Mystic Canyons

The prolific DJ Free (Gordy Schaefer) teams up with Native American flutist Anakwad (Frank Montano) for this tranquil journey through desert dreams, meditative chants, and aural vistas. Echoing acoustic guitar and flute notes flow in a seamless blend from one track to the next making this perfect for deep meditation, ideally by the pool in one's Arizona backyard on a sunny spring day. Free's DJ prowess is evident in the lulling combination of loops and instrumentation on tracks like "Distant Spirits" and "Hawk Ridge." The brooding "Thunder Song" features Anakwad's Ojibwe tribal chanting over ominous synth samples and the rumble of Australian didgeridoos. "Mystic Canyons" features some gentle piano along with the summoning spirit of the flute. The ambient glistening of "Sky Creek" earns its spiritual name by being at once oceanic and ethereal, with the flute line spiraling slowly downwards along its lazy currents. As the band name suggests, this is nourishing stuff for that little place of peace in the center of the self.