We Are The Forthcoming Past, Take Care Of It (Non Profit Music Charity) by Grundman

By offering free MP3 downloads, allowing file copying & sharing of his new album, and even donating all profits to Doctors Without Borders, Grundman intends to change the tune of the business of music.

Grundman, born in 1961 in Madrid, Spain has always been involved in music. His early musical career included singing, composing and keyboard playing for various power pop groups in Spain, such as Fahrenheit 451. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Grundman's musical tastes evolved, as did his passionate personal mission to use music to better the world.

An all around innovator, Grundman employs unique methods for gathering proceeds by taking the new media approach of sharing music (and profits) to a whole new level. For example, while most benefit albums donate a portion of their proceeds to charity, Grundman's label - Non Profit Music (www.nonprofitmusic.org) - donates 100% of the profits of his new album - "We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It" - to the Spanish branch of the organization called "Doctors Without Borders" (www.doctorswithoutborders.org)

Grundman makes his music available for non-profit use via downloading from his website (www.grundman.org) and allowing copying of his CD, as noted on the back cover. In doing so, he inspires people to further spread the word about, and voluntarily make a financial donation to, Doctors Without Borders. By embracing this technology and turning the negative reputation of MP3s and music sharing on its ear, Grundman has increased both awareness of Doctors Without Borders and his own CD sales.

When asked if this approach has hurt his CD sales in any way, Grundman replied, "The majors are against sharing because they say they lose sales...to be exact, this is just the opposite of what happened to me; after listening, sharing and downloading, people not only bought my albums, but made donations to DWB, too."

Grundman adds, "Many people hear about solidarity in the news or in film. Most of them think they cannot help anybody with the life they have, but nothing could be farther from reality. Every one of us can be useful in building a better world."

Biography: Grundman

Grundman is a New Age and Classical composer born in 1961 in Madrid, Spain; his birth name is Jorge Grundman. After composing initial pieces for a school contest at age 14, he later studied at the Royal Advanced Conservatory of Music in Madrid. His piano training was with Carmen Ledesma, while music theory (sol-fa) and choral group instruction came under the professorship of Joaquín Soriano. This classical training laid the foundation for the rest of Grundman's musical career.

By age 17, he had become a key member of power pop groups ETC and Fahrenheit 451, as both a singer and a keyboardist. Shortly thereafter, Fahrenheit 451 was recognized as one of the most promising of the bands critics called "Movida Madrileña". Together with other famous touring bands -- Nacha Pop, Secretos, Mamá, Alaska y Los Pegamoides, Pistones and others -- they launched the most celebrated music show of that time in Madrid, called "The Spring Concert at the Architectural School in Madrid."

Grundman subsequently recorded with Fahrenheit 451 for independent labels, and collaborated with other bands like Pistones and Episodio. In 1980, he joined Fahrenheit 451's drummer Oscar Bergón and renowned film composer Mario de Benito to form the first power pop group called Trópico de Cáncer; they recorded the notable album "Detrás del Espejo" for Virgin Records in Spain.

Grundman sang, played keyboard and composed some of the tracks on the album, which was recorded and mixed at Air Studios in London by Nigel Walker. However, by the time the single "Yo lo Intentaría una Vez Más" went to #1 on Spain's FM radio playlists, Grundman had already exited the band seeking new directions and freedom from the major label marketing machine.

Distancing himself from the pop music industry, he began his University teaching career in 1985 and started to privately compose music at home. While there were some dark periods during Grundman's transition to composing more personally-meaningful music, they were lifted by moments of light and inspiration. First, in the joyous birth of his first daughters, Sara and Rebeca, and, second, in famed New Age radio DJ Ramón Trecet's decision to air Grundman's new compositions despite the fact that they were simply on tape and not professionally formatted.

While continuing to teach, he composed the celebrated "Los Hijos del Frío" ("The Sons of the Cold") which is acclaimed as one of the most famous electronic tunes of MP3.com, where it was published in January 2001. It was #1 in the New Age charts 27 times, remaining in the Top 40 for six months alongside other leading New Age artists like Enya and Suzanne Ciani.

Grundman resides in Spain with his family, continuing to compose music and teach at the university. He founded Non Profit Music to facilitate donating proceeds from his music sales to Doctors Without Borders in Spain. The U.S. version of his first solo album, "We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It," has been released through Los Angeles-based Only New Age Music.(Suzanne Doucet)

FACT SHEET: We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It

WHO:

GRUNDMAN is a New Age and Classical composer born in Madrid, Spain in 1961; his latest album is titled "We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It." After composing initial pieces for a school contest at age 14, he later studied at the Royal Advanced conservatory of Music in Madrid. By age 17, Grundman had become a key member of the power pop groups ETC and Fahrenheit 451, as both singer and keyboardist. He currently resides in Spain with his family, producing and composing future works for his company, Non Profit Music. (see official press release for more details)

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS is an independent humanitarian medical aid agency committed to providing medical aid wherever needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or sex and raising awareness of the plight of the people they help. There are branches and programs in many countries around the world.

WHAT:

"We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It" is a not-for-profit New Age/Classical instrumental CD release benefiting the Spanish branch of Doctors Without Borders (DWB), composed by Grundman. Represented in the U.S. by Suzanne Doucet at Only New Age Music, Inc.; additional promotion to be provided in the U.S. by Greg Steffen for record retail, Bette Timm for New Age retail and Kathy Monahan for radio; distribution provided by Burnside for record retail, and by New Leaf for New Age retail. Also available for online promotion, TV and Film licensing and special markets projects.

WHEN:

U.S. version of CD will be released in early June 2004. In January 2001, the third track on the CD, "Los Hijos del Frio" (The Sons of the Cold) became one of the most popular electronic tunes on MP3.com. It went to #1 in the New Age charts 27 times and remained in the Top 40 for six months alongside Enya and Suzanne Ciani. At that time, he was able to turn the idea of sharing his music into a reality. Soon after, Doctors Without Borders in Spain received $3300 from an unknown man who claimed he donated it due to hearing Grundman's music via MP3.com; three years, and over a million downloads later, Grundman has been able to collect nearly $7500 for DWB.

WHERE:

Composed by Grundman near Madrid, Spain. U.S. release with English liner notes to be managed and represented by Suzanne Doucet at Only New Age Music, Inc., Los Angeles, CA. (www.newagemusic.com). Interestingly, most of the reported early contributions to DWB have been from people in the USA and Japan.

WHY:

To share music and help save lives. "This is the idea of Non Profit Music...my next album will continue in this direction, and I'll try to convince other artists to do the same. Non Profit Music is not a matter of business, it's a matter of helping others," says Grundman.

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