Monday, February 9, 2009

CD Review: 30 Years of Ancient-Future

Ancient Future
Planet Passion
Ancient-Future

Planet Passion is a celebration of music from around the world. The core of the album incorporates enchanting melodies and clairvoyant vocals. The music is meditative and sensuous. Over a dozen artists contribute on keyboards, bansuri flute, tabla, esraj, violin, cello, Chinese flute, Arabic violin, Nepalese flute, marimba, and world percussion. According to the liner notes, we soon learn of the foundational elements of the album, "This mythical story of love around the world begins with a couple's first flirtations meeting and follows them through the stages of their union...". As a result, the Ancient Future collective performs songs of love using traditional instrumentation -- hence the title, Planet Passion. Of course, it is difficult to categorize the music, but for the marketplace, it is essentially world fusion. About half of the tracks are instrumental. Ancient Future presents songs tinged with ethnic elements from Africa, Asia, India, Latin America, and the Middle East. Similar artists include: Tonana, Ronan Hardiman, Ofra Haza, Azam Ali, and other artists with ethnic elements in the New Age category. A world-class album by world-wide musicians. ~ Matthew Forss

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