Asian Dub Foundation: C/D

But ADF sound absolutely NOTHING LIKE Chumbawumba. The only reason you're even bothering to compare them is that their political views can be loosely described as left-wing.

My personal take on ADF is that they would sound just as viscerally-thrilling even if they were singing utter bollocks about nothing, and Community Music was my favourite album of 2000. The political aspect is a very welcome bonus.

Which is why I don't understand Julio when he says:
"you're spot on abt the commitment to causes, but I think they are a great band because of that. I do think that while the music isn't great..."

I could never think of a band as being "great" without them having great music.

I can, music isn't everything sometimes. It's abt being flexible and being able to bend any criteria you have for judging whether a band is good or not. ADF make me do that.

Asian Dub Foundation
Community Music
ffrr
2000
{9.1}
Reviewed by: Nick Southall

Asian Dub Foundation formed in the mid-nineties, the product of a government-sponsored scheme designed to teach young Asian men music technology, two teachers, their pupil and a local scenester inspired to come together and make music long after everyone else had gone home. Given a support slot in 1997 by Primal Scream, they blew their patrons offstage and inspired Bobby Gillespie to hail them as the best band in the world. Fiercely political, they fronted the prolonged but successful Free Satpal Ram campaign, even releasing a single to raise awareness of the man wrongfully imprisoned for murder because of the colour of his skin. Proactive in every respect, ADF are Britain’s cross-cultural, positivist answer to Rage Against The Machine and just about the only good thing to emerge from 18 years of Tory government. Community Music is their third and best album, cementing them not just as one of the most important bands in Britain, but as one of the best.

Their incisive social and moral fury is writ large through their music, as they weave together strafing guitars, enormous reggae basslines and block rockin’ beats with Deedar Zaman’s half rapped, half chanted vocals and elements of traditional Asian music. "Real Great Britain" lays their template gloriously open, an incandescent vocal about the state of the nation at the turn of the new century backed-up with edgy guitars and the kind of insistent, propulsive rhythm that revolutions are inspired by. "Memory War" and "Officer XX" continue the virtuous onslaught, listing the offences of a nation and a culture that tolerate racism through ignorance and avoidance, as forthright as Public Enemy but less aggressive, as exciting as The Clash but even more creative and with greater focus.

That’s not to say that ADF are nothing but righteous preachers, raging in the name of Britain's subjugated racial groups. The message is more one of cultural and spiritual harmony through diversity, positivity and unity, as expressed on "Collective Mode" and the awesome, 21st century drum’n’reggaebass of "New Way New Life". Meanwhile "Riddim I Like" is pure dance music, instrumental and joyously funky, Steve Chandra Savale’s guitar strings tuned all to one note like a sitar, painting Eastern melodies over another gorgeously fat, infectious bassline. "Taa Deem" takes the awe-inspiring, devotional vocals of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and marries them to pounding sub-bass and ferocious drum’n’bass passages, while "Colour Line" is an eye-opening spoken-word rumination on the exploitative nature of world political economics by Ambalavaner Sivanandan.

Britain today is a country where racial tensions are at an all-time high and right-wing politics are more visible than at any time since the 1940’s. Now more than ever we need people like Asian Dub Foundation to help bring together communities and cultures that would otherwise be driven apart by ignorance and intolerance. Community Music is a glorious, unifying example of what can be achieved if our nation could finally grow up and demonstrate the same kind of maturity and intelligence that Asian Dub Foundation are so clearly possessed of. They used to sound like a riot being incited. Now they sound like a party being thrown. Punk guitars, Bollywood strings, Motown brass, drum’n’bass beats, dub basslines and electronica flourishes united gloriously with the spirit of Bob Marley, Chuck D, Malcolm X and Gandhi, moving into completely new territory both musically and spiritually. Passionate, inspirational, energising, innovative and enriching, make no mistake, this record is awesome on just about every level. Let’s have some more.

Listened to Community Music the other day, and it's still a cracker. Whatever you may thik of their political didactism, the music is catchy, inventive and eclectic. Rafi's is decent but not as good (partially due to a patchy production job), the later stuff tends towards the dud side.

I think Deeder was a terrific vocalist, really characterful and catchy at the same time as being impassioned. Losing him was bad.

Punkara was released in Japan earlier in the year, and comes out in UK on Oct 7. Amazon:

Asian Dub Foundation were famously described by Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie as 'the best live act in the world'. 'Punkara' sounds like unbridled, off the hook bhangra meets unbridled off the hook thrash proto-punk; and features guest vocals from Iggy Pop and Eugene Hutz [Gogol Bordello], plus Al Rumjen, ADF's new lead singer who was previously with King Prawn.)

Gonna be tough for them not to sound dated as they were on Tank, but The Bug managed to sound fresh, so we'll see.

Which band continued at where ADF stopped (I mean, Community Music)?

community music still sounds absolutely fantastic.
did they ever better it, as its all i have by them.

I saw them live at a festival in the Czech Republic around 2004, they played "Tear Down The Walls of Fortress Europe" and it was brilliant, then they dedicated it to the Roma community and half the audience started booing them.

Saw Moloko the same day, it might have been their last ever gig, there were loads of technical problems and eventually Matk Brydon stormed off, followed by the rest of the group. Roisin came back on, sang Danny Boy by herself, apologied and left.

Saw them in what I think was the last or second last act that day/night in tent at a festival in 2000 (in and around the time of Community Music) and they were incendiary live; the bass in particular sounded huge

Community Music is amazing, yeah. Nothing I've heard by them since comes close sadly. Deedar, the main vocalist on the album, left the band shortly after its release.

Previous album Rafi's Revenge is worth checking out too, a good deal rougher and rawer.

+1 Love Rafi's Revenge, and indeed its earlier incarnation R.A.F.I., which includes "Modern Apprentice", the first thing I ever heard by them and a song that still often pops up in my head for whatever reason.

When "Enemy of the Enemy" was released, I recall hearing 2 distinct mixes of "Fortress Europe", where the drum tracks vary in the verses (one had rockier dub-leaning drums, the other adds a louder 16th-note hi-hat pattern that was more propulsive). Based on what's posted to YouTube, the latter appears to have won the battle. Neither version (nor the album) is on Spotify, unfortunately. Regardless, what a song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKHKJgOQk5M

found 'enemy of the enemy' today in a charity shop.
reading the credits, its basically an On-U release.

and worth so much more for this track alone :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byWoM4LDe9Y

it features Sinead who has worked with On-U a few times over the years.
i would love a full length of AMS vs Sinead.
think that that AMS would totally give her the sonic freedom she clearly desires.

Sinead O Connor's appearance is everything! This reminded me of how I first learned of ADF - which was from a site called PlayLouder. They had this amazing run as the Bri'ish Pitchfork from '02 through '07, introducing me to a bunch of great records that I still blast today. I really miss their voice, hell, I would not be surprised if a few of their writers were on ILX. Adam Alphabet's review of this record is loaded with great lines, like "Politically, ADF remain on point, scuppering any chances of US acceptance - like they give a shit." and "we need them, their brilliant rhythms, ace tunes, and refusal to shut the hell up. They are the Truth and The Light, innit." Come back to us, PlayLouder!

https://web.archive.org/web/20030607035401/http://playlouder.com/review/+691asiandubfoundation/

Playlouder was a lot of fun.
i was very active on the message board, and got to meet up with them at Glastonbury.
Several of the gang who wrote most of the site are still about.
Adam Alphabet = Akira the Don (not into the direction he has gone since he moved to USA to be honest),
Jeres has just written a book re Serge Gainsbourg,
John Doran/Luke Turner = the Quietus.

and yes, Doran used to be active on ILx.

Thanks for the update! Are there any current British music sites that offer a similarly-casual occasionally-profane perspective? Aussie sites such as Purple Sneakers and Pile Rats have great reviews and editorials, but I'm still searching for a (quasi-)professional platform where a review might contain "simply don't give a toss" and ends with "innit?"