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Electronic rebellion

An Indian group which carried Asian electronic music to new heights is now singing about the horrors of war

The late 1990s music scene in U.K. underwent a transition. It saw an entire range of new-age dance music acts inspired by Indian and Asian music. This gave the Brit pop bands a run for their money. Urban-desi acts such as Panjabi MC and Rishi Rich Project made their mark by fusing the earthy sounds of bhangra with more contemporary genres such as jazz and hip-hop. The other end of the spectrum, however, exposed the more experimental, underground sounds inspired by classical Indian rhythms, and artistes such as Aki Nawaaz, who created an independent music label called Nation Records to promote Asian underground music, and spearheaded an Asian-inspired dance movement. Asian Dub Foundation is one of the earliest bands that followed this movement.

Starting in 1993, Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) — consisting of Steve Chandra Savale (aka Chandrasonic), Sanjay Tailor, John Pandit (aka Pandit G), Dr. Das, Ghetto Priest, Prithpal Rajput and MC. Spex — was formed when Dr. Das, a music technology instructor, collaborated with a civil rights worker, DJ Pandit G, to promote an anti-racist gig. The next couple of years saw the inception of Chandrasonic, and soon, one of the first Asian-music inspired "speak-out" band was created.

ADF's debut album, Facts and Fiction, was "overlooked by a country obsessed with retro guitar pop." Their second album called Rafi and the follow-up album Rafi's Revenge introduced Brit-Asian audiences to ADF's powerful music with themes inspired by human and natural disasters and sufferings became dance-floor favourites in 2000. A few weeks back, ADF released its new album, Tank (EMI Music, CD, Rs. 399), in India. Created in a "world at war", the album reflects the barren and burning sentiments of war. Tracks such as "Oil" illustrate the frustration related to the global shortage of oil, and urge the "children of the CIA to find somewhere new to play." "Warring Dhol", on the other hand, reflects the sentiments of the Pakistan-Bangladesh war. Tracks such as "Powerlines" and "Round Up" recreate the dark ambience of war.

A. VISHNU

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