September 2011 Issue:
Welcome to the Ancient Future Times
Twitter: Ancient Future Band (Ancient_Future)
Facebook: Ancient Future Fan Page • Matthew Montfort Fan Page
To subscribe, use the form below. Follow instructions thereafter, and make sure to ONLY check the geographic area where you actually live. We need this information so that we only send you information about concerts in your area. It doesn't refer to types of world music that you like.
In this issue:
First Video from Ancient Future 'World Without Walls' Lineup Reunion Concert
•Recorded at Yoshi's, San Francisco, June 7
First Studio Recording So Near, So A.F.A.R.
•Basic Tracks for Two Songs Recorded
September $11 CD Sale
•Several CDs on Sale in September for $11
Think Global, Play Local
•Sleeping Lady Cafe, 23 Broadway, Fairfax, CA, September 14, 8 pm, Acoustic Vortex Larkspur House Concert Benefit, September 17, 7 pm, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble at 142 Throckmorton Mill Valley , October 6, 8 pm
First Video from Ancient Future 'World Without Walls' Lineup Reunion Concert
Live Version of '14 Steps' from Ancient Future's 'World Without Walls' Reunion Concert at Yoshi's SF, 6/7/11
On June 7, 2011, the exact lineup of Ancient Future that performed on the band's influential World Without Walls and Asian Fusion recordings reunited to perform for the first time in over 15 years at Yoshi's San Francisco and other venues.
To celebrate the reunion, Capitol/EMI Records has released the first ever digital version of Ancient Future's classic 1990 World Without Walls recording on iTunes and all major digital retailers.
Capitol did not reissue the record on CD, and as a result new CD copies of the original release are going for over $208 on amazon.com. But you can get a reconditioned original copy signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort for $24.95 at ancient-future.com, and the money will go to support the music rather than to make a record collector richer.
World Without Walls by Ancient Future (Capitol/Sona Gaia 163) $24.98 (Rare collectable reconditioned CD. Signed by Ancient Future's Matthew Montfort.): Buy Link . (>audio.)
As its name suggests, World Without Walls by Ancient Future depicts a musical world without borders. This classic 1990 recording features Ancient Future members Matthew Montfort (guitars), Jim Hurley (violin), Doug McKeehan (keys), and Ian Dogole (percussion), plus special guest performances by world music legend and tabla master Zakir Hussain.
Tabla master Zakir Hussain
First Studio Recording So Near, So A.F.A.R.
Basic Tracks for Two Songs Recorded 4/1/2011: Ready for Mixing and Mastering
Your Financial Support Helps Add Tracks to the Archive!
Recording Newsletter: $15 (receive 128 kbps downloads). Subscribe @ $15. Download Supporter: $25 (320 kbps downloads). Subscribe @ $25. Limited Edition CD Sponsor: $50 (all previous plus CD-R upon completion). Subscribe @ $50. Honorary A & R Representative: $75 (all previous plus DVD-R upon completion). Subscribe @ $75.
The Archive of Future Ancient Recordings concept is to involve you, fans of world fusion music, in supporting the creation of a collection of new live and studio recordings that are available to subscribers as they are created. There are already seven expertly mixed and mastered live tracks totaling 50 minutes and 42 seconds in the archive available to subscribers immediately!
On April 1, 2011, basic tracks for two songs were recorded featuring original Ancient Future tabla player Benjy Wertheimer, Mariah Parker on santur, and Matthew Montfort on scalloped fretboard guitar. We need to raise the funds to pay for mixing and mastering the tracks. To date, we've raised $2380 towards our goal of $25,000 for the project, and we are now just hundreds of dollars away from adding the first brand new studio track to the archive.
When the archive is complete, the best of the collection will be selected for release as the eighth Ancient Future release. Please sign up for A.F.A.R. now and join us on this creative cross-cultural journey! Your support can be what puts the first studio song in the archive.
September $11 CD Sale
During the month of September, the three latest releases on Ancient-Future.Com Records are on sale for only $11 each with any other purchase at Ancient-Future.Com! Just purchase any book, CD, or make a donation to support the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings, and you will have the option of purchasing any of the CDs below for only $11!
Planet Passion by Ancient Future (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010) $17.98 list (Sale this September: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. (>audio.)
"If the members of the United Nations formed a world-fusion band, it might look and sound a little something like Ancient Future’s re-issue of their seventh recording. Planet Passion strives to preserve the world’s vast musical heritage via international collaboration: the idea that one protects the old by creating something new. This is at the heart of fusion music and the heart of Ancient Future’s global aesthetics, too: a diverse, unified world without borders, a multicultural community, a new, reconstituted sonic reality." — Ryan Allen, LEO WEEKLY, Louisville, Kentucky
Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2008). $17.98 (Sale this September: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. (>audio.)
"This unusual guitar album brings together world instruments to complement the scalloped fretboard guitar. Starting with ‘Gauri the Golden’, an improvisational piece drawing heavily on Indian raga, this is an intriguing collection of the resulting compositions. I must admit that sometimes ragas played by guitar players seem to wander on forever, changing a note here and there and weaving a kind of slow, hypnotic journey. However, this guitar work is stunning, intricate and wonderfully melodic. If you are looking for good listening and something different for your CD shelf, this is it." - J.W. McClure, VICTORY REVIEW ACOUSTIC MUSIC MAGAZINE
Sangria by Mariah Parker (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2017). $17.98 (Sale this September: $11 with any other purchase): Buy Link. (>audio).
"Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music. Intriguing melodies that draw musical inspirations from the tempos of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain make for an uplifting serene yet passionate musical journey into an ideal world." - LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE
Think Global, Play Local
Being world fusion pioneers, Ancient Future has always thought (and performed) globally. But historically Ancient Future hasn't been very focused on the local San Francisco Bay Area music scene. So, in these times where touring is financially more difficult due to arts presenter budget cuts, we have booked a series of ultra local performances in Marin County, California! And every concert is a completely different program. But, rest assured, we are planning on returning to touring soon. So, if you know of a venue in your area that you would like to see Ancient Future perform at, please email their contact information to info@ancient-future.com. We'll send them a promo package!
Here's the lineup of ultra local performances:
Acoustic Guitar Showcase
Wednesday, September 14, 9:00 pm, Acoustic Guitar Showcase featuring Matthew Montfort, Jeff Titus, and Teja Gerken, The Sleeping Lady, 23 Broadway, Fairfax, CA 94930. No cover. Info: 415-485-1182. Facebook Event
This Acoustic Guitar Showcase is a round-robin of guitar music with scalloped fretboard guitarist Matthew Montfort, harp sympitar guitarist Jeff Titus, and acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Teja Gerken.
Ancient Future 9-11 Mitigation Benefit
Saturday, September 17, 8 pm, Ancient Future 9-11 Mitigation Benefit featuring Matthew Montfort, Mariah Parker, and Salaheddin Takesh, Acoustic Vortex, Larkspur, CA 94939. Doors/food/wine/shmooze: 7 pm. Suggested voluntary donation: $25. Email bruce@acousticvortex.com for an invitation.
"One of the unfortunate consequences of the 9-11 tragedy has perhaps been our somewhat greater proclivity to view those from other cultures as 'the other.' Please join the Acoustic Vortex and Ancient Future in our joint efforts of utilizing music to enhance our mutual understanding and connectedness. We will be donating a percentage of our revenue to Doctors Without Borders and the Families of Freedom Fund, a scholarship fund for children of slain 9-11 rescue workers." - Bruce Victor, Acoustic Vortex
The program features a trio lineup of Ancient Future with Matthew Montfort on scalloped fret guitar (inspired by the Indian vina), and the glissentar (an 11 string fretless guitar), Mariah Parker on santur, and Salaheddin Takesh on Arabic percussion.
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble
Thursday, October 6, 8 pm, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble with Paul McCandless, Matthew Montfort, Fred Randolph, Ian Dogole, and Brian Rice, 142 Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. Tix: $18 adv, $23 door. Doors Open: 7:30. Info: (415) 383-9600, or email boxoffice@142throckmortontheatre.org. Facebook Event. Press Release.
An evening of high-spirited world jazz music with original compositions inspired by the rhythms of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain featuring Mariah Parker (composer, piano, santur), Paul McCandless (woodwinds and horns), Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and flamenco guitars), Ian Dogole (global percussion), Brian Rice (Latin percussion), and Fred Randolph (double bass).
"Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble creates voodoo... when I saw them live at Kuumbwa Jazz Cafe they were purely raw and fearless." - JOHN SHELTON IVANY, TOP 21 (former editor of HIT PARADER and ROCK AND SOUL)
