A Posteriori Explained

A Posteriori
Type:studio
Artist:Enigma
Cover:Enigma A Posteriori album cover.jpg
Released:22 September 2006
Recorded:2005–2006
Studio:Various places, with the "Alchemist" (all-in-one mobile computer studio)[1]
Length:53:36
Label:Virgin
Producer:Michael Cretu
Prev Title:15 Years After
Prev Year:2005
Next Title:Seven Lives Many Faces
Next Year:2008

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]

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

Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote, "[I]f you like the Enigma sound, this will be up your alley, full of the things you may seek out in a recording, but there is little new here."

Track listing

All songs written, arranged, and produced by Michael Cretu.

Credits

Enigma
Additional musicians

Apart from the album, some additional remixes were released exclusively through the iTunes Store. They are:

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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[4] 17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[5] 144
US Billboard 200[6] 95
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[7] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)! scope="col"
Position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[8] 21
Chart (2007)! scope="col"
Position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[9] 17

Release history

RegionDate
Germany22 September 2006
Worldwide25 September 2006

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Alchemist Studio . es . Enigma Música.com . 30 August 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090905203850/http://www.enigmamusica.com/estudio/alchemist.htm . 5 September 2009.
  2. Web site: 49th Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List . Grammy Awards . 9 December 2006 . http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061220160454/http%3A//www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/49th_Show/list.aspx . 20 December 2006 . dead.
  3. Web site: New Enigma Album . Enigma News . Crocodile Music Management GmbH . 17 July 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060630035542/http://www.crocodile-music.de/enigma/index.php . 30 June 2006 . live .
  4. Web site: http://www.ifpi.gr/chart04.htm. el:Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Αλμπουμ. Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums. el. IFPI Greece. 29 October – 4 November 2006. 3 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20061105234719/http://www.ifpi.gr/chart04.htm. 5 November 2006.
  5. Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/48070/products/670060/1/. ja:ア・ポウステリオーリ エニグマ. A Posteriori Enigma. ja. Oricon. 4 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220404071022/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/48070/products/670060/1/. 4 April 2022.
  6. Enigma Chart History (Billboard 200). Billboard. 20 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20200129204901/https://www.billboard.com/music/Enigma/chart-history/TLP. 29 January 2020.
  7. Enigma Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums). Billboard. 20 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20200129212037/https://www.billboard.com/music/Enigma/chart-history/ELP. 29 January 2020.
  8. Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2006. Billboard. 5 March 2021.
  9. Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2007. Billboard. 5 March 2021.