Asian Dub Foundation Overview

The Asian Dub Foundation is England's answer to America's Rage Against the Machine -- without all the hard-ass guitars and screechy posturing. They're a group of young, politically driven musicians of Asian descent out to change social and political agendas through... [more]

The Asian Dub Foundation is England's answer to America's Rage Against the Machine -- without all the hard-ass guitars and screechy posturing. They're a group of young, politically driven musicians of Asian descent out to change social and political agendas through music. Though Asian Dub Foundation works within the faceless, often issue-less world of electronic music, they still manage to say some things. And the message seems clear: education, humanism, racial justice, and the "true history of colonialism." This mission was especially timely when the group emerged with the aptly titled "Conscious" EP in 1994, as anti-Asian acts of violence were casting shadows over Britain. The group's songs demand redress for specific instances of institutional racism: "Free Satpal Ram" deals with the mistreatment of an Asian-born political prisoner, while the later "Officer XX" criticizes the racially motivated murder of a black man named Stephen Lawrence. 1998's "Rafi's Revenge" is replete with musings on the repercussions of hate and racial conflict; the song "Assassin" proclaims: "The time is right now to burst the imperial bubble/ And my act of revenge is just a part of the struggle." However, such militant themes are made accessible with a decidely upbeat dance format. A self-described "Asian Jungle Punk" group, ADF has searched the wide array of its heritage and musical influences to get the message across. Their music employs everything from drum 'n' bass beats, trip-hop rhythms and scratches, dancehall reggae tunes, Bengali raps, and funked-out sitars and tablas. Just when ADF seems cornered in the alleys of the jungle school, things go mellow with bouncy hip-hop beats. Layered guitars and keyboards back up catchy anthemic shouts. Asian Dub Foundation is just going to keep audiences bobbing their heads until somebody sits up and listens. [show less]