NEWS

Andru Donalds speaks about oncoming 2022 tour

Original Enigma Voices member Andru Donalds, who performed on 5 Enigma albums, arranged and wrote many songs, agreed to peek into the upcoming European tour in November – December later this year.
We met with Andru in a cozy boutique bar to get insights on Enigma songs presented live, differences between studio work and performing on stage and how the industry has changed during COVID 19.

– Andru, please tell us what the Original Enigma Voices show is like.
– I believe that presenting the Enigma experience live with the band & string orchestra is something that’s never been seen or heard before. I could describe our shows as magic on stage. We present Enigma songs and share our energy with our fans. We turn the place into a mystical cellar and something beautiful happens at every show.

– What about studio work? It should be very different to perform live.
– Right, I really enjoy working in a studio with friends and colleagues. A lot of talented people work in the industry and it’s always nice to collaborate and create new material. Live shows are a different kind of experience. We interact with the audience, feel the energy of thousands of people that come to the show, it’s absolutely amazing. Every show is an unforgettable experience. Thanks to our fans and management, who make it possible to happen.

– What has changed during COVID 19 for artists?
– Considering the complete absence of concerts, during the past few years most artists have lost a significant part of their expected income. These days you have to be creative about finding new ways of interacting with the audience, but at the same time, this is an amazing possibility for creative self-realization.

– Thank you. Could you say a few more words to the fans?
– I look forward to bringing this magic to the people. With fantasy and new arrangements & visuals so that the audience will never forget it.

Original Enigma Voices member Andru Donalds, who performed on 5 Enigma albums, arranged and wrote many songs, agreed to peek into the upcoming European tour in November – December later this year.
We met with Andru in a cozy boutique bar to get insights on Enigma songs presented live, differences between studio work and performing on stage and how the industry has changed during COVID 19.

– Andru, please tell us what the Original Enigma Voices show is like.
– I believe that presenting the Enigma experience live with the band & string orchestra is something that’s never been seen or heard before. I could describe our shows as magic on stage. We present Enigma songs and share our energy with our fans. We turn the place into a mystical cellar and something beautiful happens at every show.

– What about studio work? It should be very different to perform live.
– Right, I really enjoy working in a studio with friends and colleagues. A lot of talented people work in the industry and it’s always nice to collaborate and create new material. Live shows are a different kind of experience. We interact with the audience, feel the energy of thousands of people that come to the show, it’s absolutely amazing. Every show is an unforgettable experience. Thanks to our fans and management, who make it possible to happen.

– What has changed during COVID 19 for artists?
– Considering the complete absence of concerts, during the past few years most artists have lost a significant part of their expected income. These days you have to be creative about finding new ways of interacting with the audience, but at the same time, this is an amazing possibility for creative self-realization.

– Thank you. Could you say a few more words to the fans?
– I look forward to bringing this magic to the people. With fantasy and new arrangements & visuals so that the audience will never forget it.

Angel X in exclusive interview about 90's experience with Enigma

„I live a pretty normal ordinary life, I like to cook, love italy and travel in general…“

 

– Hello Andreas, could you please tell us the story behind your stage name ANGEL X?
– It was back in the early 90`s. Michael Cretu and I have been searching for an artist name because of the forthcoming first album that Frank Peterson and later Jens Gad produced with Michael Cretu for me. Then one of us, I don`t remember anymore if it was Sandra, Frank Peterson or Michael or me who had that idea to give me the name „Angel X“, I think it was when we were sitting together for a dinner and this name came up.

– How have you started to work with Enigma? What was the first record of Enigma that you took part in?
– I sang for Sandra on different songs and we worked on my solo album „Angel X – Welcome to the soul asylum“ those days and it seemed that Michael liked my voice on these tracks. So he offered me to sing for Enigma. The result was and is my vocals for „Return to innocence“ on the ENIGMA „Cross of changes“ Album.

– What is the reason that the project became so popular?
– I think it was the first time that someone released a kind of chillout-ambient album. Michael was a real pioneer here. That means music which was not arranged like so many other albums before. Michael, Jens and Frank worked with a lot of special sounds, samples and also instrumental parts. This mystic touch in the music, especially the Gregorian chants in the hit „Sadness“ was a brand new style of music, that the audience love until today.

– What was so special about working with Michael Cretu?
– We worked over many years together, and we had a real good personal relationship. We both love music and football and he was also bit like a „dad“ to me during these years. I also had some hard times back there, Sandra and Michael have been very loyal to me back in these days.

– What is the most memorable show in your career so far?
– I mean every Original Enigma Voices show is something special and unique. That makes it so exciting for me. Every show is different and sometimes everything just fits together: the audience, the band, our performance, the venue and so on. The show in Tel-Aviv in 2019 was great, maybe because it was the last show of the 2019 tour and everything fit together there. We all were very happy there that the tour was so successful, but also the shows before like Wroclaw had been great too in 2019.

– Is Original Enigma Voices a live only project? Are you going to release any new material with Andru Donalds and Fox Lima?
– Right now I`m invited to sing many Enigma hits „live on stage“ i.e. ‚Return to innocence‘, but who knows… To write, sing and produce new material for Original Enigma Voices would be a great thing for me.

– What do you do when not working on music? Who is Angel X in everyday life? What are your hobbies?
– I live a pretty normal ordinary life, I like to cook, love Italy and travel in general, love to write and also listen to a lot of different music styles, I like to ski and swim and meditate a lot also.

– It’s been almost 3 years with little to no public events around the world. Are you excited to hit the road again?
– Yeah, for sure we are! All of us are very happy to be on he road again with the new tour, we had a great show in Serbia in 2022, after no shows for a long time because of Corona-virus, so I hope it will be a great tour in 2022 and hopefully another one in 2023!!

– What do you expect from 2022 fall tour?
– Hopefully the people will enjoy it as much as they did like us in 2019, maybe even more because of new ideas, new dresses and many more innovations, but too much will not be revealed yet 🙂
„I live a pretty normal ordinary life, I like to cook, love italy and travel in general…“

 

– Hello Andreas, could you please tell us the story behind your stage name ANGEL X?
– It was back in the early 90`s. Michael Cretu and I have been searching for an artist name because of the forthcoming first album that Frank Peterson and later Jens Gad produced with Michael Cretu for me. Then one of us, I don`t remember anymore if it was Sandra, Frank Peterson or Michael or me who had that idea to give me the name „Angel X“, I think it was when we were sitting together for a dinner and this name came up.

– How have you started to work with Enigma? What was the first record of Enigma that you took part in?
– I sang for Sandra on different songs and we worked on my solo album „Angel X – Welcome to the soul asylum“ those days and it seemed that Michael liked my voice on these tracks. So he offered me to sing for Enigma. The result was and is my vocals for „Return to innocence“ on the ENIGMA „Cross of changes“ Album.

– What is the reason that the project became so popular?
– I think it was the first time that someone released a kind of chillout-ambient album. Michael was a real pioneer here. That means music which was not arranged like so many other albums before. Michael, Jens and Frank worked with a lot of special sounds, samples and also instrumental parts. This mystic touch in the music, especially the Gregorian chants in the hit „Sadness“ was a brand new style of music, that the audience love until today.

– What was so special about working with Michael Cretu?
– We worked over many years together, and we had a real good personal relationship. We both love music and football and he was also bit like a „dad“ to me during these years. I also had some hard times back there, Sandra and Michael have been very loyal to me back in these days.

– What is the most memorable show in your career so far?
– I mean every Original Enigma Voices show is something special and unique. That makes it so exciting for me. Every show is different and sometimes everything just fits together: the audience, the band, our performance, the venue and so on. The show in Tel-Aviv in 2019 was great, maybe because it was the last show of the 2019 tour and everything fit together there. We all were very happy there that the tour was so successful, but also the shows before like Wroclaw had been great too in 2019.

– Is Original Enigma Voices a live only project? Are you going to release any new material with Andru Donalds and Fox Lima?
– Right now I`m invited to sing many Enigma hits „live on stage“ i.e. ‚Return to innocence‘, but who knows… To write, sing and produce new material for Original Enigma Voices would be a great thing for me.

– What do you do when not working on music? Who is Angel X in everyday life? What are your hobbies?
– I live a pretty normal ordinary life, I like to cook, love Italy and travel in general, love to write and also listen to a lot of different music styles, I like to ski and swim and meditate a lot also.

– It’s been almost 3 years with little to no public events around the world. Are you excited to hit the road again?
– Yeah, for sure we are! All of us are very happy to be on he road again with the new tour, we had a great show in Serbia in 2022, after no shows for a long time because of Corona-virus, so I hope it will be a great tour in 2022 and hopefully another one in 2023!!

– What do you expect from 2022 fall tour?
– Hopefully the people will enjoy it as much as they did like us in 2019, maybe even more because of new ideas, new dresses and many more innovations, but too much will not be revealed yet 🙂

First live show after Covid 19

Original Enigma Voices and Camerata Novi Sad perform live at Migration of Souls festival in Serbia.

 

The legendary Live Project ‘Original Enigma Voices’ will hold a concert with the Novi Sad ensemble Camerata Novi Sad, which will perform together for the first time and bring an incredible combination of ambient music, electronics and classics. The concert will be held in Hall 1 of the Novi Sad Fair on 13 March at 8 p.m., within the program unit Migration of Souls.

One of the most famous European projects was founded in Germany, and the members of the band are of different nationalities and have achieved their careers in a foreign country – one of the founders, Mchael Cretu, is of Romanian origin, and he gained world fame in Germany. Enigma’s music has been accepted by the audience as innovative since its beginnings, and in the European Capital of Culture, it will combine its tones with the most famous chamber orchestra in Novi Sad.

Original Enigma Voices and Camerata Novi Sad perform live at Migration of Souls festival in Serbia.

 

The legendary Live Project ‘Original Enigma Voices’ will hold a concert with the Novi Sad ensemble Camerata Novi Sad, which will perform together for the first time and bring an incredible combination of ambient music, electronics and classics. The concert will be held in Hall 1 of the Novi Sad Fair on 13 March at 8 p.m., within the program unit Migration of Souls.

One of the most famous European projects was founded in Germany, and the members of the band are of different nationalities and have achieved their careers in a foreign country – one of the founders, Mchael Cretu, is of Romanian origin, and he gained world fame in Germany. Enigma’s music has been accepted by the audience as innovative since its beginnings, and in the European Capital of Culture, it will combine its tones with the most famous chamber orchestra in Novi Sad.