Music Profile: A Short History of Asian Dub Foundation

Asian Dub Foundation has drawn attention to possibilities and potential than the wider music industry would probably rather ignore. Formed in London, having attended a Community Music and Technology workshop, they set up a sound system which developed into a live-performance project. The band was made up of bassist Dr Das, who was a lecturer, DJ Pandit G helped out with technical stuff, rapper Deeder Zaman, and guitarist and trainee lecturer Chandrasonic.

From the outset they were playing their overtly political songs at anti-racist gatherings. The 'Facts And Fictions' album, released in 1995, sets the agenda 'We ain't ethnic, exotic or eclectic, the only "e" we use is electric.' Their songs have dealt with British colonialism as told from an Asian perspective. On 'Rafi's Revenge' 'Naxalite' is inspired by a peasant's revolt in Bengal, 'Assassin' is the story of one man's attempt to avenge the 1919 Amritsar Massacre, and much publicized 'Free Satpal Ram', a protest song concerning British injustice and institutionalized racism.

The band write the initial music for each track on a computer screen, making sure they leave enough space in the mix and structure to improvise on stage. Chandrasonic's guitar varies but often reminds the listener of the single string sitar style. Other times he uses his guitar as an extension of his amp, it's the tool used to alter the noise, not an end in itself.

The in-depth knowledge of programming technology in beats amongst all the members makes for an impressive cross-section of ragga, jungle, dub, hip-hop and rock, which is best experienced live. Their second album, 'Rafi's Revenge' was released in 1998 on the back of a tour with Primal Scream. This support slot helped them to get noticed in Britain, though the album is actually a rerecording of an album first released in France in 1996. The band have a significant following on mainland Europe. Respect for the band also stretches to Brazil and in particular Cuba, where their dedication to community matters is far more important than star status.

During their commercial peak, in the mid to late nineties, there was some good Britpop and rock around, but there was an awful lot of poor music that didn't connect with anything real at all. By contrast Asian Dub Foundation have always kept it real, and their legacy will probably be the way they made the mainstream music industry sit up and take note of music that had its roots in British Asian culture. They were inspired by the dub punk of Adrian Sherwood's On-U-Sound collective, with aspects of hip-hop and bhangra to create something unique. Other bands like Black Star Liner and Sona Fariq have benefited from Asian Dub Foundation's musical and cultural groundbreaking.