Named for the ensemble's sixth recording, Ancient Future’s Asian fusion dance mix ensemble features Bui Huu Nhut (dan bau, a Vietnamese instrument with one string) and Zhao Hui (gu zheng, the Chinese ancestor of the Japanese koto) with a monster rhythm section including Salah Takesh (Arabic percussion), Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard guitar), and Doug McKeehan (keyboards) playing 100% organic loop-free grooves.

This ensemble is featured on two Putumayo World Music samplers, Asian Lounge (PUT 244-2) and Music from the Tea Lands (PUT 180-2), and of course on Asian Fusion (Narada ND-63023).

"Ethnomusicologists and musical explorers have long been fascinated by the sounds of Indonesian gamelan, Indian classical music, Japanese folk, and other intriguing styles of Asian music. In the past 10 years, DJs and electronica artists around the world have been remixing Indian and East Asian songs to create trendy music with an exotic, otherworldly flavor. In London, an 'Asian Underground' movement began among young musicians in the Indian and Pakistani immigrant community. Formed in the late 1970s, Ancient Future coined the term 'world fusion music' to describe its use of Indian, African, Balinese, and other musical traditions within a contemporary framework."--PUTUMAYO WORLD MUSIC, liner notes, Asian Lounge (PUT 244-2).

In contrast to a prevailing trend in the "Asian Underground" movement, Ancient Future's music features 100% organic loop-free music. No drum machines, loops, or programmed beats are used. The theory is that many people spend all day long doing tasks to the clock of the computer. Why should people then spend their free time dancing to the computer clock as well?

Recordings Featuring Ancient Future's Asian Fusion Dance Ensemble

Asian Lounge (PUT 244-2) CD-$15.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now. (Ships starting 11/8/2005)

Asian Fusion (Narada ND-63023) CD-$44.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.   FR

Music from the Tea Lands (Putumayo PUT180-2) CD-$15.98 Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.

Featured Songs

Stream Ancient Future Asian Fusion Dance Repertoire. Courtesy of WorldFusionMusicRadio.Com. Studio recordings of the repertoire played by this band variation of Ancient Future.

Ja Nam (Matthew Montfort 3:53). "Ja Nam" is a reggae version of the Vietnamese folk standard "Ly Chim Quyen" (Song of the Nightingale). The song features the musician Bui Huu Nhut playing the dan bau, a unique instrument of Vietnamese origin in which a flexible rod attached to a resonating gourd is bent to change the pitch of a single string. Montfort describes it as the Vietnamese equivalent of an electric guitar's pitch-bending whammy bar. RealAudio. (0:30) From Asian Fusion (Narada Equinox ND-63023) CD-$44.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now. Also available on Asian Lounge (PUT 244-2) CD-$16.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now. (Ships 11/8/2005).

Mezgoof (Ian Dogole. 6:20). Based on Qawwali, a Sufi devotional form of music popular in Pakistan and India. FREE MP3 (excerpt) 800K. >audio. (0:49). From Asian Fusion (Narada Equinox ND-63023) CD-$44.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.

Ladakh (Doug McKeehan. 4:22). Drawn from the folk music tradition of Ladakh, a remote mountainous region of Western Tibet. From Asian Fusion (Narada Equinox ND-63023) CD-$44.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.

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