Ancient Future

Bio:

.. Formed in 1978, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running musical organization dedicated to the mission of creating world fusion music.

Two of the founding members, Matthew Montfort and Benjy Wertheimer, were childhood friends in Boulder, Colorado, who came to Northern California in 1977 to study North Indian classical music at the Ali Akbar College of Music. There they met the members of the Diga Rhythm Band (an offshoot of the Grateful Dead featuring tabla master Zakir Hussain, Mickey Hart, and Jerry Garcia), and formed a new band including Diga Rhythm Band members. They rehearsed at the Grateful Dead studio and performed a number of concerts before splitting up into two groups: a Latin band, and the world fusion music group Ancient Future. Ancient Future can therefore be thought of as having formed as an offshoot of an offshoot of an offshoot of the Grateful Dead.

The original members of Ancient Future studied with the master musicians of many world music traditions, from Balinese gamelan director Madé Gerindem to North Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan. They used their knowledge of world music to create something new and uniquely their own that is respected by pundits from the cultures whose traditions are a part of the mix. For example, according to INDIA CURRENTS, Ancient Future "plays with technical brilliance and gypsy-like fire," and their music "demonstrates the continuing beneficial influence of Indian music upon world culture."

Over the years, Ancient Future has expanded its musical vision through collaborations with master musicians from more than two dozen countries, cultures, and musical traditions who are now an integral part of what is today more than just a band. Ancient Future has grown to become a large multinational music ensemble with many smaller ensembles within it, enabling Ancient Future to realize its core mission of creating world fusion music.



The various ensemble configurations of Ancient Future have performed over a thousand shows worldwide, headlining such venues as Carnegie Recital Hall (New York City), Great American Music Hall (San Francisco), Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Eugene), Yoshi's (Oakland), Sangeetha Indian Music Concert Series (St. Louis), and even the Atlantis nightclub in Beirut which features a Piranha tank in the middle of the dance floor! They have appeared at all types of festivals including the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra (Spain), Northwest Regional Folklife Festival, Oregon Country Fair, Sand Harbor Jazz Festival, California WorldFest, Monterey World One, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, SLO Mozart Festival, and the Summer of Love 30th Anniversary. Dance versions of the band have pumped up dance crowds at techno/DJ events such as the Groove Garden and Harmony Festival's Techno Tribal Dance with their 100% organic loop-free grooves.

Ancient Future has released seven full length studio CDs selling over 150,000 units:

Visions of a Peaceful Planet (Ancient-Future.Com 2004), Natural Rhythms (Philo/Rounder 9006), Quiet Fire (Narada/Virgin 1012), Dreamchaser (Sona Gaia/Virgin 154), World Without Walls (Sona Gaia/Virgin 163), Asian Fusion (Narada Equinox/Virgin ND-63023) , and Planet Passion (Ancient-Future.Com 2001). Over a million samplers featuring Ancient Future on labels such as Putumayo and Narada have been sold, and more than one million Ancient Future songs have been distributed commercially on sites such as iTunes:



"Ancient Future is a rare kind of band that might simultaneously aggravate purists, confound New Age dilettantes, seduce skeptics, and dazzle just about everybody else. Delicious compositions, intricate arrangements, crisp playing and impeccable production put these ambitious voyagers in a league of their own." --Derk Richardson, SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN

"Laying the groundwork for some of today's most successful world beat acts, Ancient Future has grown into a global village of musicians...from Africa, India, Asia, America and the Middle East. The tunes included are diverse, yet equally captivating, evoking all that is most appealing about music from a global village. -CD NOW

"The key to Ancient Future is its ability to present various styles of music in settings that are accessible but still exotically charming. The net result is an infectious sound that simultaneously entertains and challenges." --Edward Tywoniak, BAM

"Marvelous rhythmic patterns ... truly magnificent tonal balances ... the shifting dynamics,the fabric of the ensemble, the emergence, (then gradual disappearance) of melodic lines and the esprit de corps are MESMERIZING." -- Philip Elwood, legendary jazz critic, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

"Many artists have been running toward world music, trying to inject new life into their compositions. For most, it's a superficial exercise; but for Ancient Future, it's at the core of what this band has been doing since the late '70s. And the band traverses this fusion terrain with deft arrangements and beautifully wrought interplay." -- John Diliberto, TOWER PULSE!

"Leader Matthew Montfort's synthesis of styles and sounds isn't superficial -- he plucks the essential musicality of several traditions without discounting them. Beautiful world fusion music." --Roger Carlberg, ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN

"I HAVE NOSTALGIA FOR THE FUTURE IS A QUOTE OF STEPHAN BEN ISREAL that I often use, pass it on, wg" -- Wavy Gravy (Via email after purchasing a Planet Passion CD at the 2007 Himalayan Fair. Thanks, Wavy, and consider the quote officially passed on!)

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.. .. ..Privacy is assured. You will be asked for your geographic area so that we don't send you notices about shows you can't attend. This multimedia newsletter also includes contests and educational articles about world traditions.



Top Friends Theme: Ancient Future Performers and Music Industry Supporters

Member Since:

December 26, 2005

Members:

Ancient Future is a multinational music ensemble with many smaller ensembles within it. Some of the current members include:

Matthew Montfort (bandleader, scalloped guitar), Pandit Habib Khan (sitar), Salah Takesh (Arabic percussion), Georges Lammam (Arabic violin), Irina Mikhailova (vocals), Manose Singh (Himalayan bamboo flutes), Bui Huu Nhut (dan bau), Debopriya Sarkar (tabla), Arshad Syed (tabla, percussion), Zhao Hui (gu zheng), Liu Qi-Chao (Chinese flutes), Mohammad Nejad (Persian instruments), Benjy Wertheimer (tabla, esraj, vocals), Mindia Devi Klein (flutes, gamelan), Alan Tower (didjeridu, guitar, huaca), Doug McKeehan (keyboards), Jim Santi Owen (tabla, ghatam), Emam (tabla, percussion), Ian Dogole (global percussion), Mariah Parker (santur), Moses Sedler (cello), Patti Weiss (violin), Jim Hurley (violin, guitar, percussion), Estara (dance) and Sapphira (dance).

One of those ensembles can be seen performing live in this video of the song Ocean of Love from Planet Passion. The video features Irina Mikhailova (vocals, born in Kazakhstan and also featured singing in Russian on the profile song Ne Po Pogrebu Bochonocheck), Sapphira (world dance), Patti Weiss (violin), Salah Takesh (Arabic percussion), Doug McKeehan (keyboards), and Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar, composer).

Download studio version of Ocean of Love:


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The Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi variation of Ancient Future can be seen in this second video from the same concert featuring Montfort's Dawn of Love composition in Rag Alhaiya Bilawal, to be released on DVD and CD if all goes well sometime in late 2007. Jugalbandi is a classical North Indian musical duet (literally "tied together"), in this case with the unusual configuration of sitar and guitar accompanied by tabla or other percussion. Featured in the video are Pandit Habib Khan (sitar), Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar), and Arshad Syed (tabla).

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Influences:

The term "world fusion music" was coined by bandleader Matthew Montfort in 1978 to describe Ancient Future's unusual blend of musical traditions from around the world. BILLBOARD calls the group trendsetters for their early contributions to the movement, which seeks to show how people from different cultures can grow by learning from each other.

World fusion is not so much a genre as it is the process by which new traditions are created. It would be difficult to find a form of traditional music that has not at some time been influenced by the music of another culture. But current times offer the opportunity for musicians to learn music from anywhere on earth. It is the mission of Ancient Future to explore this new sonic territory while shining a light on the ancient musical knowledge of the world. The preservation of the world's great traditions is vital to the world fusion music movement. With that in mind, Ancient Future also presents traditional music from the cultures of the band's master musicians, providing an educational experience that excites people about world traditions and then shows how those traditions can make contemporary culture richer.

"The time has definitely come for world fusion music. Ancient Future is one step ahead of the game; on their side is the philosophical parallel between global consonance and world peace." -SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

"Northern California's ... 'world fusion' band do more than simply throw together players and instruments from East and West. They rebuild at the sub-molecular level, puréeing the varied melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic idioms into tuneful ... compositions." -GUITAR PLAYER

World Fusion Music Documentary
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Please Support the Cause of World Fusion Music

Ancient Future is a listener sponsored band. Please support the cause through the World Fusion Music Support Page. There you will find a variety of intriguing ways to get involved. For example, for as little as $25 you can become a download subscriber to world fusion music recordings and be a part of the process of creating the next Ancient Future record. For just $100 a month you or your business can be a sponsor of Ancient-Future.Com and will be thanked with a text link to your web site from Ancient Future's popular ..home page and the ..World Fusion Music Links Page. A tax deductible donation of $250 helps support touring to your region and you will be thanked with a pair of VIP tickets to the nearest Ancient Future concert or 5 CDs on the Ancient-Future.Com label. Your financial support can help the virtuoso world fusion music movement flower. Plus with the variety of options explained on the the World Fusion Music Support Page, there is an engaging way for everyone to get involved!

Sounds Like:

Click on the CD covers to listen to these featured Ancient Future CDs streamed courtesy of WorldFusionMusicRadio.Com (major label CDs stream excerpts):

Planet Passion (AF-2001)
Buy CD Now ($17.98. Rel. 2002)
Download:







Asian Fusion (Narada/Virgin ND-63023)
Buy CD Now ($44.98. Ltd. stock. Rel. 1993)
Download:







Dreamchaser (Sona Gaia 154)
Buy CD Now ($29.98. Ltd. stock. Rel. 1988)
Download:







Quiet Fire (Narada/Virgin 1012)
Buy CD Now ($34.98. Ltd. stock. Rel. 1986)
Download:







Natural Rhythms (AF-2005)
Buy CD Now ($16.98. Rel. 1981)
Download:







Visions of a Peaceful Planet (AF-2004)
Buy CD-R Now ($19.98. Rel. 1979)
Download:

Ancient Future's music is also featured at WorldMusicRingtones.Com:



Oh, you wanted names? While we know of no other similar musical organization, here goes the obligatory list of artists who share some sonic territory with Ancient Future:

Dead Can Dance, David Byrne, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Sinéad O'Conner, Enya, The Chieftains, Clannad, Altan, Alan Stivell, Mickey Hart, Diga Rhythm Band, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Zakir Hussain, Tabla Beat Science, Shakti, John McLaughlin, Oregon, Shadowfax, Jai Uttal, Prem Joshua, Deepak Chopra, Biddu Orchestra, Transglobal Underground, Afro-Celt Soundsystem, Mustafa Sandal, Zap Mama, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Khaled, Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, Habib Koite, Youssou NDour, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Yoshida Brothers, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Susheela Raman, Okan Murat Öztürk, Kamil Alipour, Egberto Gismonte, Airto Moreira, Nana Vasconcellos, Buena Vista Social Club, Mama Keita, Black Uhuru, Haiti Twoubadou, Anastasia Moutsatsou, Ozomatli, Sukay, Queen Ida.

Record Label:

Ancient-Future.Com/Putumayo/Narada/Philo-Rounder