MCMXC a.D. (1990 AD in Roman Numerals) is the debut studio album by the German musical project Enigma, led by the Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. It was released in Europe by Virgin Records on 3 December 1990, and in the United States by Charisma Records on 12 February 1991. Cretu became fascinated with mixing archaic sounds with modern music after producing "Everlasting Love" by the German pop singer Sandra, for which he experimented with Gregorian chant. Following their marriage in 1988, Michael developed Enigma and recorded the album over the course of eight months in 1990 at A.R.T. Studios.
MCMXC a.D. combines new-age music with dance rhythms, Gregorian chant and themes of religion and sexuality, for which it received generally positive reviews. The Gregorian chant was sampled from recordings by Capella Antiqua München, which resulted in the Munich-based choir's label, Polydor Germany suing Cretu and Virgin Records for infringing on its "right of personality". He would become fascinated with incorporating archaic sounds into contemporary songs. MCMXC a.D. was recorded in 1990 in eight months at A.R.T. Studios, Cretu's studio located on the Spanish island of Ibiza. Cretu conceived the album as one continuous song; Cretu produced MCMXC a.D., with creative input from Frank Peterson and Fabrice Cuitad.
The first song recorded for the album was "Sadeness (Part I)". After making the song, Michael told Sandra Cretu, "This will be a huge hit or nothing at all." "Sadeness (Part I)" was released as a single on 1 October 1990. while Peterson was credited as F. Gregorian,