The Fall of a Rebel Angel

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The Fall of a Rebel Angel is the eighth studio album from 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, developed by Enigma's founder, producer and principal composer Michael Cretu and German lyricist and librettist Michael Kunze, of a protagonist's journey of development and change to find a new, fulfilling life. Its artwork was designed by Wolfgang Beltracchi.

Production

Background

The Fall of a Rebel Angel is the first release from Enigma since its 2010 fan collaboration track "MMX (The Social Song)" to commemorate the group's twentieth anniversary, and first studio album since Seven Lives Many Faces (2008). Michael Cretu, Enigma's founder, principal composer and producer, spent one year "testing and experimenting" for a new Enigma studio album prior to recording.[2] Cretu aimed to return to the Enigma sound adopted in its early years which earned the group its biggest international commercial and critical success, adding his wish "to transfer the spirit of Enigma's beginnings to the here and now, but in a new musical language".[3]

Recording

On 19 March 2015, a quote from Cretu posted on the official Enigma page on Facebook revealed that recording for The Fall of a Rebel Angel had begun.[2] A video update posted on 19 January 2016 revealed that five months were left to complete the album, during which three songs had yet to be completed.[4] The album features four guest artists: Brazilian singer-songwriter Mark Josher, Indonesian singer Anggun, Nanuk as female voice in intro, and English electro-pop duo Aquilo.[5] Its artwork was designed and illustrated by German artist Wolfgang Beltracchi, who also designed 12 paintings that accompany each of the album's "chapters".[3]

The album was recorded on Merlin, an all-in-one mobile digital studio that is the successor to a larger version of the unit named Alchemist, which Cretu operated to record Seven Lives Many Faces. First used to record "MMX (The Social Song)", Merlin is roughly one third the size and weight of Alchemist and incorporates an Apple Mac Pro computer running the Logic Pro digital audio workstation software, an LG 21:9 aspect ratio monitor, three 3 TB LaCie hard disks, a Mark of the Unicorn analog/digital interface, an 88-key keyboard, and surround sound speakers.[6]

Story

The Fall of a Rebel Angel is a concept album formed of 12 "chapter-like" tracks[5] that tells a surreal narrative, based on an epic poem written for the album by German lyricist and librettist Michael Kunze, about a male protagonist's journey of development and change to find a new, fulfilling life.[7] Cretu described the story as a "symbolic journey to redemption – with everyone to define his individual path" combined with "psychedelic undertones".[3] He quotes from various literature, religious, and pop culture sources to aid the story which includes themes of sexuality, faith, and death. In one chapter, the character wonders through an imaginary town and encounters a priestess whose god is the Marquis de Sade, thus becoming a continuation of the story to "Sadeness (Part I)", the worldwide hit single from Enigma's debut album, MCMXC a.D. (1990).[5] The story concludes with the individual breaking their own reflection in the water of a lake, accepting responsibility of its life.[7]

Release

The album was officially announced on 8 August 2016 with a scheduled release date of 11 November.[5]

Four editions of the album were made available on Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group.

  • The standard edition on single disc includes a 28-page booklet and the 12 "chapter" paintings by Beltracchi.
  • The two-disc limited deluxe edition digipak features a 12-track narration of the album's story and a 40-page booklet.
  • The limited super deluxe edition includes a signed picture frame and exclusive online content.
  • The gatefold vinyl edition has the 12 Beltracchi paintings and a 16-page booklet.

"Sadeness (Part II)" was released as a digital download on 10 October 2016 for those who pre-ordered the album.[5]

Track listing

The Fall of a Rebel Angel – Standard Edition
No.TitleLength
1."Circle Eight" (featuring Nanuk)2:19
2."The Omega Point"5:39
3."Diving"2:52
4."The Die Is Cast" (featuring Mark Josher)4:16
5."Mother" (featuring Anggun)3:38
6."Agnus Dei"3:57
7."Sadeness (Part II)" (featuring Anggun)4:09
8."Lost in Nothingness"3:20
9."Oxygen Red" (featuring Anggun)4:02
10."Confession of the Mind"3:47
11."Absolvo"2:01
12."Amen" (featuring Aquilo)4:52
Total length:44:52

Narration tracks

The Super Deluxe Edition comes with the story behind the album narrated in English, Spanish and French, as is narrated by English voice actor Ian Wood, Spanish voice actor Manuel Sanchez Fragaus, and French actor Patrice Luc Doumeyrou, respectively. Online retailers designate each language as a separate disc. The English language version is available in HTML5 format on Enigma's own website.

The Story of 'The Fall of a Rebel Angel' – Limited deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
1."The Story of 'Circle Eight'"1:01
2."The Story of 'The Omega Point'"1:50
3."The Story of 'Diving'"1:26
4."The Story of 'The Die Is Cast'"2:00
5."The Story of 'Mother'"2:03
6."The Story of 'Agnus Dei'"2:49
7."The Story of 'Sadeness (Part II)'"2:38
8."The Story of 'Lost in Nothingness'"1:46
9."The Story of 'Oxygen Red'"1:56
10."The Story of 'Confession of the Mind'"2:43
11."The Story of 'Absolvo'"1:27
12."The Story of 'Amen'"1:38
13."La Historia de 'Circle Eight'"1:01
14."La Historia de 'The Omega Point'"1:50
15."La Historia de 'Diving'"1:26
16."La Historia de 'The Die Is Cast'"2:00
17."La Historia de 'Mother'"2:03
18."La Historia de 'Agnus Dei'"2:49
19."La Historia de 'Sadeness (Part II)'"2:38
20."La Historia de 'Lost in Nothingness'"1:46
21."La Historia de 'Oxygen Red'"1:56
22."La Historia de 'Confession of the Mind'"2:43
23."La Historia de 'Absolvo'"1:27
24."La Historia de 'Amen'"1:38
25."L'histoire de 'Circle Eight'"1:01
26."L'histoire de 'The Omega Point'"1:50
27."L'histoire de 'Diving'"1:26
28."L'histoire de 'The Die Is Cast'"2:00
29."L'histoire de 'Mother'"2:03
30."L'histoire de 'Agnus Dei'"2:49
31."L'histoire de 'Sadeness (Part II)'"2:38
32."L'histoire de 'Lost in Nothingness'"1:46
33."L'histoire de 'Oxygen Red'"1:56
34."L'histoire de 'Confession of the Mind'"2:43
35."L'histoire de 'Absolvo'"1:27
36."L'histoire de 'Amen'"1:38

Personnel

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

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 61
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 29
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 89
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 10
Italian Albums (FIMI)[14] 42
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[15] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 40
US Billboard 200[17] 122
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[18] 1

References

  1. ^ "The Fall Of A Rebel Angel (Limited Deluxe Edition) Doppel-CD". Amazone.de. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Official Enigma Facebook post: "Message from Michael Cretu"". Facebook. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Enigma 8 marks 'The Fall of a Rebel Angel'". UDiscovermusic. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Official Enigma Facebook post: "Roadmap to #Enigma8"". Facebook. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Getz, Dana (8 August 2016). "Enigma announce first album in 8 years". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  6. ^ "The mobile studio Merlin". Enigmaspace. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Enigma VIII: Biography". Enigmaspace. August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  8. ^ "ARIA CHART WATCH #395". auspOp. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Enigma – The Fall of a Rebel Angel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Enigma – The Fall of a Rebel Angel" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Enigma – The Fall of a Rebel Angel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 46, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Enigma – The Fall of a Rebel Angel" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 2016-11-11 al 2016-11-17)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  15. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Enigma\rowheader=true\accessdate=22 November 2016 Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard.

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