A Posteriori
2006 studio album by Enigma
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A Posteriori is the sixth studio album by German musical project Enigma, released on 22 September 2006 by Virgin Records. In December 2006, the album was nominated for Best New Age Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.[2]
| A Posteriori | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 22 September 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
| Studio | Various places, with the "Alchemist" (all-in-one mobile computer studio)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:36 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Michael Cretu | |||
| Enigma chronology | ||||
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While the previous album, Voyageur, contained minimal amounts of the project's signature sounds, A Posteriori only contains the signature "Enigma horn" (a foghorn) during the opening minute of the album, and even then it is a fleeting glimpse. Coupled with the album's subject matter of the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, A Posteriori is, compared to earlier releases, stark and foreboding.
Background
News about the album's title and track list were first made public on 18 July 2006 through the Crocodile-Music.de website and EnigmaMusic.com's forums, while the album cover was made public ten days later. The first track to be made public was "Hello and Welcome", released as a standalone single in 2006. Enigma's management subsequently stated that a new version would be included on the record, while the lead single off the album proper would be "Goodbye Milky Way".[3]
Recording
A Posteriori became the first Enigma album to be recorded using Michael Cretu's new 5.1 fully computerized mobile music studio, "Alchemist", a machine of relatively small size with a main keyboard and a number of hardware MIDI controllers with some "special" expansions and a central computer with LCD screen. The device was designed for Cretu privately.[1]
Etymology
"A posteriori", a Latin phrase translated as "after the fact", refers to empirical knowledge, the epistemological concept of deriving knowledge from past experience.
"Eppur si muove", alternately spelled "E pur si muove!", is an Italian phrase translated to "And yet it moves", attributed to Galileo Galilei after he was sentenced by the Roman Inquisition to recant his belief in heliocentrism.
Reception
Track listing
All songs written, arranged, and produced by Michael Cretu.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eppur si muove" | 3:41 |
| 2. | "Feel Me Heaven" | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Dreaming of Andromeda" | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Dancing with Mephisto" | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Northern Lights" | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Invisible Love" | 4:55 |
| 7. | "Message from Io" | 3:09 |
| 8. | "Hello and Welcome" | 5:08 |
| 9. | "20.000 Miles over the Sea" | 4:23 |
| 10. | "Sitting on the Moon" | 4:21 |
| 11. | "The Alchemist" | 4:41 |
| 12. | "Goodbye Milky Way" | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 53:36 | |
Credits
- Enigma
- Michael Cretu – music, lyrics, vocals (tracks 6, 10, 12), performance, production, programming, engineering
- Additional musicians
- Narration – Louisa Stanley (tracks 4, 12)
- Voice – Andru Donalds (track 8)
Apart from the album, some additional remixes were released exclusively through the iTunes Store. They are:
- "Eppur si muove" (Tocadisco Remix) – 6:39
- "Dreaming of Andromeda" (Jean F. Cochois Remix) – 7:28
- "20.000 Miles over the Sea" (Boca Junior Remix) – 7:07
- "The Alchemist" (The Alchemist's Vision by Ralf Hildenbeutel) – 7:17
A Posteriori Private Lounge Remix
The Private Lounge Remix album version of A Posteriori was released via iTunes on 18 March 2007 in Germany and on 26 March in the rest of Europe.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eppur si muove" (Tocadisco remix 2) | 6:11 |
| 2. | "Feel Me Heaven" (Boca Junior remix) | 6:24 |
| 3. | "Dreaming of Andromeda" (Jean F. Cochois remix) | 7:29 |
| 4. | "Dancing with Mephisto" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:28 |
| 5. | "Northern Lights" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:41 |
| 6. | "Invisible Love" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:45 |
| 7. | "Message from Io" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:33 |
| 8. | "The Alchemist" (Christian Geller remix) | 6:54 |
| 9. | "20.000 Miles over the Sea" (Boca Junior remix) | 7:08 |
| 10. | "Sitting on the Moon" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:31 |
| 11. | "The Alchemist" (The Alchemist's Vision by Ralf Hildenbeutel) | 7:16 |
| 12. | "Goodbye Milky Way" (Boca Junior remix) | 5:10 |
| Total length: | 1:14:30 | |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Russia (NFPF)[25] | Platinum | 20,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| Germany | 22 September 2006 |
| Worldwide | 25 September 2006 |