Future 2 Future

Released in 2001, Future 2 Future represents Herbie Hancock's most significant dive into electronic dance music since the 'Rockit' era. Produced largely by Bill Laswell, the album serves as a manifesto for 'Future Jazz,' blending the skittering tempos of drum and bass with the harmonic sophistication of post-bop. The record features a diverse cast of collaborators, including turntablist Rob Swift, bassist Chaka Khan, and jazz stalwarts like Wayne Shorter and Jack DeJohnette, though their contributions are often heavily processed or integrated into Laswell's dense, sample-heavy soundscapes. Critically, the album was seen as a polarizing but necessary experiment, with BBC Music noting its attempt to reclaim the 'future' label for jazz. It stands as a temporal marker of the Y2K era's obsession with digital textures and remains one of Hancock's most aggressive sonic departures.