Enya biography
Enya (born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin on 17 May 1961 in Gaoth Dobhair, also known as Gweedore, County Donegal) is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and composer. Her name is sometimes presented in the media as Enya Brennan, while Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in her native Irish, in Donegal dialect, more commonly and officially known as Ulster Irish.
She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad, before leaving to pursue her solo career. Her album Watermark, which was released in 1988, propelled her to international recognition and Enya became known for her unique sound, which was characterized by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesized backdrops and ethereal reverberations.
She continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain achieved tremendous record sales (15 million) and she was named the world's biggest selling female artist of 2001. She is Ireland's best-selling solo artist and is officially the country's second biggest musical export after the band U2. Her album sales stand at 70 million as of 2009. Her work has earned her, among other things, an Academy Award nomination and she is known for performing in 10 different languages during her career thus far.
Biography
Musical upbringing and Clannad
Enya was born into a musical family, the sixth of nine children. Her grandparents were in a band that played throughout Ireland, her father was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band before opening a pub, and her mother played in a dance band and later taught music at the Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. Enya attended Loreto Community School Milford County Donegal. Enya has four brothers and four sisters, several of whom formed the band An Clann As Dobhar in 1968. They renamed the band Clannad in the 1970s.
In 1980, Enya worked with Clannad, the band composed of her siblings Máire (Moya), Pól, and Ciarán and twin uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan. Enya played the keyboard and provided backing vocals on their album Crann íšll (1980), although she was not officially a member of the group until the 1981 release Fuaim, when she appeared on the cover. In 1982, shortly before Clannad became famous for "Theme From Harry's Game," producer and manager Nicky Ryan left the group and Enya joined him to start her own solo career. Enya then formed her own recording studio, named "Aigle", which is French for "Eagle".
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