Fighting Talk

Asian Dub Foundation believe in music as agitprop. But beyond the sloganeering, ADF have moved into the field of Drum'n'bass with great effect. They talked to Cipher about their music and their latest bete noire, Goa trance.

Asian Dub Foundation don't make assumptions They don't have to, when certain members of the listening public make them for them. "Having dub in your title makes people think you're some retro reggae band," explains Pandit G. "Dub isn't a label it's a process."
Anyone who has heard ADF will know that their take on 'dub' is mashed-up bass lines, profuse use of the echo pedal (natch) and now, thanks to the introductory auspices of 17-year-old rapper Master D, drum'n'bass beats too. That's the dub taken care of - but what about the Asian?
"Actually we're looking forward to the day when we can drop the Asian from Asian Dub Foundation," says bass man Dr Das. But why would a band so heavily involved in fighting racism want to drop the 'Asian' tag. Surely not those dreaded assumptions again?
"I'd like it to not be automatically assumed that because I'm Asian, because I'm musician that I just play bhangra music," stresses Chandrasonic, ADF's distortion-guitar-meister. "I'd like to be myself and not have to be associated with the Mahareshi Yogi. I'd also like to not be thought of as not the only Asian person that someone has met. I would like to think that any visibility we have is more to do with us being individuals and not with us being Asian."

The current visibility of Asian bands is growing, with Detrimental, the Kaliphz and Nitin Sawhney all reaping rave reviews in the inkies and glossies alike. As usual though, the negative and inaccurately named Goa trance is messing up their personas good and proper. Dr Das and Chandrasonic are both adamant that the 'Goa' thing is nothing to do with them. "In ADF we all have different musical backgrounds and so we don't censor the music we listen to. But we can't tolerate Goa trance. That scene and those people don't have anything to do with India." "It's all about hippy tourism," interrupts Chandrasonic. "It's people interacting with what they think is Indian on a very superficial level. It's more to do with Carry On Up The Khyber. It completely denies the diversity of India."

As stalwarts on the free and anti-fascist festival scene ADF are used to working in activist fields and within the community [Dr Das and Chandrasonic both teach at Farringdon-based music scheme Community Music and Pandit G is a civil rights worker].
But how do they relate their experiences to, say, white audiences?
"What we express now and on the album, is the sum of thirty years of growing up in this country," says Das. "So some of it's gonna be knee-jerk, some of it's gonna be heavy but we do also try and sit down and talk to people before and after gigs, in a less confrontational way."
ADF's raging dub beats and roaring anti-fascist vocals come at you hard and fast enough to make even the most half-hearted of listeners sit up and take notice. That whether they like it or not, affords them some kind of ambassador-like responsibilities. Don't they have to bite their lip sometimes? Not so, though one journalist last year questioned the band on their lyrics to the track 'TH9', a song which clearly iterates the "one language the fascists understand." OK, this is ADF at their most militant, but perhaps not their most vigilant, Surely they don't really mean it?
"If you find that these people don't have the will to engage in any kind of dialogue, then the only thing they'll understand is a baseball bat," reckons Das. But isn't that a bit harsh? Chandrasonic thinks not. "Sometimes violence is an intelligent response. What possible political peaceful forms of redress are there left? If you're being attacked you've either got to run or fight back. It's a last resort. But it's the only one."

Saying that, ADF do their fighting with words. And sure, they admit, it does sometimes get a bit tiring.
"We always have doubts," admits Chandrasonic, "but you don't have the luxury of doing nothing. Because ADF exists and is solid, we've actually been laying down roots. It's beyond the realms of slogans and soundbites which is more than a lot of politically-oriented pop music."

Having a sure footing in the community ADF have the opportunity to connect both the Asian and Dub sensibilities to teaching music and studio skills. Although, stresses Das, it's more than just telling people what to do.
"What is implied by the music and lyrics is that people should be able to investigate for themselves. We're just giving them a few pointers. We're literally saying do it for yourselves."

By Jane Fitz-Gerald