David Arkenstone - Citizen Of The World
(p) (c) 1999 Windham Hill Records
10tks/57mins
In spite of all the obstacles, the time is coming where the boundaries between countries and between people will be destroyed. Our Common Home will become an organic unity. David Arkenstone by means of his music, allows this feeling of a Global House with the richness of his colors - realizing that here, there is nothing to fight over with each other. His music is global, all-human: he travels with his new album "Citizen Of The World" to various lands and continents, intending to display wealth of different cultures fully, as far as it is possible. The ten compositions on the album are messages from ten regions of the planet.
"Forest Runners" - the joyful, sunny rhythms of South American Indians. "Desert Crossing" - an evident adornment of the album, a bright diamond in the necklace of Arkenstone's compositions. Sultry breathing of desert, hot sands and wide, boundless space. And pulsing of life, and dust of endless roads under the feet... "Moonflower" is a contrast with the previous composition - a fluent Chinese melody; also one of the greatest hits of this album. It flows without hurry, like a wide river, softly playing with waves under a yellow moon and black night sky, shining with a myriad of bright stars. "The Gypsy Camp" - here we are, in Gypsy camp. And again you can hear in the sparkling rhythms and penetrating voice of Gypsy guitar; the pulse of life and echoes of long wanderings. "Safe Passage" - we are carried to another side of the world, somewhere in the savannas of South Africa. The melody becomes more chaotic and saturated with the breathing of Mother Earth. Drums accent the melody, allowing us to feel the very roots of the earth. "Ceremony" - with Indian flute salutes the boundlessness of the North American prairies, freedom of soaring eagle and an endless sadness. Just great! "Land Of The Tiger" - an epic poem; a voice of far India; message of ancient world with a European finesse of sound.
I should say several words about sound design. "Citizen Of The World" - sounds perfectly, though it seems sometimes too refined. Generally it is a profound work with a first class sound. "Carried Away Across The Sea" - how it would be possible to manage without Celtic music! A gray sea, rolling over the coastal rocks, a fishermen's village and merry feast of the brave warriors. "Temple Of The Pharaoh" - the music becomes mysterious, bringing echoes of another great civilization - the ancient Egypt. Travel along the Nile, majestic pyramids and powerful priests, shining of gold and tatters of innumerable slaves. "Into The Dreamtime" crowns the album, summarizing the travels and creating a psychedelic mood. Here the buzzing of Australian didgeridoo and obstinate power of drums are heard. As a final touch, we look at the Earth from far away, from space.
This new album by David Arkenstone is a work of mastery. It is a pleasant surprise for all new age amateurs. Even if this CD cannot replace ten disks, it worth listening. "Citizen Of The World" offers a sampling of the music of various cultures. It would be great if Arkenstone would continue his fascinating travel over all of the seas and continents. Maybe we'll visit Scandinavia or Polynesia, and look at the Caribbean Islands or find ourselves in Russia... Who knows to where the unknown ways will lead us...
Serge Kozlovsky
P.S. I would like to express my gratitude to Andrew Karatkevich for the
translation of this review.
