Ireland's best-selling solo artist, Enya, has a new album out. The aptly titled And Winter Came... explores themes of the season and the passing of time.
"It has to do with that reflective time of year," Enya says of the title. "The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was, and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is approaching."
Enya's new album finds her elaborating on her otherworldly sound, but also drawing from other, more earthly places.
"There is a really strong influence musically from The Beatles," Enya says of "My! My! Time Flies!" — a song that references a conversation Enya had with Roma Ryan, her primary lyricist, about music's progression over time.
Over the years, Enya has received a fair amount of flak from critics.
"I do understand that not everyone is going to sit and listen to an Enya album," she says. "When someone says it's not their cup of tea, it's not their kind of album, that's fine by me.
"When you spend two to three years working on an album that I feel very happy with the end result, there is nothing I would change," she says. "Musically, I have achieved what I set out to do."
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