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Arnold Mitchem makes his solo instrumental debut with "DESERT DREAMS". His melodies and rhythms invoke the sacred places that the desert holds. This is a peaceful album. It is music to dream by. Featuring acoustic guitars, combined with flutes, strings, bass, and the ambient sounds of the surrounding desert in which he lives, it is a very strong contender for a major place in the new age instrumental market.
WEST COAST WELL BEING
Unique Views Of Our Emerging Millennium
October 1998 Volume 3, Number 10
"Arnold Mitchem’s CD, Desert Dreams is a marvelous blend of acoustic guitar, flute, strings and bass. I felt a tremendous sense of inner peace while listening to this CD. My mind felt clear, and all the chaos of the day seemed to melt away. For me it conjured up visions of the Grand Canyon at sunset. I could almost feel the temperature drop, and the stillness that twilight brings as I listened to the sounds of night birds and crickets. This music evoked so many images for me that I felt I had finally taken a much-needed vacation. I felt revitalized, yet serene all at the same time.
If you feel like ‘getting away from it all" then Desert Dreams is definitely for you! After a stressful day at work, come home, kick off those restrictive shoes, grab a latte, put your feet up and take a listen. You won’t be disappointed!
DESERT DREAMS Arnold Mitchem ADM MUSIC (1997)
Genre: New Acoustic with some synths Time: 49:55
"On his debut CD, Desert Dreams, acoustic guitarist Arnold Mitchem accomplishes something special. He blends the ambience and textures of the American Southwest desert with the sound of acoustic guitar by adding layers of synth flutes, and bass. What I heard when I listened to this recording was music that retained the overall accessibility of acoustic guitar-based music while also drenching the recording in the atmosphere of ambient works rooted in the solitude and repose of the desert.
Desert Dreams starts off with flute, guitar, and synth interplaying on the title track which hints at melancholy even while it’s in midtempo time. The synths add mystery, maybe even a touch of eerieness at times. This is just a hint of the atmospheric yet melodic wonder to come. On ‘Ancient Voices" there is a dash of Native American feel with lower register synth flute and odd percussive effects. It’s a haunting song, as it gears up and becomes vaguely disquieting even as it grows more incessant.
This is an album that shows you can always teach the acoustic guitar new tricks. Not new tricks ion the manner of new tunings or innovative ways of playing. I mean new tricks as in taking the guitar into a new theater of composition. On "Nightbird" the guitar takes an occasional backseat to flowing synths and ambient night sounds. I can’t really say that Desert Dreams is an ambient work. There is definitely melody and traditional composition at work here. But the feel of the music is ambient. It enveloped me in atmosphere and I found myself drifting into a visualizing state which the best ambient music does for me.
Certainly, to my ears, this CD evokes images of the Southwest with its forlorn and desolate yet beautiful melodies and phrasings. The msic is not sparse in some ways, but in others it is very much so. It is (thankfully) not over-produced. Maybe that’s the key for me. To walk the line between spartan yet accomplished production is no small feat. Arnold Mitchem has produced something that is getting more rare all the time – an original piece of work.
From the very subtle flamenco shadings of "Midnight Walk" to the more uptempo picking of "Mojave Moon" (nicely counterpointed by synth chords) to the cricket-chorused and gentle sounds of "De La Madrugada" Desert Dreams invites the open-minded listener into another king of desert vision. As beautifully evocative as anything Steve Roach or Brain Laughter has recorded, yet as different from their music as the ever-shifting sands of a Mojave dune, this is a recording to be savored. Dream away."
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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