"A Mythical History of Love and Passion for the Music of the World"

Interview to Matthew Montfort

By Sergio Vilar

Well Matthew, how was Ancient Future born?
I came to California in 1977 with my best friend since 4th grade, Benjy Wertheimer, to study music at the Ali Akbar College of Music. I had the idea that I wanted to fuse music from around the world, and the school was my first stop in that process. We met the members of the Diga Rhythm Band, and moved into the house where they rehearsed. The Diga Rhythm Band was a project of tabla master Zakir Hussain with Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead along with Zakir's best students. We formed a band with members of the Diga Rhythm Band, and that band split into two bands, a latin group featuring myself on guitar, Carlos Federico on piano, Ray Speigal on vibes, and Zakir Hussain on timbales, and the world fusion music group Ancient Future. So, Ancient Future can be thought of as an offshoot of an offshoot of an offshoot of the Grateful Dead.

Our first concert under the name Ancient Future was February 11, 1979, (the day before my 21st birthday) at the Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax, California.

Is it correct to define them musically how World Music band? How would you present to Ancient Future?
Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running musical organization dedicated exclusively to the mission of creating world fusion music, fusing elements from music from all around the globe. This is a lifelong process and can never be finished.

Undoubtedly, all artist tries to communicate, always based on her ideological or philosophical focus. Which that of you would it be?
I chose to concentrate my career on creating world fusion music because I believe this is a necessary step in the evolution of man kind. This involves both philosophy and ideology, but it is really also practical. New music has  been created by cross cultural collaboration as long as there has been contact between cultures. But, at this time in history, world fusion music has the opportunity to help show a way to learn from each other to create a better world.  

With so many members coming from cultures so different, do you find easy to adapt human and musically?
When musicians from different cultures first meet, it takes time to find common ground and such early first stage world fusion music usually has some interesting moments along with some moments of searching. But in Ancient Future, all of the musicians have been learning each other's music for many years, so there is a lot of knowledge of each other's traditions. This gives us a very rich palette from which to paint.
For myself, it has become fairly easy to learn forms of music that are new to me because I have studied so many different types of music that most of the possibilities are already known to me.
I would say that they are a beautiful example of cohesion in front of all the racial conflicts that divide people...
Music can bring people together towards a common purpose, and world fusion music can bring people together from different cultures to create something beautiful and inspiring that shows how people can work together.

Do you believe that the music can change people's mentality and to make stand out its human side?
The conflicts still exist. But, after playing music together, there is a shift that happens, and a greater understanding of each other's points of view occurs slowly.

How is Ancient Future live? Could you describe your shows?
We have 12 different versions of the band, each with different musicians from different cultures so we can really explore the varieties of world fusion music. Our live shows allow the musicians to stretch out and try new things. We allow for a lot of improvisation.
To me, live concerts are about making the best music we can in that moment with the musicians who are performing and the audience that is listening. Live music is all about energy. A recording is about preserving a song in time using the best musicians and instruments to make that song shine. But live, the show may be much better served by only a few instruments and lots of improvisation. Our live shows tend to have a lot of rhythm and a lot of energy. Our recordings tend to be more subtle, and you can listen to them hundreds of times and always here something new, whereas a live performance is about reaching people in that moment, so mistakes and flaws don't really matter because the moment is soon over and often a messy mistake comes just after the greatest moment in a whole show. So, what makes a great live performance is not necessarily what makes a great recording.  

Which are the activities that already have confirmed for next months?
June 6 we did our first Planet Jammin' World Fusion Music Festival, with four versions of Ancient Future performing on the same bill.
Our duet is performing in Spain at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on July 5th. We are performing with our Sitar/Guitar Jugulbandi at the California WorldFest July 19. Our Arabic group is doing a dance show on August 9. Our world jazz trio is performing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in October.

It was really a pleasure to interview Matthew. Do you want to express something like closing?
Great world fusion music shows how people from different cultures can create something unique, beautiful, and inspiring. In this time of war, world fusion music shows a positive way to interact, to learn from each other, and to resolve differences.
Being in a band is like being married to many people at once, so you can imagine that there are many conflicts in most bands. In Ancient Future, we have ensembles where not even the parent cultures of the musicians get along. Yet, in the making of the music, one can see the unity that does exist. We have a version of the band with Palestinian and Jewish musicians playing together, and it is one of my favorite's. In my experience, some of the best music can come out of conflict.
As this planet becomes more aware of itself as a whole, a growing number of musicians are now experimenting with new combinations of world music styles. Ancient Future has been dedicated exclusively to the mission of creating world fusion music since its inception. Today world fusion music is a standard term used in the music industry. More importantly, it has become a passion and life's work for many musicians who find it artistically stimulating to create music by integrating ideas from more than one tradition.

www.ancient-future.com