Michael Cretu, also known as Curly M.C. (born May 18, 1957) is a Romanian musician best known as the creator of the Enigma project. Michael met his future wife Sandra Lauer when he was playing keyboards on the Arabesque live touring show. He married Sandra on January 7, 1988. They have twins named Nikita and Sebastian who were born in 1996.

Michael studied classical music at Lyseum No 2 in Bucharest in 1965 and in Paris, France in 1968. He later attended the Academy of Music in Frankfurt, Germany from 1975 to 1978, attaining a degree in music. Cretu was taken on as a keyboard player and producer for Frank Farian, the German mastermind behind successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s such as Boney M and Milli Vanilli.

The musician has worked with many producers, musicians, and artists in his long career. These include: Frank Farian, Boney M, Goombay Dance Band , Peter Cornelius , Manfred "Tissy" Thiers , Jens Gad , Frank Peterson , Sandra Lauer, ATB, Jam & Spoon , Ruth Anne and Andru Donalds .

Michael owned the A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, before moving to a new mansion in the Ibiza hills. His new house in Ibiza features a brand new, state-of-the-art recording studio, from which he hopes to release more albums in the future.

In 1998, Michael Cretu once again teamed up with Jens Gad (they previously worked together on Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!) and created the album The Energy of Sound under the name Trance Atlantic Airwaves.

Musical releases as a solo artist

Michael's first solo release was the single Wild River, in 1978. His first solo album was released in 1979 and was entitled Ausgewählte Goldstücke as a German release, and Moon, Light & Flowers as an English release.

Michael's second solo album, titled Legionäre, was released in 1983. This album had German lyrics and was sung by Michael. It was co-produced and supervised by Harald Steinhauer and mastered by Armand Volker .

Michael's third solo album was entitled Die Chinesische Mauer, and was released in 1985. The literal English translation of the title is "The Chinese Wall", or as it is better known, "The Great Wall of China". Like his previous album, this had German lyrics, was sung by Michael, and was co-produced by Armand Volker . This album was also released as a separate album with English lyrics and a different track listing under the name "The Invisible Man". Several of the tracks on "The Invisible Man" were edited slightly, and, therefore last for a different length than the German versions on Die Chinesische Mauer.

Musical collaborations (as a writer, perfomer, or producer)

• Moti Special: Motivation (1985)
• Cretu and Thiers: Belle Epoque (1988)
• Cornelius and Cretu: Cornelius and Cretu (1992)
• Trans Atlantic Air Waves: The Energy of Sound (1998, with Jens Gad)

Album discography

• Michael Cretu: Moon, Light & Flowers (1979)
• Michael Cretu: Legionäre (1983)
• Michael Cretu: Die Chinesische Mauer (1985)
• Michael Cretu: The Invisible Man (1985)
• Moti Special: Motivation (1985)
• Cretu and Thiers: Belle Epoque (1988)
• Enigma: MCMXC a.D. (1991)
• Cornelius and Cretu: Cornelius and Cretu (1992)
• Enigma: The Cross of Changes (1993)
• Enigma: Le Roi Est Mort, Vive le Roi! (1996)
• Trans Atlantic Air Waves: The Energy of Sound (1998, with Jens Gad)
• Enigma: The Screen Behind the Mirror (2000)
• Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits (2001)
• Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection (2001)
• Enigma: Voyageur (2003)

See Also

• Sandra (group)
• Sandra Cretu
• Enigma

External links

• http://sandranet.com/
• http://www.cretuworld.de/