Musical style and other projects

Much of her music shows influence of some Irish music and classical music.

As a musical group, Enya represents a partnership between three people: Enya herself, who composes and performs the music; Nicky Ryan, who produces the albums, and Roma Ryan, who writes the lyrics in various languages. Enya performs all percussion, instruments, and vocals in her pieces unless specified. Although there are certain pieces where acoustic instruments are featured, almost all sounds of her pieces are created by a synthesizer, specifically the Roland D-50. [citation needed] Her trademark sound is achieved by layering her voice as much as eighty times. She has stated in an interview that she has once dubbed her voice to about five hundred times. The vocals are each performed individually, and is layered together to form a virtual choir, although all the voices are Enya herself. Enya can be classified as a mezzo-soprano with an alto range. (In Cursum Perficio of the album Watermark, she reaches a C an octave below middle C. Later in the piece, she sings a high A-flat above the treble clef. By this, it classifies her as a mezzo-soprano with an extended lower range.)

On her latest album, Amarantine, Enya sings in Japanese and Loxian, a language invented by Roma Ryan. A number of Enya's songs are sung entirely in Irish or Latin, while most of her songs are sung in English. Enya has also sung songs written entirely or partially in Welsh, Spanish, French, and even languages created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Enya has performed songs relating to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, including 1991's Lothl?rien (instrumental), 2001's May It Be (sung in English and Quenya), and An?ron (in Sindarin)—the last two which she composed appearing on the soundtrack of Peter Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Enya has given several live performances on various television shows, events and ceremonies (her most recent appearance was in Gaoth Dobhair in the summer of 2005, which coincided with a tribute event to the Brennan family that took place in Letterkenny), but she has yet to do a concert. She has said, though, that she would love to do it someday, and would consider it a great challenge.

Although her Grammys were for Best New Age Album, Enya does not personally classify her music as belonging to the New Age genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music as belonging to, she would reply, Enya