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The story of the song by Enigma Return to Innocence Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383 My second YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@RockNRollTrueStories2 In the 90s, you couldn't escape it. Enigma's "Return to Innocence" was on the radio, on TV, and tied to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It mixed a Led Zeppelin drum sample with a soaring, ancient-sounding chant, and it became Enigma's biggest US hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. But the most famous part of the song, that chant everyone can hum, didn't come from a studio singer. It came from two elderly farmers from Taiwan who had no idea they were on it. In this video, we dig into the story behind one of the biggest hits of the decade and the international lawsuit it led to. The voices belonged to Difang and Igay Duana, also known as Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu, a husband and wife from the Amis, one of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. In 1988, they traveled to Paris as part of a cultural tour, where performers were reportedly paid around 15 dollars a day. Their performance was recorded by a French cultural institution, the Maison des Cultures du Monde, and released on a CD of traditional Taiwanese Indigenous music. Years later, Enigma producer Michael Cretu found that CD and built "Return to Innocence" around their voices. Cretu said he believed the recording was in the public domain. But the Duanas were never asked, never paid, and never credited. It was only after the song exploded during the Olympics that Taiwanese media identified the voices as theirs. So two farmers in their seventies did something nobody expected. With help from Taiwanese label Magic Stone Records, they took on Michael Cretu, Virgin Records, EMI and other record companies. The lawsuit was filed in March 1998, and it raised huge questions about sampling, consent, and who owns traditional Indigenous music. In July 1999, the case was settled out of court. The amount was never disclosed, but the Duanas won full credit on future releases of the song. We also look at Enigma's earlier run-in with a Munich choir over "Sadeness," the Duanas' own album Circle of Life, Difang's award-winning follow-up, and the heartbreaking way their story ended in 2002. In this video I discuss: How Michael Cretu built Enigma into a global phenomenon The Munich choir that sued over "Sadeness" How "Return to Innocence" became a 90s and Olympic anthem Who Difang and Igay Duana really were How their voices ended up on a CD and then a worldwide hit The 1998 lawsuit and the 1999 settlement Their music career after the case and their legacy today Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Comment below or send in your idea: https://bit.ly/3stnXlN CONNECT ON SOCIAL TIKOK:https://www.tiktok.com/@rocknrolltruestory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rnrtruestories/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RNRTrueStories Twitter: https://twitter.com/rocktruestories Blog: www.rockandrolltruestories.com #enigma #returntoinnocence These videos are for entertainment purposes only. DISCLAIMER https://rockandrolltruestories.com/youtube-disclaimer/