by Carol Wright
The six cuts on Bones offer the dancer an entire album to move through Roth's 5Rhythm Wave. The first piece, "The Calling," serves as a warm-up to trance and movement. Pieces representing Roth's 5Rhythms identify with animals. The flowing rhythm is represented by the sinuous "Dolphin." "Raven" squawks through the funky angular cha cha of the staccato rhythm. Chaos progresses in 6/8 time in "Snake," a tough-attitude rattler progressing in a sidewinding style. Dainty hooves pick through the forest in the lyrical "Deer," while a mystical solitude embodies the midnight skies of "Wolf," the essence of stillness and completion. Key musicians include Gordy Ryan, Robert Ansell, and Sanga of the Valley on percussion, and Matt Balitsaris on guitar synthesizer. You don't have to know about Roth's 5Rhythm Wave to enjoy the music, but for more information, read her book Maps to Ecstasy: The Teachings of an Urban Shaman from Nataraj Publishing.