Nicky Ryan
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Nicholas Dominick Ryan (born 14 July 1946) is an Irish music producer, recording engineer, and manager. He is best known as the longtime business and recording partner for the singer, songwriter and musician
Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...
alongside his wife, poet and lyricist
Roma Ryan Roma Shane Ryan (born 20 January 1954 in Belfast) is an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, currently living in Killiney, Ireland, with her husband Nicky Ryan. Ryan is the primary lyricist for the singer Enya, who has stated that the importance of ...
. Born and raised in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ryan gained initial recognition in the 1970s and 1980s for his work with several artists including
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...
,
Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...
,
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
and
Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
.


Early life

Nicholas Dominick Ryan was born in 1946 in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland. As a youngster, he won a song contest with a rendition of "
In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by E ...
" by
Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...
for which the prize was to meet
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, one of his favourite bands. However, Ryan could not claim the prize as he could not afford the fare to England to see them. After finishing school, Ryan worked as a teacher at St. Mary's School for Deaf Girls in Dublin, where he experimented with sound engineering to create a way for the deaf children to "hear" music. He designed a speaker system based on the lower end of a
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
that allowed for considerable bass to travel across a spring floor in the school's dance room and in their chests, so they can detect the rhythm. "It was an upright speaker consisting of a 14in square box, about six feet tall, and about six inches from the floor – with a 12in speaker facing upwards, and a three inch port below that. And it worked very well. ... The floor shook – and the kids danced away, as they were entitled to."


Career

In the 1970s and 1980s, Ryan gained recognition for his involvement with several artists including
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...
,
Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...
, and
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
. Ryan was introduced to the family Celtic band
Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
by their manager Fachtna O'Kelly. In 1975, he became the sound engineer for the family band
Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
and from 1976, their new manager along with his wife
Roma Ryan Roma Shane Ryan (born 20 January 1954 in Belfast) is an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, currently living in Killiney, Ireland, with her husband Nicky Ryan. Ryan is the primary lyricist for the singer Enya, who has stated that the importance of ...
after O'Kelly left to manage
The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...
. In 1980, Ryan persuaded
Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...
, the younger sister of siblings
Máire Máire is the Irish language form of the Latin Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name or Mir ...
, Pól and
Ciarán Brennan Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...
, to join the band with them and twin uncles, Noel and
Pádraig Duggan The Duggans ( ga, Na Dúgáiní) were an Irish musical duo from Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland. The twin brothers Noel Duggan and Pádraig Duggan ( ga, Ó Dúgáin) came to prominence in the 1970s with the folk group Clannad, and took a ten ...
. During her two-year stint in the group, Ryan and Enya often discussed his idea of recording many vocal tracks and layering them to create a sound effect inspired by the
wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...
technique developed by
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
. In 1982, the Ryans left Clannad and formed a partnership with Enya after the latter wished to pursue a solo career, with Ryan her producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist. For the next two years, Enya lived with the Ryans who then lived in Artane, a northern Dublin suburb while she practised her music skills and recorded a selection of demos. In September 1983, the three became directors of their music company Aigle Music, with "aigle" being the French word for "eagle". Using a mixing board originally made for Clannad, the three constructed a home recording facility and named it Aigle Studio.


Discography

*1978 — ''
Clannad in Concert Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...
'' -
Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
*1978 — ''Live in Dublin'' —
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
*1985 — '' The Frog Prince: The Original Soundtrack Recording'' —
Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...
and other artists *1987 — ''Stony Steps'' —
Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...
*1987 — ''
Cosa Gan Bhróga Cosa was a Latin colony founded in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, on land confiscated from the Etruscans, to solidify the control of the Romans and offer the Republic a protected port. The Etruscan site (called ''Cusi'' or ''Cosia'') may have b ...
'' -
Eithne Ní Uallacháin Eithne Ní Uallacháin (; 1 January 1957 – 19 May 1999) was an Irish singer, songwriter, and former teacher
, Gerry O'Connor & Desi Wilkinson *1987 — ''
Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...
'' — Enya *1988 — ''
Watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
'' — Enya *1989 — ''Lead the Knave'' —
Nollaig Casey Nollaig Casey ( ga, Nollaig Ní Chathasaigh) is an Irish fiddle player, and has an international reputation as one of Ireland's finest fiddle players. By the time she was eleven years old she could play violin, piano, tin whistle and uilleann pipe ...
*1991 — ''
Shepherd Moons ''Shepherd Moons'' is the third studio album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 4 November 1991 by WEA. After the unexpected critical and commercial success of her previous album ''Watermark'' (1988), Enya embarked on a ...
'' — Enya *1995 — Take the Air'' — Sean Ryan *1995 — ''
The Memory of Trees ''The Memory of Trees'' is the fourth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 5 December 1995 by WEA. After travelling worldwide to promote her previous album ''Shepherd Moons'' (1991), and contributing to film ...
'' — Enya *1997 — ''
Paint the Sky with Stars ''Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya'' is the first greatest hits album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 1997 by WEA. Following her worldwide promotional tour in support of her previous album '' The Memory of T ...
'' — Enya *1999 — ''Across the Bridge of Hope'' *2000 — ''
A Day Without Rain ''A Day Without Rain'' is the fifth studio album by the Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 20 November 2000 by WEA. Following a promotional tour in support of her compilation album ''Paint the Sky with Stars'' (1997), Enya ...
'' — Enya *2000 — ''Srenga Oir'' — John Feeley *2001 — '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' riginal Motion Picture Soundtrack*2005 — '' Amarantine'' — Enya *2006 — '' Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection'' — Enya *2008 — '' And Winter Came...'' — Enya *2009 — '' The Very Best of Enya'' — Enya *2015 — ''
Dark Sky Island ''Dark Sky Island'' is the eighth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 2015 by Warner Bros. Records. After the release of her previous album, '' And Winter Came...'' (2008), Enya was unsure of her ...
'' — Enya


References


External links


Official Website
* *2015 interview on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-210394598/nicky-ryan-unity-interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Nicky Grammy Award winners People from Artane, Dublin Living people 1946 births