Enya is a self-described "very slow writer" and did not give herself a deadline to have a set number of songs complete by. She would arrive at the studio at 10 a.m. The process began with Enya working alone, recording ideas in the form of basic melodies or sketches of ideas on the piano. Enya and the Ryans adopted their usual method of writing and recording for Dark Sky Island. The album was recorded from 2012 to 2015. Enya said the album has an underlying theme of journeys: "Journeys to the island through the length of a lifetime through history, through emotions and journeys across great oceans", yet denies it is a concept album. In the spring of 2012, Enya felt the time was right to start recording. In May 2011, Ryan announced that work on a new album had started, early plans for which included orchestral and choral arrangements recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London that never came into fruition. Enya was inspired by the idea to start writing new music, but had to wait until renovation work was complete at Aigle Studio, the Ryans' home studio in Killiney, County Dublin. At one meeting, Roma presented Enya with a collection of poems she had written about islands, one of which was about Sark in the English Channel, and spoke about its designation as the first island to become a dark-sky preserve in 2011. Enya also caught up with her longtime collaborators, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan, to discuss ideas on the next album and when to start work. During this period she released her second greatest hits album, The Very Best of Enya (2009) and spent time travelling, including visits to Ireland, Australia and France, where she bought a new home on its southern coast and renovated it. She felt it was needed for herself and her music.
Among the options she considered was to take a "proper break" away from activity, which she decided to do and lasted three years.
(2008), Enya was unsure on her next career move.
įollowing the release of her winter-themed album And Winter Came. Dark Sky Island was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. Enya promoted the album with a worldwide media tour that included performances of some songs from the album. A deluxe edition features three additional tracks. Elsewhere, it reached the top five in nine countries. 8 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. 4 in the UK Albums Chart, Enya's highest position on the chart since Paint the Sky with Stars (1997), and No. Enya gained inspiration for the title track and the album from the 2011 designation of Sark in the Channel Islands as a dark-sky preserve and a collection of Roma Ryan's poems on islands.ĭark Sky Island received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success upon release. In the spring of 2012 she started to write and record new material for a new album with her longtime collaborators, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. (2008), Enya was unsure of her next career move so she decided to take a break from music, which lasted three years. After the release of her previous album, And Winter Came. Dark Sky Island is the eighth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 2015 by Warner Bros.