Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
Michael Cretu (Romanian: Mihai Crețu, pronounced [miˈhaj ˈkret͡su]; born 18 May 1957) is a Romanian-German musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the musical project Enigma, which he formed in 1990.
Cretu began a music career in 1976 as a solo artist and released numerous studio albums as well as writing and producing albums for his then-wife, German pop singer Sandra. He also worked with artists through the 1980s, including Peter Cornelius, Hubert Kah, and Mike Oldfield. Cretu was sometimes identified as "Curly" or "Curly M.C.", in reference to his curly hair and creț meaning "curly" in Romanian.Cretu scored an unexpected worldwide commercial hit with the debut Enigma album MCMXC a.D. (1990), helped by its lead single, "Sadeness (Part I)". Cretu continues to produce Enigma albums and singles; the most recent is The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016), its eighth overall. Enigma has sold an estimated 70 million albums worldwide, Cretu's management company Crocodile-Music stated that Cretu's produced recordings have sold 100 million copies worldwide.