David Arkenstone (born July 1, 1952) is an American composer and performer.… Read Full Bio ↴David Arkenstone (born July 1, 1952) is an American composer and performer. His music is primarily instrumental, with occasional vocalizations. Most of Arkenstone's music falls into new age category; however, he also worked in other genres; including a heavy metal soundtrack for the Emperor: Battle for Dune video game. His music has been described as 'soundtracks for the imagination'. Throughout his career, Arkenstone released over 50 albums and composed music for video games, including World of Warcraft, and for television, including NBC's Kentucky Derby. David has been nominated for Grammy Awards four times.

After moving from Chicago to California at the age of ten, he was involved in various high school bands playing guitars and keyboards, playing baseball in his spare time. He studied music in college and started a progressive rock band named after himself, but he soon discovered the music of Kitaro and was heavily influenced by it. Arkenstone was influenced by writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Ian Fleming, and grew up listening to bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, and Yes, as well as listening to classical music.

Arkenstone went solo and found his own sound in New Age music. He says that has been greatly aided by technology: "Technology has produced some wonderful tools for making music. The computer allows me to fully orchestrate my pieces and really fine tune them". His music is primarily instrumental. His albums, typically fantasy themed, often come packaged with literature and art. He worked with fantasy novel writer Mercedes Lackey on a few of his albums. Arkenstone and his ex-wife, Diane, created their own record label called Neo Pacifica. In addition to releasing their own music on the label, they have included other bands such as Earth Trybe, Enaid, and the Marquis Ensemble.

He has also composed music for television; channels such as the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and NBC Sports include his music. He has also written music for trailers and film soundtracks, including the independent film PRISM, as well as computer game soundtracks such as World of Warcraft, Lands of Lore 2 and 3, Earth and Beyond, and Emperor: Battle for Dune; and Starlight Inception. He also features on 20 Years of Narada Piano.

Arkenstone has earned four Grammy nominations for his work: In the Wake of the Wind in 1992, Citizen of the World in 2000, and Atlantis in 2004. 'Fairy Dreams in 2020.

Arkenstone has learned to play a variety of musical instruments, including bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, harp, cello, flute, electronic keyboards, piano, Turkish saz, pennywhistle, melodica, and pan pipes. He also plays drums and percussion and has performed some vocalizations on his albums.

Arkenstone is also involved in the band Troika; their sound is similar to his solo work. The band members like to remain anonymous, although the compositions are credited to Arkenstone.

His theme "The Journey Begins/Kyla's Ride" was used for the FIFA World Cup France '98 broadcastings intro by the Mexican television network Azteca.

His song "Papillon (On the Wings of the Butterfly)" is used as background music in Future World at Epcot in Walt Disney World. His song "The Palace" was once used as background music in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom as well. "The Palace" also used to play in Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland, and another one of his songs, "Valley in the Clouds" was also used.

He signed with Domo Records and re-released the album Echoes of Light and Shadow in 2010.

Arkenstone was a member of the composing team who developed the music for Blizzard Activision's World of Warcraft videogame's Cataclysm expansion. Along with Arkenstone, the team consists of Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, and Neal Acree.

All Souls Night
David Arkenstone Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.

Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires

And dancing till the next sunrise.

I can see lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night.

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The green knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the old year passes by.

I can see lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night.

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
And moving to the pagan sound.
Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me

I can see lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night

Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of David Arkenstone feat. Charlee Brooks's song "All Souls Night" describe a pagan celebration of the old year passing by and the beginning of the new year. The rolling hillsides are dotted with bonfires as figures dance around and around to the pulse of darkness drumming. The singer of the song reminisces about a hidden memory of fragrant nights of straw and bonfires, dancing till the next sunrise. The scene is vividly described with images of lights in the distance trembling in the dark cloak of the night, candles and lanterns dancing, and figures of cornstalks bending in the shadows.

The green knight holds the holly bush to mark where the old year passes by. The bridge that crosses the river that goes out to the sea is where the singer stands, listening to the wind that is full of a thousand voices that pass by the bridge and the singer. The lyrics are an expression of the pagan beliefs and celebrations of nature that are deeply rooted in ancient societies. The song is an entertaining and poignant tribute to the deep connection between humans and nature.

Line by Line Meaning

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides
The bonfires are scattered throughout the hills

Figures dance around and around
People are dancing in circles

To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
The drums create a sense of darkness

Moving to the pagan sound.
The music has a pagan vibe

Somewhere in a hidden memory
A memory is lurking in the back of the mind

Images float before my eyes
Mental images appear

Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
Memories of nights filled with straw and bonfires

And dancing till the next sunrise.
Dancing until morning

I can see lights in the distance
There are lights visible off in the distance

Trembling in the dark cloak of night
The lights are flickering in the darkness

Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
The candles and lanterns are swaying along with the music