The Ancients

Earning global praise for their minimalist, ethereal indie pop soundscapes, the Australian group the Ancients operate under the direction of guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Michell, a former participant in the songwriters collective Mum Smokes. In 2005 Michell first outlined the Ancients after concluding that Mum Smokes had lost its inventive momentum; the project's earliest configuration brought together Michell with Henry Wagon and Si Francis, both drawn from the Aussie roots rock outfit Wagons, yet he shelved the idea following a handful of performances. By 2007 he revisited the concept and launched sessions for a full-length recording. Those early tracks involved an ever-changing cast of players, and the resulting self-titled debut, issued on the independent Moteer Records imprint, merged ensemble takes with material salvaged from an abandoned Michell solo project. Pressed in a limited CD-R run, the album drew warm notices from indie outlets across Australia and the U.K., prompting Michell to recruit a stable roster that included Mark Rodda, also recognized as an artist and video director, handling guitar and bass, Georgina Ward on guitar and bass, and Raquel Solier on drums and backing vocals, alongside Michell's contributions on guitar, keyboards, and lead vocals. Work on a follow-up began in 2009, with Michell overseeing production, engineering, and songwriting while steering the band. The record appeared in 2010 under the straightforward title The Ancients 2 through Sensory Projects in Australia and Norman Records in the U.K.