Ancient Voices
David Arkenstone's last solo album,Citizen of the World, was a disappointing pastiche of the most obvious world-music clichés. So it's nice to hear him rebound with this independent release under the guise of Anima. With compositions written by his wife, guitarist and keyboardist Diane Arkenstone, Anima explores Native American themes, wedding Native flute played by David Arkenstone to his grandiose keyboard orchestrations. Arkenstone is a better Native flutist than you might suspect, playing this fragile wind instrument with a sensitivity that also serves to temper the bombast he can bring to his music. His keyboard and percussion arrangements set Anima far beyond most synthesizer/Native flute combinations out there. The synthesizers surround the flute melodies, caressing and accenting Diane's gentle melodies, while tribal drums throb in the background. Anima avoid most of the Native music clichés, although they do succumb to whispered Indian voices on the otherwise evocative "Storyteller."--John Diliberto