Aquaria - a Liquid Blue Transecape

Album Review

Long frustrated by the release schedule restraints of conventional labels, electronic new age Renaissance man David Arkenstone joined with his wife, Diane, to create Neo Pacifica, a label releasing a wide variety of creatively diverse expressions. One of the label's highlights is introducing vocalist/keyboardist Diane as a composer and artist in her own right. With David's composing and production assistance, Diane creates what comes across as a continuous, unbroken musical piece, but is actually comprised of eight thoughtful compositions. The promise of trance in the album title might imply that this will be something of a formless musical experience, but all the ethereal effects (which include her whispery, seductive voice chanting like our subconscious) are given a solid musical foundation, complete with drum machine groove and reasonably memorable synth or piano melodies. "World of Light" is an expansive, nine-minute doorway, beginning very atmospherically before developing an R&B/pop edge. "Through the Veil" features David's Celtic-flavored flute and a swirling electronica melody, while "The Water Gardens" mixes inventive electronic percussion patterns with gentle doses of Andy Taylor's fiddle. Diane uses the theme of Aquaria, an undersea fantasy realm, as a framework for what she calls a "journey of groove exploration." All of it comes across as sensual and much more structured than many recordings in this genre offer.