New Music: Arkenstone's MIDDLE EARTH Revisited

David Arkenstone Releases Surprise Single "The Houses of Healing"

Artist & composer David Arkenstone’s loyal Arkenfans were stunned by the announcement that he is releasing a 20th Anniversary follow up to the original Music Inspired by Middle Earth, released in 2002.

Below, we reveal the cover art for the first single, released today, featuring the legendary Faramir and Eowyn.

Read the full announcement by music blogger Robin James on Ello.

Stream "The Houses of Healing"   

Pre-save the album:   https://lnk.dmsmusic.co/davidarkenstone_musicinspiredbymiddleearthvolll 

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Fantastic Covers of Themes from "Downton" and "Thrones" on INAMORATA

Three-time GRAMMY®-nominee David Arkenstone and enchanting vocalist Charlee Brooks crossover to Pop with INAMORATA

One of the most anticipated music releases of 2015 is a gorgeous collection featuring multi-Grammy nominated musician/composer David Arkenstone and enchanting vocalist Charlee Brooks. Arkenstone’s incomparable music joins spectacular lyrics and vocals by Brooks, who last teamed up on their Mermaid-themed album Loveren.  

Speaking from his Laguna Beach home, Arkenstone talked excitedly about this new album of love songs. “There are eight original songs in addition to the themes from Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, Zedd’s ‘Clarity’ and Sarah Brightman’s ‘Harem.' This time out, we wanted to craft some songs that were more pop/crossover tunes, and we chose a few cover songs that we felt we could bring something fresh to; the lullaby is for my niece, who was born during the recording.”

David Arkenstone & Charlee Brooks

Often compared to Sarah Brightman and Enya, Charlee Brooks made her debut on their first collaboration, Lovéren, followed by Celtic Garden, and she performs many of their songs with Arkenstone in the epic live concert event David Arkenstone’s Symphonic Adventure currently a popular public television special.

  

“We usually start with the music…a melody or theme, then Charlee comes up with some evocative lyrics that complete the musical thought I have,” says Arkenstone.

Adds Brooks, “Overall, this record is very sweet, of course, with its deeper moments. The lush strings and arranging that David did on both the originals and covers really move it to another level. When he writes, the lyrics are almost unnecessary as the music itself evokes so much on its own. The additional strings added by David Davidson complemented the tracks so well, he is an amazing violinist. Many of these songs are written from the female's perspective, especially the main title, ‘Inamorata.' This piece in particular is written from a place of longing to be somebody's everything. A reassurance to them that they will be there forever.”

“ ‘Inamorata’ was the first track we wrote and it set the tone for the rest of the album,” says Arkenstone. Brooks continues, “Inamorata is an Italian term for a person's female lover. Lyrically and melodically, this album takes you through many emotional journeys. I feel that everyone has experienced some interpretation of love, whether it was great or just a passing moment.”

Celebrating the 25th year of his impressive recording career that includes more than 40 albums, 20 Billboard hits, film & TV soundtracks and game scores, three-time GRAMMY®-nominee David Arkenstone has established himself as one of the best contemporary instrumental musicians of our time. This visionary continues to create distinctive tracks that inspire the imagination. A musical storyteller, Arkenstone is passionate about taking his listeners on a journey, creating sonic tapestries that evoke every emotion. “I envision a place where I would like to go, or an adventure I would like to take, and let my imagination run free,” says Arkenstone.

Drawn to music and the arts at a very young age, Brooks began singing and dancing at age 3, accompanied by her father on his guitar and other instruments that her grandfather carved by hand. Raised in a small Pennsylvania town, Brooks’ parents encouraged her to participate in all live theater productions, which led to a guest appearance on Carnival Cruise lines at age 11.  At 17, Brooks moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. A gifted audio engineer, she met Arkenstone while recording his tracks for Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft Cataclysm expansion. This chance meeting led to their collaboration on numerous songs and ultimately their epic orchestral album, Lovéren. 

Enjoy behind the scenes videos, and discussion about Inamorata, whici is available on Amazon and iTunes. 

Live Concert Review: TWO GRAND, I'M YOURS

* Featuring Fiona Joy Hawkins and Trysette*

I’d known of Fiona Joy Hawkins’ solo piano work, and stumbled across a series of hysterically wry YouTube videos that she and her concert touring partner, Trysette, produced to help promote their U.S. tour titled Two Grand I'm Yours.  Tickled, I surreptitiously followed the progress of these two dynamic Aussie gals, both indie artists, on their meandering tour of the U.S., wondering how it was they could manage to be on the road for so long.  After all, they’re both gorgeous pianists who compose original music, sing and tell stories; it’s not like they can just throw their guitars over their shoulders and hitchhike cross country Guthrie-style.  There are venues to be booked, piano deliveries to schedule, guest lists to manage, hats to sign...well, more on that later.  Anyway, kudos to them, because apparently they did it pretty much on their own over three months, quite successfully, with good humor, and the kindness of their U.S. concert hosts along the way.

I attended one of the final concerts on the tour, in the greater L.A. area, at the prestigious Thousand Oaks Civic Center.  The show opens with a warm welcome for singer songwriter Karen Nash, clearly a favorite of the locals in the crowd, which includes famed new age musician David Arkenstone.  Previously unknown to me, Nash is an alt-country songstress known for her songs about social justice and troubled love, which she shares with a passionate voice, a guitar, and a touch of edginess. 

Fiona Joy Hawkins

After Nash’s set, Fiona Joy Hawkins enters the stage.  Her stature is striking; she’s a tall, graceful blonde with cheekbones for which she should surely phone home daily to thank her mother.  Upon being seated, even the impressive grand piano looks no match for her. Her reach easily spans its width, and she takes control of it in her opening piece “Moving On” (from Blue Dream, a co-production with WillAckerman), then wrings out of it all the pain of a challenging life with “Contemplating,” which tells her life story and incorporates her Celtic heritage.   Hawkins shares brief stories behind the music, perhaps too brief, leaving the audience wanting to know more, to understand the passion – and often pain – behind her lush, complex and moving pieces. In one telling bit, she explains that her music is often categorized as New Age because it is emotionally driven. “There is no integrity greater than the intention of a single note,” she says. 

Despite all this emotion, one doesn’t feel the need to pity or console her, for Hawkins is not afraid to show her resulting strength.  The primary feeling one gets is solidarity, with her, and her music, capturing and releasing all of our anguish.  She has clearly mastered her coping tools: composing, performing and communing with the piano....and if that doesn’t soothe her, she can always take to the brushes, as she is also an accomplished painter with a gallery full of artwork to show.    After “Love in Winter” (LIVE at the Q) -- part of “Opus for Love” written for her Grandmother who passed away before its conclusion – we’re uplifted by the happier tale of meeting her husband and the resulting piece “The Journey,” which will be on her forthcoming album 600 Years in A Moment (2013).  The set continues with “Freedom/Joy,” “Earthbound” and “Ceremony” which she wrote for her wedding.  I particularly love how she described “Earthbound” as being “about leaving everything you know, everything you own (or thought you owned) and everything you love – and in that process finding yourself.”  Powerful stuff, and thankfully for her, a comment on the past.

Modeling their signed S4TP hats in NYC
with Rhina Valentin of Bronxnet

Post-intermission, the performers join an auctioneer on stage along with Julie Bach, founder for Spa4ThePink to auction off the hats on which the two artists had gathered signatures throughout the tour. The proceeds benefit Spa4ThePink, and signatures included a who’s who of musicians like Bob Malone (John Fogerty's keyboard player), Mike Baird (drummer for everybody including Journey), Denny Seiwell (drummer for Paul McCartney's band Wings), Kenny Aranoff (drummer for everybody, but currently John Fogerty), Randy Ray Mitchell (guitarist for Donna Summer - 30 yrs), Ben Mauro (guitarist for Lionel Richie), Larry Antonino (bass player for Air Supply) and Marty Rifkin (pedal steel player for Bruce Springsteen).

Trysette

When Trysette (nee Trysette Loosemore)  next takes the stage, slim in a white summer dress, she seems downright tiny compared to Hawkins, but any assumptions of vulnerability evaporate as she begins to connect with the audience, all warm voice, sassy red bobbed hair, and witty humor.  Wisely, she opens with a treat, a new piece, “Keep Me Dancing” to be recorded and released in the U.S. in 2013.   Her core is in Pop/Rock, although one somehow gets the feeling she’d make a heck of a jazz chanteuse with her husky vocals and subtle sensuality. 

As she continues through “Already” (Le Cafe Ancien), “Inside My Dreams” (Neutral Bay Sessions), and “Too Much” (Le Cafe Ancien), it becomes apparent how different these two pianists are from one another, and yet totally complementary. With that, an unexpected dimension of the show evolves, and I find myself wishing that young pianists everywhere could witness this show as an example of the broad artistic freedom open to them and their future in music. Trysette sails through the rest of her set, a mix of uptempo pop/rock and introspective ballads that beg for a drive up the coast with the top down. Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan and even a touch of Kate Bush come to mind.  But be warned, after the romance and sensuality in “Sweep Me Off My Feet” (Le Cafe Ancien), “That Face” (Le Cafe Ancien) and a preview of the forthcoming works “Like Water” and “Under My Skin,” you just might feel like falling in love again.

The audience demands an encore, and rightly so.  After Hawkins and Trysette sing “Impossible,” all three artists, joined by Marty Rifkin, perform Trysette’s “Silky Fingers” off Le Cafe Ancien, giving all a sexy, sultry send-off into a warm California night seemingly full of new possibilities for living and loving. 

Trysette and Fiona Joy Hawkins at the Thousand Oaks Civic
Auditorium on their 2012 U.S. Tour: Two Grand I'm Yours.
There is another tour in the works for 2013.