Imagine some mad guitar wizard producing a hybrid of Ronnie Montrose and Leo Kottke … and then marrying it off to a wild siren sprung from the DNA of Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin. Their offspring might be Enigma.
Enigma is a dynamic performing/songwriting team out of Southeast Nebraska (but don’t hold that against them). They have recently released Juxtaposition, a CD of original material that is exactly what it says it is: a refreshingly unique blending of styles, from acoustic folk/pop to electric rock and blues, richly textured guitar compositions coupled with unusually intellectual and introspective lyrics, sung with gut-wrenching honesty. The whole is much more than the sum of its parts.
Guitarist and composer David Epp draws from a variety of inspirations to produce provocative works speaking to – and from – every corner of the soul. His inventive writing style and powerful expression provide a beautifully complex framework for vocalist/lyricist Carolyn Olesen, who herself is an amalgam of incurable rebelliousness and rigid discipline. Her lyrics explore joy and sadness, clarity and madness, past intermingled with present; from sassy to sublime, abject fear to just plain fun, Olesen’s poetry and delivery reflect the depth and extremes of human experience.
Pagan Moon received a Track of the Day award from Garage Band.com on March 10, 2008.
.Fed Up (With All of You) received awards for Best Lyrics in Americana week of March 3, 2008, and Track of the Day March 20, 2008.
Driven received a Track of the Day award on March 27, 2008, as well as awards for Best Female Vocals, Best Bass Track, Best Melody, Best Beat, and Most Original in the Progressive Rock category.
Enigma’s second CD, Eccentricities, will be available for release on or around April 30, 2008.
What do you call a compilation that combines the musical influences of Janis Joplin and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Heart and Craig Chaquico, Stevie Nicks and Blue Oyster Cult, K.T. Tunstall and the Scorpions, Bonnie Raitt and the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Sheryl Crow and Tom Petty? Eccentric, indeed… like their first release, Enigma’s second CD explores the gamut of human emotion and experience, sometimes with humor, sometimes with brutal introspection, and always with gut-wrenching honesty.With a rich texture of interwoven styles, Eccentricities offers the listener a wild ride on a roller-coaster of darkness and light. This CD includes tales of love, of sadness, of playful daydreams and the terrifying landscape of the soul, a touch of social commentary, a humorously scathing statement about today’s political terrain, and even an imaginative journey to a most unusual nightclub. Their music ranges in style from acoustic neo-folk and pop to electric classic and progressive rock and blues.