Watermark (Enya album)

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Watermark
Enya2.jpg
Cover art by David Hiscock
Studio album by Enya
Released 19 September 1988
Recorded June 1987 – April 1988[1] at Orinoco Studios, London, England
Genre New-age
Length 39:42
Label WEA (UK)
Geffen (US)
Producer Enya, Nicky Ryan
Enya chronology
Enya
(1987)Enya1987		 Watermark
(1988)		 Shepherd Moons
(1991)Shepherd Moons1991
Singles from Watermark
  1. "Orinoco Flow"
    Released: 15 October 1988
  2. "Evening Falls..."
    Released: 1988
  3. "Storms in Africa"
    Released: 1989
  4. "Exile"
    Released: 1991

Watermark is the second studio album from the Irish musician Enya, released in September 1988 on WEA Records. Following her first album, Enya (1987), produced for the BBC documentary The Celts, Enya signed with WEA, giving her complete artistic freedom on a follow up with no interference from the label. Watermark displays Enya's distinct sound of layered vocals, keyboard sounds, and elements of Celtic music. The album is seen by some as a seminal example of new-age music, though Enya does not consider her music to be of the genre.

Watermark received a largely positive critical response and was an unexpected commercial success, reaching No. 5 in the UK and No. 25 in the US, where it sold over four million copies. Four tracks were released as singles; the first, "Orinoco Flow", was a worldwide success, reaching No. 1 in the UK for three weeks. The album was reissued in 1989 and remastered in 2009 for a release in Japan on Super High Material CD.

Production

Background

In 1987 Enya released her first album, Enya, produced for the soundtrack to the BBC television documentary series The Celts with lyricist Roma Ryan and arranger and producer Nicky Ryan. The album was largely ignored by the public and was a mild commercial success. Rob Dickens, then chairman of Warner Music UK, became a fan of the album, playing it "every night before I went to bed".[2] Following a chance meeting in 1987 at the Irish Recorded Music Association Awards in Dublin, Dickens spoke to the three about his interest in signing Enya to his label. Enya accepted, and was given the green-light to produce a second album with complete artistic freedom without the label's interference.[3] Dickins recalled, "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music."[4] Enya departed from Atlantic Records, her first US distributor, to the WEA-led Geffen Records.[5]

Recording

Watermark is formed of eleven tracks, eight of which feature Enya and Roma Ryan as co-writers. The remaining three songs are instrumentals composed by Enya herself. Three additional musicians are featured; Neil Buckley plays the clarinet on "On Your Shore", Chris Hughes plays the rototoms on "River" and African hand drum on "Storms in Africa", and Davy Spillane contributes the low whistle and Uillean pipes on "Exile" and "Na Laetha Geal M'óige". Enya sings in English, Gaelic, her first language, and in Latin.[5] "Orinoco Flow" references Dickins and the album's co-producer Ross Cullum in its lyrics.[6] Enya explained "On Your Shore" is a song about "is about a beach at home and it's really close to me ... It's really beautiful."[1] he album features a variety of keyboards played by Enya, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60.

Watermark was recorded from June 1987 to April 1988.[1] It was first recorded in demo form in its entirety at Nicky Ryan's 16-track studio at his home in Dublin.[7] The music displayed Enya's sound of multi-layered vocals, keyboard sounds, and influences of Celtic music. When recording took place at Orinoco Studios in London, two 32-track machines by Mitsubishi were used.[7] The album was mixed at Wessex Sound Studios. During the final stages of recording, Enya tripped on a step which resulted in two cuts to her knee. She continued to work, "taking these heavy pain-killers, sitting at the desk, in the studio with one foot propped up on cushions."[8]

Release

Watermark was first released in September 1988 in the UK; its North American release followed in January 1989.[9] The album was a success on the charts, reaching No. 5 in the UK[10] and No. 25 in the US.[11] By December 1988, Watermark had sold over 20,000 copies in Ireland and 300,000 copies in the UK.[9] Four tracks were released as singles between 1988 and 1991. "Orinoco Flow" was the most successful where it topped the UK singles chart for three weeks, sold over 250,000 copies there, and also went to No. 1 in nine countries.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[6]
Robert Christgau D+[12]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[13]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett rated the album five starts out of five.[6]

Track listing

All songs produced by Enya and Nicky Ryan.

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Watermark"  
2:24
2. "Cursum Perficio"  
4:06
3. "On Your Shore"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 3:59
4. "Storms in Africa"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 4:03
5. "Exile"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 4:20
6. "Miss Clare Remembers"  
  • Enya
 1:59
7. "Orinoco Flow"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 4:25
8. "Evening Falls..."  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 3:46
9. "River"  
  • Enya
 3:10
10. "The Longships"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 3:36
11. "Na Laetha Geal M'óige"  
  • Enya
  • R. Ryan
 3:54

Personnel

Musicians
Production
  • Nicky Ryan – production, arrangement, hand percussion
  • Roma Ryan – lyrics
  • Ross Cullum – production, engineering, mixing
  • Jim Barton – mixing
  • Rob Dickins – executive producer
  • David Hiscook – cover photography
  • Russel Yamy – additional photography
  • Laurence Dunmore – design

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
1990 "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" Best New Age Album[14] Nominated

Japan Gold Disc Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
1990 Enya The Grand Prix International New Artist of Year[15] Won

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[35] Platinum 60,000
Australia (ARIA)[36] 6× Platinum 420,000
Belgium (BEA)[37] Platinum 50,000
Brazil (ABPD)[38] 2× Platinum 500,000
Canada (Music Canada)[39] 3× Platinum 300,000
France (SNEP)[40] 2× Gold 200,000
Germany (BVMI)[41] Platinum 500,000
Japan (RIAJ)[42] 2× Platinum 400,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[43] Platinum 100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[44] Platinum 15,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[45] 5× Platinum 500,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Platinum 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] 4× Platinum 1,200,000
United States (RIAA)[48] 4× Platinum 4,000,000
Summaries
Worldwide 11,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
Preceded by Swiss Chart number-one album
22 January 1989		 Succeeded by
Ancient Heart by Tanita Tikaram
Preceded by New Zealand Chart number-one album
9–16 April 1989		 Succeeded by
Union by Toni Childs

References

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External links

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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 AllMusic review
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select ENYA and click OK
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Watermark in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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