The Enigma VIII – What Once It Was is the eighth studio album of The Enigma Series by Shinnobu, released on December 1, 2019. This album marks a new threshold in the Enigma continuum, reflecting a phase of spiritual awakening aligned with cyclical visions of humanity’s evolution. Within the series, this volume articulates the transition from a long period of spiritual night toward the reemergence of collective awareness and remembrance.
Following the cosmic expansion explored in The Enigma VII – Star Seeds, the eighth chapter grounds that stellar consciousness back into human memory, childhood innocence, and ancestral recall. The album functions as a bridge between galactic perspective and earthly reflection, uniting cosmic vision with emotional intimacy.
Concept and Galactic Symbolism
At the conceptual core of What Once It Was lies the idea that humanity has traversed a prolonged era of spiritual forgetting. The album evokes the mythic fall of ancient civilizations such as Atlantis as symbolic markers of a lost golden age, followed by centuries of disconnection from original wisdom.
Within this vision, the present moment appears as a dawn rather than an ending. The title What Once It Was refers to dormant knowledge and primordial awareness awaiting reactivation. Through sound, the album seeks to rekindle remembrance, guiding listeners toward recognition of origins shared by humanity, Earth, and cosmos.
Musical Composition and Vocal Alchemy
The album’s sonic language integrates ambient expanses, neoclassical structures, pop-inflected melodies, and sacred tonalities into a cohesive field. Vocal expression plays a central role, particularly through epic female chants and ethereal, Gregorian-inspired harmonies that function as carriers of symbolic meaning.
These vocal layers operate less as narrative lyrics and more as vibrational conduits. Their presence encourages emotional release, inner alignment, and perceptual softening. Gregorian chant traditions are used deliberately as gateways to altered awareness, accessing collective memory and subconscious resonance.
Track List
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Only by Love – 10:31
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Stay with Me – 10:15
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In the Sky – 7:29
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Hypnotic Eyes – 8:57
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Between Light and Darkness – 6:07
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Buried in Your Past – 6:00
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Forgotten We Went – 8:45
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Crystal – 8:16
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For Ever and Ever – 6:42
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Shadows of My Being – 8:39
Each composition functions as a reflective passage, guiding awareness through remembrance, emotional purification, and gradual reintegration with inner truth.
Earth Consciousness and Inner Reflection
A recurring theme throughout the album is the perception of Earth as a living, conscious entity. Sound becomes a reminder of interconnectedness, inviting reflection on humanity’s relationship with nature, memory, and responsibility.
Titles such as “Only by Love” and “Forgotten We Went” evoke emotional purity and ancestral recall. The album positions love, memory, and awareness as restorative forces capable of reestablishing harmony between self, planet, and cosmos.
Discography – The Enigma Series
A chronological overview of The Enigma Series within the Shinnobu project, unified under REVVAT.
Discography: The Enigma Series
A chronological and descriptive list of albums by Shinobu Entsu under the Shinnobu project.
| Year | Album | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Enigma I (We Are One) | Debut album introducing mystical ambient themes. Produced with minimal resources, setting the spiritual and introspective tone of the series. |
| 2017 | The Enigma II (A Moment With Myself) | Built on the debut’s foundations with more defined melodies and emotional introspection. A personal journey of self-reflection. |
| 2017 | The Enigma III (Dancing with the Moon) | Explored a more rhythmic and enigmatic sound. Incorporates electronic dance elements with touches of house, while maintaining the mystical atmosphere of the series. |
| 2017 | The Enigma IV (Journeys of Souls) | Breakthrough release featuring cinematic depth and Gregorian chants. Became viral for its spiritual tone and technical growth. |
| 2018 | The Enigma V (Masterminds) | Defined the project's musical identity. Introduced more intricate layering and improved production quality. |
| 2018 | The Enigma VI (The Return to the Origin) | Explored philosophical themes about returning to spiritual roots. Stronger structure and narrative tone. |
| 2019 | The Enigma VII (Stars Seeds) | Delved into esoteric topics such as starseeds and cosmic origins. Featured meditative and space-like harmonies. |
| 2019 | The Enigma VIII (What Once It Was) | Nostalgic and reflective. A return to childhood and ancestral memory. Blended melancholy with transcendence. |
| 2020 | The Enigma IX (Seven Lights) | Explores mythic themes of Lemuria, Atlantis, and Mu. Merges sacred ambient, ritualistic soundscapes, and symbolic frequencies evoking mysticism and esoteric introspection. |
| 2021 | The Enigma X (Other Kingdoms) | Focuses on interdimensional realities and metaphysical exploration. Symbolic closure of the series’ spiritual arc. |
Spiritual Utility and Mystical Application
Beyond its musical form, The Enigma VIII functions as a contemplative tool. The album supports meditation, emotional integration, and energetic balance through carefully paced rhythms and harmonic continuity.
Its sound environments encourage calm, remembrance, and reconnection with inner coherence, presenting music as a restorative medium embedded in everyday life.
Place Within the Enigma Series
Positioned as a transitional volume, What Once It Was synthesizes teachings and symbols introduced throughout the earlier chapters while preparing the ground for the mythic and metaphysical expansions explored in The Enigma IX and The Enigma X.
Within the broader Enigma narrative, this album serves as a mirror of remembrance—inviting listeners to reflect on origin, present awareness, and emerging becoming.
Cuando quieras, el siguiente paso natural sería continuar con
The Enigma IX – Seven Lights o cerrar un arco mayor Enigma I–X como bloque histórico dentro de REVVAT.
Streaming & Availability
External Links