Ancient Future Times

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June 2010 Issue:
Welcome to the Ancient Future Times
Email newsletter of the World Fusion Music Ensemble Ancient Future

In This Issue:

Success Breeds New Challenge A.F.A.R.
•You met our challenge, and we've added a sixth track to the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings! The next A.F.A.R. challenge is for ten new subscribers to add a seventh track to the archive.

Ancient Future Northern and Southern California Concerts
•Himalayan Fair May 29, Berkeley World Music Festival June 5, SF Free Folk Fest June 13, Downtown Davis June 25, Petaluma Regional Library June 26, plus three Southern California summer tour dates announced.

San Francisco Guitar Summit. Don't Miss This!
•Featuring Matthew Montfort, Teja Gerken, and the San Francisco Guitar Quartet at Noe Valley Ministry June 5.

Live Radio
•Interview and live performance on KALW June 5.

Success Breeds New Challenge A.F.A.R.

Join with Ancient Future in the Creation of the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings

Band PhotoBand PhotoBand PhotoBand PhotoBand Photo

Your Financial Support of as Little as $10 Makes a Difference!

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. When the archive is complete, the best of the collection will be selected for release as the eighth Ancient Future release.

To date, we've raised $1110 towards our goal of $25,000 for the project. When we reach $2500, we will have the funds to record the first brand new studio track for the archive.

In the meantime, we are mixing and mastering multitrack recordings of live concerts for the archive. You met our last subscriber goal, which enabled us to add a sixth track to the archive!

Now only ten more subscribers are needed to support mixing and mastering the high resolution audio of the next track for the archive. Your support at $10 or more can be what puts "Dawn of Love" by Matthew Montfort in the archive! A video of this piece has been watched over 122,000 times on youtube.

Video of Next Song for the Archive

Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi on Youtube
Ancient Future performing Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi version of 'Dawn of Love'
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. to put this song in the archive!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDJet-KlQLU

Please sign up for A.F.A.R. now and join us on this creative cross-cultural journey. There are four supporter packages available:

Recording Newsletter Package: $10. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive the A.F.A.R. Email Newsletter which provides a window on the creative process, good quality 128 kbps digital downloads of legacy recordings chosen from the Ancient Future archives of live concerts, radio performances, and unreleased performances, good quality 128 kbps digital downloads of music to be recorded especially for the A.F.A.R. project, and a 30% discount on advance copies of the final commercial release. This is quite a bargain with six songs already in the archive and more to come!

Download Supporter Package: $25. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Recording Newsletter Package plus high quality 320 kbps downloads of legacy recordings chosen from the Ancient Future archives of live concerts, radio performances, and unreleased performances, high quality 320 kbps digital downloads of music to be recorded especially for the A.F.A.R. project forming an exclusive preview audio recording with digital liner notes that will not otherwise be available in shops (selections from which will form a final public edition), and the chance to submit feedback to questions posed in the recording newsletter. Limited to 300 packages.

Limited Edition CD Sponsor Package: $50. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Download Supporter Package plus an exclusive limited edition CD-R of the same recording with printed liner notes signed by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort. Limited to 200 packages.

Honorary A & R Representative Package: $75. Subscribe Now. Supporters at this level receive everything included in the Limited Edition CD Sponsor Package plus a DVD-R including video and 24 bit audio files for hi-res playback on computers. Limited to 100 packages.

Ancient Future in Concert

Northern California Concerts

Southern California Concerts

Ancient Future Trio

Photo of Mariah Parker and Matthew Montfort

Matthew Montfort - scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars
Mariah Parker - santur (hammered dulcimer)
Salah Takesh- Arabic percussion

Ancient Future Duet Video

Matthew Montfort and Mariah Parker on Youtube
Ancient Future performing duet version of 'Moonbath' at 30th Anniversary Concert
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. to download this song now!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGIliJuyfvs

Planet Passion by Ancient Future

Planet Passion CD Cover

Planet Passion

Planet Passion by Ancient Future (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010) $17.98 list (limited time sale: $14): Buy 1 Now. (>YTmusic.)

“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. Featuring instrumentation from Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East, Planet Passion is a mythical story of love, flirtation, seduction, courtship, marriage and longing. Manose Singh’s bansuri flute and Matthew Montfort’s scalloped fretboard work stand out in this eclectic, visionary global village, where each track features its own unique set of players. At its best, 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.” — Ryan Allen, LEO WEEKLY, Louisville, Kentucky

San Francisco Guitar Summit

Featuring Matthew Montfort, Teja Gerken, and the San Francisco Guitar Quartet

Saturday, June 5, 2010, 8:15 pm
The Noe Valley Ministry
1021 Sanchez St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
Tickets: $16 advance/$18 door
Information & Reservations: 415-454-5238
Venue Website: www.noevalleymusicseries.com
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116802495014923

In what is certain to be a concert highlight of the year for Bay Area guitar lovers, the Noe Valley Ministry is presenting a one-of-a-kind evening featuring three internationally acclaimed acts with deep roots in the local music scene. The San Francisco Guitar Summit seeks to present the varied range of music possible on the instrument – from acoustic fingerstyle through modern classical, to pioneering world fusion – in one of San Francisco's most intimate listening rooms. The summit features Matthew Montfort performing on scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars, fingerstyle guitarist Teja Gerken, and classical and modern music by the San Francisco Guitar Quartet.

Matthew Montfort

Photo of Matthew Montfort

Matthew Montfort is the leader of the world music ensemble Ancient Future. Featured in the December 2009 commemorative Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Montfort is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He is also known for his work on Glissentar (11 string fretless guitar), electric guitar, flamenco guitar, sitar, charango, mandolin, and gamelan. He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.

Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar

Seven Serenades

Matthew Montfort

Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. $17.98 list (limited time sale: $14): Buy 1 Now. (>YTmusic)

Video

Matthew Montfort on Youtube
Matthew Montfort Performing 'Soul Serenade' at Ancient Future's 30th Anniversary Concert
(Subscribe to A.F.A.R. to download this song now!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLfKTbpgO1Q

Press

“Because Montfort’s guitar has a scalloped fretboard, his fingers touch only the strings, enabling him to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar. This album reveals a thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. However, it also reveals a lifetime of exploration in world music, which can be immediately summoned in a flash of inspiration. When this level of mastery is reached, there is no need to rewrite. The first improvisation has the depth of a reworked composition.” – Teed Rockwell, INDIA CURRENTS, March 2009

Teja Gerken

Teja Gerken

Teja Gerken is no stranger to those familiar with the Bay Area acoustic guitar scene. Born in Germany, but calling San Francisco home, he is a seasoned performer, and has shared the stage with players such as Alex de Grassi, Henry Kaiser, and John Renbourn , as well as with his mentor, Peppino D'Agostino. Gerken's playing blends myriad influences into a musical style that hovers around the perimeters of folk, contemporary classical, and world music , often involving alternate tunings, right-hand tapping, and percussive effects. Gerken's latest CD Postcards is featured on KFOG's Acoustic Sunrise list of “Best New CD's of 2005.”

Press

“Releasing his second CD, Postcards, is San Francisco area fingerstyle guitarist Teja Gerken, who delivers solo instrumental compositions with enough surprises and innovative twists to delight aficionados of the world music and folk genres. His tunes employ physical techniques such as two-handed tapping, alternate tunings, and percussive effects, but his developed sense of melody is what will keep his CD playing in your mind long after the 'stop' button is pressed. Another impressive feature is that Gerken's playing is captured without overdubs; the intricate arrangements delivered as you might hear the artist in concert. Gerken is one of a rare breed - a guitarist's guitarist with equal appeal for the non-musicians out there. His Postcards album is highly recommended.” – GUITAR9.COM

San Francisco Guitar Quartet

San Francisco Guitar Quartet Photo

The San Francisco Guitar Quartet consists of David Dueñas, Jon Mendle, Patrick O'Connell, and Mark Simons – four Bay Area guitarists presenting an expansive and vibrant repertoire of newly composed works and time-tested classics. Exploring the many and varied possibilities of four guitars playing together, an SFGQ program is a veritable guitar lover's Wonderland, offering at once an abundant, engaging, and delightfully eclectic listening experience. From the infectious rhythms of Brazil to the whirling dances of the Balkans, from the passion of the tango to the hypnotic textures of minimalism, the SFGQ manifests a modern yet all-embracing approach to chamber music for classical guitar--with deference to the fact that theirs is an instrument ultimately defined by deep roots in both the folk and classical traditions. Through their national and international touring, ground-breaking recordings, and featured performances at major guitar festivals, the SFGQ has established itself as an enduring presence in the classical guitar world.

Press

“Without a doubt the SFGQ's performance was an outstanding highlight of our festival.” – Reed Gilchrist, Director- LA GUITARRA CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL

“The SFGQ play with a fresh enthusiasm and life force which one rarely experiences in even the most seasoned performers. Their performance of Dusan Bogdanovic's 'Introduction and Dance' is like a gypsy caravan springing to life.” – Scott Tennant

Live Radio