Asian Dub Foundation
Rafi's Revenge
[FFRR]
Rating: 9.4
Ever since the Beatles traveled to India and came back with a case of
"Norwegian Wood," every Boho bum with a guitar and a pair of wire- rimmed
glasses has claimed Indian music and instruments in the name of psychedelia.
From the Fab Four growing beards and sitting around puffing on hookahs to
Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills chanting and trying hard to make us forget that
he's the spawn of original Parent Trapette Hailey Mills, white British
musicians have spent three decades upping their coolness quotients at
the expense of traditional Indian music (and usually a rhythm- heavy
Punjabi form known as Bhangra).
That alone is reason to get excited over the recent surge of
Indian- Britons making names for themselves in a pop music climate that
has been indelibly shaped by Indian culture, but it's not the only
reason. Indian- Brits aren't only keeping up with their pale, sickly
counterparts, they're outdoing them at every turn.
Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" was probably the catchiest single
released last year, and Tjinder Singh had a whole album's worth of
catchier songs waiting in the wings. Echobelly's Sonya Aurora- Madan has
one of the sultriest accents in pop music and her attitude is all Brit
pomposity. DJ Talvin Singh's "two tablas and a microphone" style of
drum-n-bass is a force to be reckoned with in the world of dance music.
Same goes for State of Bengal's Bhangra 'n' bass. And that's just a sampling
of musicians. Britain's Indian community in 1998 is like the Bronx in
1979 or Kingston, Jamaica in 1975-- there's so much talent and innovation
that even the bad groups sound pretty good.
The past talent pools of Jamaican reggae and Bronx hip-hop aren't
lost on Asian Dub Foundation. The London- based collective includes
furious dancehall/ hardcore rap from Deeder and deep dub bass
manipulation by Dr. Das (lest you think dub in ADF is just a
catchphrase). Also thrown into the mix is Pandit D's frenetic
scratching, Sun J's sundry sound manipulations and Chandrasonic's guitar
waves. If it sounds hybrid that's because it is. Asian Dub Foundation
incorporate reggae, hip-hop, Bhangra, drum-n-bass and punk into
something altogether refreshing.
And the reason why it's refreshing (as opposed to grounded in any
one of the genres it absorbs) is because no one part is emphasized or
de-emphasized. "Black White" opens with a sonic sitar, which collapses
over phat drum breaks, which pause long enough for a few reverbed riffs,
and all the while Deeder is belting out his rhymes with the rage of Zach
de la Rocha and the rolled tongue of Shinehead. Asian Dub Foundation
create fury out of disparity.
The fury is catchiest on opening track "Naxalite" whose frenetic
sitar loop sets the perfect drone as Deeder chases the breakbeats with
his rhymes. The politically- charged "Free Satpal Ram" (an anthem for
an Indian- Briton still imprisoned for killing a racist in self- defense)
hits as hard as Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," and at twice the bpm.
The most these junglists ever chill out are on the deep- dub jungle
fusion of "Culture Move" (with jungle legend Navigator) and the
semi- instrumental "Charge," which is sewn together with a rubbery vibe
sample and reverb guitar that leaves tracers with or without illicit
enhancers.
The name has caused more than one observer to skim over Asian Dub
Foundation for fear that it's some bizarre Asian take on reggae. It is
bizarre, and there is reggae. But there are so many other elements that
the genre police wouldn't know where to start writing tickets. That's
what makes Rafi's Revenge an amazing-- and amazingly funky--
album. To borrow a song title from Mad Richard Ashcroft, "This Is
Music," no more and certainly no less.
-Shan Fowler