The 2015 album releases are in full swing and it’s practically overwhelming. Making time for repeated listens to your favorite artists’ projects is becoming almost impossible. Doing so, however is of the upmost importance as it allows a person to really grasp the artists’ message. As for the time constraints that plague us all, I think I may have an answer — and his name is Protoje. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “doesn’t listening to another artist take time away that I could use to repeatedly listen to my own artists?” The answer to this question is found in the title of Protoje’s new album Ancient Future (yes it’s an oxymoron). Ancient Future is not just the title of reggae artist Protoje’s new album, it also represents the dimension of time in which that the album exists. Here’s my experience listening to this album:
On a journey to the ‘Ancient Future,’ you live alone on an island; you don’t know how you got there, but that doesn’t matter. The sun is shining right on you, but it doesn’t burn. In fact, the temperature is perfect. You drink tropical things like coconut juice and eat from a vast spread of tropical fruits. The island isn’t a complete paradise, however, troubles still surround you. Vicious animals are always on the prowl and could appear at any moment and food and water aren’t infinite resources. Regardless of these troubles, though, there is nothing to worry about because you know you will always evade the wild animals. As for the food and drink, it is meant solely for your enjoyment and you are neither hungry nor thirsty. The island isn’t boring either — something is always engaging your mind that is not physically present.
A ship appears in the distance to rescue you. The problem is, you don’t need to be rescued. You’d be totally fine with staying on the island forever. In fact, you try to convince the people on the ship to come share in your island experience. They don’t believe you, though, and force you to get on the boat. You leave the mystery island only to find yourself back in the standard chronological time frame where not much time has passed, even though you know you’ve been through a lot.
I encourage everyone to take a trip to Ancient Future, It’s not much of a hassle and it is 100% worth the time. You come out feeling refreshed and ready to take one whatever is ahead, even the album flood of 2015.