We're talking about over two years that we keep going back to arrange vocal parts on these songs. That's got to be ridiculous!Р”В®nya: Yes, it can be, but you have to remember that it's 500 vocals I wouldn't have sung them at the same time. Is that a reasonable number? And then I read 500. Then Nicky will decide if he'll record my voice 20 times or 30 times that one part.Р”В¬NN: I read that you might as many as 80 vocal tracks. I will listen back to the last harmony I've sung, and then I'll sort of try to enhance that harmony. at any given time how many Enyas might we be listening to?Р”В®nya: I don't count! It's a very spontaneous moment on my behalf. because each song is very different, and it's very spontaneous on my part.Р”В¬NN: About the layering of your voice. Some people who hear the songs think that we have a set routine, a set formula we work with. When I met with him first he had this idea of using a voice - one voice - as an instrument to layer many times and he knew my love of harmonies. There are a lot of ideas that Nicky had wanted to experiment with. Is this a song for the album? And I can see from their reaction - 'Yes, this is going to work,' or perhaps it's not. When I have the melody - the idea of the melody - I play that to Nicky and Roma. The way I work with Nicky and Roma is firstly I do the writing of the melodies in the songs, and that's kind of the solitude moment for me in the studio, which I enjoy very much. And when I discussed it with Nicky and Roma, they felt, well, within winter is the celebration of Christmas, so let's infuse the two themes together.Р”В¬NN: A lot of people think of Enya as a soloist, but really you're kind of a trio, aren't you?Р”В®nya: I work with two other people, the producer Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan, the lyricist. So I was writing some Christmas carols and what happened was some of the songs started to veer more into winter themes. How did the project evolve?Р”В®nya: I've always wanted to put together a Christmas album. Throughout the year I gather a lot of musical inspirations and this is where I bring them to the studio and see what will evolve musically.Р”В¬NN: You set out to make a Christmas album. And it's very reflective and a very calming time of the year. There'd be a lot of rehearsals, but it'd be very exciting,' she says.Р”В®nya spoke to CNN about how her music is like an onion (think layers, not tears), keeping a low profile, and marking the 20-year anniversary of 'Watermark,' her breakout album.Р”В®nya: Wintertime for me is a time when I do a lot of my writing in the studio. It would be very much on a large scale: the orchestra, the choir. 'To actually tour with the songs would be wonderful. since its November release.Р”Р„nd while Enya won't commit to the idea of taking her tunes on the road, she does hint at the possibility. Called 'And Winter Came,' the release has reached the top 10 on album charts across Europe and in the U.S. Her latest album - the seventh of her career - celebrates both the drama and quiet contemplation that come with the winter season. 'The music has always been the successful aspect on my career and that means that, to me, I can always still stay very focused on music.' Watch Enya revel in harmony Р’В» 'I always felt that the music sells by itself,' she says. She'll devote two to three years to each album, flitting between her Dublin castle and the studio, where she works tirelessly to perfect every celestial chord and layer harmony upon harmony. Thanks to a stipulation in her recording contract, the Grammy winner has the luxury of setting her own pace with each project, another rarity in the music business. Perhaps it's the vast gaps between releases that help make Enya, 47, the Emerald Isle's second-biggest-selling artist of all time (after U2). 'They're always saying, 'When is the next album?' They know when I finish in the studio it's got to be a few years before the next album.' 'The fans are very, very loyal,' says the Irish chanteuse.

Enya album 2008