Studio album · No. 4

The Screen Behind the Mirror Songwriting Credits by Enigma

2000 Virgin 11 tracks 43:34

Produced by Michael Cretu  ·  Engineered by Michael Cretu, Jens Gad

Virgin New ageAmbientElectronic
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 11 of 11 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 11 / 11 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 11 tracks with documented writers, by whether Enigma carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
11 trackswritten by Enigma 0 tracksoutside writers
Enigma's roles on this album

Share of the 11 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist82%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

11
Tracks
2
Lyricists
1
Producers
2000
Released
Data Insight

The writing on this record sits almost entirely with one man. Michael Cretu takes a music credit on all eleven tracks and a lyric credit on nine of them, the two exceptions being the instrumentals "Traces (Light and Weight)" and "Endless Quest". Jens Gad co-composed three tracks ("Push the Limits", "Traces (Light and Weight)" and "Silence Must Be Heard") and played the guitars; David Fairstein shares the lyric on "Smell of Desire" and nothing else. The credit that gets dropped most often is the fourth name. The album's liner notes state that "The Gate", "Modern Crusaders" and "Camera Obscura" contain parts of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, licensed from Schott Musik International, and the "Gravity of Love" single carries the same notice, which is why Wikipedia's single page lists Orff alongside Cretu as a writer. Four of the eleven tracks on this album are therefore co-written by a composer who died in 1982.

Enigma's fourth album, cut at Michael Cretu's A.R.T. Studios on Ibiza in 1999 and released by Virgin on 14 January 2000. Cretu built it around a single borrowed hook, the "O Fortuna" movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, which recurs across the record the way Gregorian chant ran through the first two Enigma albums. Ruth-Ann Boyle of Olive and Andru Donalds handle most of the lead vocals, with Sandra Cretu and Elisabeth Houghton supplying the spoken and whispered parts.

Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
The Gate
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuCarl Orff Michael Cretu Elisabeth Houghton
2
Push the Limits #76
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu Elisabeth HoughtonJens Gad
3
Gravity of Love #4
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuCarl Orff Michael Cretu Ruth-Ann Boyle
4
Smell of Desire
Michael CretuDavid Fairstein Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Sandra CretuJens Gad
5
Modern Crusaders
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuCarl Orff Michael Cretu Andru DonaldsJens Gad
6
Traces (Light and Weight)
Not documented Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu -
7
The Screen Behind the Mirror
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Andru DonaldsRuth-Ann Boyle
8
Endless Quest
Not documented Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Jens Gad
9
Camera Obscura
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuCarl Orff Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
10
Between Mind & Heart
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Michael CretuSandra Cretu
11
Silence Must Be Heard
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu Ruth-Ann Boyle

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 9 contributors

More from Enigma

Frequently Asked Questions The Screen Behind the Mirror

Who wrote the songs on The Screen Behind the Mirror?
Michael Cretu wrote the music for all eleven tracks and the lyrics for nine of them. Jens Gad co-wrote the music for "Push the Limits", "Traces (Light and Weight)" and "Silence Must Be Heard". David Fairstein co-wrote the lyric for "Smell of Desire". Carl Orff is a credited writer on the four tracks that carry his Carmina Burana sample.
Which tracks sample Carmina Burana?
The album's liner notes name "The Gate", "Modern Crusaders" and "Camera Obscura" as containing parts of the "O Fortuna" movement, licensed from Schott Musik International. The "Gravity of Love" single prints the same notice, so that track makes four.
Who sings on The Screen Behind the Mirror?
Ruth-Ann Boyle of the British band Olive sings lead on "Gravity of Love" and "Silence Must Be Heard". Andru Donalds sings lead on "Modern Crusaders" and the title track. Michael Cretu sings on "Camera Obscura" and "Between Mind & Heart", with Sandra Cretu and Elisabeth Houghton on the whispered and spoken parts.
When was The Screen Behind the Mirror released?
Virgin released it on 14 January 2000. It was recorded during 1999 at the A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain.
What were the singles from The Screen Behind the Mirror?
Two: "Gravity of Love", issued in November 1999 ahead of the album, and "Push the Limits" in April 2000. "Gravity of Love" reached number 4 in Hungary; "Push the Limits" reached number 76 in the UK.
How did The Screen Behind the Mirror chart?
It hit number 1 in Greece, number 2 in Germany, Norway, Denmark and on the European Top 100, and number 7 in the UK. In the United States it peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200.
Is Curly M.C. the same person as Michael Cretu?
Yes. Cretu has been credited as Curly and Curly M.C. on Enigma releases, a nod to his curly hair and to cret meaning curly in Romanian. This album credits him under his own name. He was born Mihai Cretu in Bucharest in 1957.
How many copies did The Screen Behind the Mirror sell?
The RIAA certified it Gold in the United States on 18 May 2001, and it was certified in several other markets including Canada, Germany and the UK. No overall sales figure has been published.
Is The Screen Behind the Mirror a concept album?
Cretu described it as inspired by the fate of humanity and its search for meaning at the turn of the millennium. Musically the thread is the recurring "O Fortuna" sample and a set of cross-faded segues that run the eleven tracks together.
Data note: Wikipedia's composition section says "Modern Crusaders" closes with an organ sample from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, but no release credits Bach, so he is not listed as a composer here. Carl Orff appears on tracks 1, 5 and 9 from the album liner notes and on track 3 from the "Gravity of Love" single's liner notes and Wikipedia's single page. "Traces (Light and Weight)" and "Endless Quest" are instrumentals with no lyric credit.

Sources