artist: Enya country of origin: Ireland style(s): Ambient Pop, Celtic, Folk essential releases: Watermark (1988, WEA) Shepherd Moons (1991, WEA)

Okay, she's a favourite dartboard among music critics who turn up their noses at the mere sniff of anything remotely new age. But even her music’s presence on a seemingly endless array of annoying TV commercials can’t obscure the fact that Enya is a singer, writer and arranger of considerable talent. Formerly of the Irish folk-pop group Clannad, her second and third solo albums Watermark and Shepherd Moons meld her pure, ethereal voice with lush piano and keyboards and occasional acoustic instruments to create a spellbinding ambience that draws on Celtic folk music, classical and pop. Enya and producer Nicky Ryan are meticulous in their craft, overdubbing her voice often dozens of times to achieve a beautiful vocal richness. Even when she sings lyrics - sometimes in Gaelic - her vocals swim in a sea of sound where actual words are hardly the point.

New age record labels have since turned the whole Celtic thing into a marketing frenzy - these two albums remain head and shoulders above them all. Enya has evolved a style of ambient pop that's uniquely her own and if you like your sounds lush and your melodies lovely then these remain her definitive releases.

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