David Arkenstone
|
47th
Grammy Awards
Nominated ATLANTIS for Best New Age Album |
Pioneer
Innovator
Legend
“I would add adventurer, too,” says David Arkenstone, rounding out a cross-pollinated list of attributes that have helped establish him as one of contemporary instrumental music’s most distinctive composers. I can’t always participate in a real adventure, but I
Arkenstone’s music has had a similar effect on listeners since the release of his debut recording, VALLEY IN THE CLOUDS, in 1987. Described by one reviewer as “one of the most exquisite electronic new age recordings ever produced,” the album launched a career that has yielded two Grammy® Award nominations, two #1 albums, career sales that exceed 1 million recordings, and a dedicated fan base drawn to Arkenstone’s inventive fusion of technology and mythology for its ability to part the mind’s curtains and activate wide-screen imaginations.
A keyboardist who is skilled on guitar, flute, percussion, and other instruments, Arkenstone has explored a variety of sonic textures on his recordings. His versatility is showcased in the interstellar majesty of VALLEY IN THE CLOUDS; the globetrotting diversity in CITIZEN OF TIME (1990); the trilogy-launching, rock-orchestral bravura of IN THE WAKE OF THE WIND, his 1991 magnum opus (with the subsequent QUEST OF THE DREAM WARRIOR and RETURN OF THE GUARDIANS); the traditional power and mystery of THE CELTIC BOOK OF DAYS (1998); the multi-cultural sound paintings of CITIZEN OF THE WORLD (1999); and the vivid colors of CARAVAN OF LIGHT (2000).
One writer once noted that if a person’s imagination could earn frequent-flyer mileage, Arkenstone would have already earned a couple of round trips to Saturn. “A love for travel and adventure is just something that’s embedded in my personality,” says Arkenstone. “Sometimes I get the feeling that I’m painting as much as I’m composing. I tend to envision a place where I would like to go, or an adventure I would like to take, and I let my mind run free. I’ve gotten countless e-mail messages from listeners who love to take these journeys with me. I’m sometimes surprised by how powerfully people respond to my music.”
Arkenstone’s own musical journey began at age 10, when he immersed himself in as much music as he could find. Influenced by his father, who played guitar and his mother who played piano, Arkenstone was 12 years old when he got his first guitar. “From Sears,” he recalls with a smile, “with a huge sunburst pattern and about 300 pickups.”
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He studied music in college and, as a fan of acts such as Yes and Emerson,
Lake and Palmer, eventually formed his own pop-progressive band. The swift
evolution of synthesizers and electronic keyboards opened a new horizon
for Arkenstone. “Electronics finally gave me the tools to replicate the
music I could hear in my head,” he says. “It was a revelation to me. Magic
was finally possible.” As a long-time fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Arkenstone remains fascinated by all things magical and mystical. Of his many musical excursions into imagined lands, it seems only natural that Atlantis be on Arkenstone’s horizons. “This music is my tribute to the majesty and mystery of the great civilization of Atlantis.” |
Listen to ATLANTIS and one is immediately transported to place of beauty, nobility, and illumination.
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