Studio album · No. 5

Voyageur Songwriting Credits by Enigma

2003 Virgin 11 tracks 47:18

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

Virgin EuropopNew ageAmbientElectronicExperimental
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.

Lyricist73%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

11
Tracks
1
Lyricists
1
Producers
2003
Released
Data Insight

Authorship on Voyageur collapses to two names. Cretu is the sole lyricist on every track that has words and the sole composer on eight of the eleven, with Jens Gad co-writing the music for "Voyageur", "Page of Cups" and "The Piano". That is a real break from earlier Enigma records, where the sampled chant and folk recordings dragged outside writers onto the credit line and, in the case of "Return to Innocence", into court. The borrowing that survives here is not credited. Wikipedia states that "Look of Today" interpolates the chorus of ABC's "The Look of Love", a song written by Martin Fry, Mark White, Stephen Singleton, David Palmer and Mark Lickley, yet the liner notes, Discogs and Genius all list Cretu alone. "Incognito" reaches back into Enigma's own catalog, burying the chorus of "Sadeness" in its bridge without adding that song's other writers, Fabrice Cuitad and Frank Peterson, to the credit. Read against the earlier albums, this is the first Enigma record that is close to being one man's writing.

Enigma's fifth album, cut at Michael Cretu's A.R.T. studio in Ibiza and issued by Virgin on 8 September 2003. Cretu dropped the Gregorian chant, shakuhachi and tribal-chant samples that carried the first four records and wrote pop songs instead, a shift he described as sophisticated pop. Jens Gad shares the arranging and engineering, and the lead vocals pass between Cretu, Andru Donalds and Ruth-Ann Boyle of Olive.

Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
From East to West
Not documented Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu -
2
Voyageur
Michael Cretu Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu Sandra Cretu
3
Incognito
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
4
Page of Cups
Not documented Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu Sandra Cretu
5
Boum-Boum #98
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Ruth-Ann BoyleAndru Donalds
6
Total Eclipse of the Moon
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
7
Look of Today
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Michael CretuSandra Cretu
8
In the Shadow, in the Light
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Andru Donalds
9
Weightless
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Michael Cretu
10
The Piano
Not documented Mihai CrețuJens Gad Michael Cretu -
11
Following the Sun #97
Michael Cretu Mihai Crețu Michael Cretu Ruth-Ann BoyleMichael Cretu

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 6 contributors

More from Enigma

Frequently Asked Questions Voyageur

Who wrote the songs on Voyageur?
Michael Cretu, born Mihai Crețu, wrote all eleven tracks and is the only credited lyricist. Jens Gad co-wrote the music for "Voyageur", "Page of Cups" and "The Piano".
Why does Voyageur sound so different from earlier Enigma albums?
The shakuhachi flutes, Gregorian chants and tribal chants of the first four albums are almost entirely gone. Cretu built the record around pop songs and called the result sophisticated pop, which is why tracks like "Incognito", "Boum-Boum" and "Look of Today" sit closer to radio than to the MCMXC a.D. formula.
Who sings on Voyageur?
Cretu takes lead vocals on "Incognito", "Total Eclipse of the Moon", "Look of Today", "Weightless" and "Following the Sun". Andru Donalds leads on "Boum-Boum" and "In the Shadow, in the Light", Ruth-Ann Boyle of Olive on "Boum-Boum" and "Following the Sun", and Sandra Cretu supplies the female voices across the album.
Does "Look of Today" sample ABC?
Wikipedia says the track interpolates the chorus of ABC's 1982 single "The Look of Love". No writer from ABC appears in the album credits, on the Discogs entry or on the Genius credit for the song, so the interpolation is documented but not credited.
Is there a "Sadeness" sample on the album?
Yes. The chorus of "Sadeness" is buried in the bridge of "Incognito", and the old Enigma foghorn opens the record. Neither borrowing adds a writer to the credits, even though "Sadeness (Part I)" was written by Cretu with Fabrice Cuitad and Frank Peterson.
How did Voyageur chart?
It reached number 6 in Germany, number 4 in Portugal, number 13 in the Netherlands and number 94 on the US Billboard 200. It topped the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
What singles came from Voyageur?
"Voyageur" led in 2003 and did not chart. "Following the Sun" followed in November 2003 and reached number 97 in Germany, and "Boum-Boum" reached number 98 there in 2004.
Where was Voyageur recorded?
At A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, during 2003. The Discogs entry for the European CD lists the same studio for mastering.
Was Voyageur certified anywhere?
It was certified gold in Russia in 2003. No other certification is listed on the album's Wikipedia page.
Data note: Two credit gaps are documented on Wikipedia but appear nowhere in the release credits, so they are recorded here rather than assumed into the composer lists. "Look of Today" interpolates the chorus of ABC's "The Look of Love" (written by Martin Fry, Mark White, Stephen Singleton, David Palmer and Mark Lickley), and "Incognito" contains the chorus of "Sadeness" (written by Michael Cretu, Fabrice Cuitad and Frank Peterson); the liner notes, Discogs and Genius credit only Cretu on both tracks. Sources also disagree on "Following the Sun": the album track listing and the Discogs credits give the music to Cretu alone, while the Wikipedia single infobox names Cretu and Jens Gad as writers. The album credits are used here.

Sources