Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall,

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Smi ...

, and

South Asian music Asian music encompasses numerous musical styles originating in many Asian countries. Musical traditions in Asia * Music of Central Asia ** Music of Afghanistan (when included in the definition of Central Asia) ** Music of Kazakhstan ** Music ...

. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guitar, which acknowledges a punk rock influence. Their music is known for its dub-inspired basslines, guitar parts inspired by the traditional Indian instrument the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

, and fast rapping.

History

Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) was formed in summer 1993 from an education workshop run by Aniruddha Das (bass, programming) and assisted by John Pandit (mixing) which was attended by rapper Deeder Zaman. This early line-up released the sound-system based ''Conscious'' EP in late 1993 on

Nation Records Nation Records is a record label set up by Kath Canoville and Aki Nawaz in 1988. History The label was set up after major labels declined to release their fusion of world music and dance music, an album called ''Fuse'' (1989).Larkin, Colin (19 ...

. Guitarist/programmer Steve Chandra Savale was invited to join in early 1994 and ADF became more of a band format. Sanjay Tailor joined the band as live midi/programmer and DJ soon after. This completed the full live line-up of the band and their debut album ''

Facts and Fictions ''Facts and Fictions'' is the debut album by the British band Asian Dub Foundation and was originally released in 1995, on the Nation Records label. It was later re-released on Virgin France (2000) and Beggars Banquet Records (2002). Track li ...

'' was released in late 1995, following the single "Rebel Warrior". Initially not widely known in a UK music scene focused on

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

, the band toured in mainland Europe and gained a substantial following, particularly in France where their French-only release '' R.A.F.I.'' sold 100,000 copies. In early 1997 the band was signed by London Records. Their British profile was upped considerably by the support of Primal Scream with whom the band began to tour regularly. Their second album ''

Rafi's Revenge ''Rafi's Revenge'' is a 1998 studio album by Asian Dub Foundation. It peaked at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart. It was shortlisted for the 1998 Mercury Music Prize. Critical reception Rick Anderson of AllMusic called ''Rafi's Revenge'' "an exh ...

'' (1998) combined punk energy with a jungle/reggae core and was nominated for a

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

. The single "Naxalite" was an ode to the militant Naxalite movement in India. Tours to the United States (with the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

) and Japan followed. Their following album, '' Community Music'', developed their sound further and received a 10/10 review in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. In 2000, ADF played a slot on Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid stage. At the end of 2000, Deeder Zaman announced his plans to go solo, his last gig being at Alexandra Palace alongside Primal Scream and Ian Brown. Their first project of 2001 was an attempt to create a live re-score of

Mathieu Kassovitz Mathieu Kassovitz (; born 3 August 1967) is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is the founder of MNP Entreprise, a film production company. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They ...

's film ''

La Haine ''La Haine'' (, ; released in the United States as ''Hate'') is a 1995 French crime drama film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and nig ...

'' at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

's "Only Connect" festival in London. The gig was sold out and received critical praise, particularly from Max Bell and

Steven Wells Steven Wells (10 May 1960 – 24 June 2009) was a British journalist, author, comedian and punk poet born in Swindon, Wiltshire. He was best known for ranting poetry and his provocative, unapologetic music journalism. In June 2006, he wrote in t ...

. They did the piece again by invitation of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

at his South Bank Meltdown Festival in 2002; in attendance was Kassovitz. The band went to Brazil to collaborate with community activist Afro-Reggae with new band members MC Aktarv8tr, Spex MC, Rocky Singh (drums), and Prithpal Rajput (

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

). In 2002, Pandit G was awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for "services to the music industry" in relation to his work with ''Community Music''. He declined the award, however, stating: In 2003, they released ''

Enemy of the Enemy ''Enemy of the Enemy'' is an album by British band Asian Dub Foundation, released on 3 February 2003. It was the first ADF album to be released following the departure of rapper Deeder Zaman. Following the release of the album, "Fortress Euro ...

'', which became their best-selling album and contained the track "Fortress Europe", an attack on European immigration policy, along with "1000 Mirrors", a collaboration with Sinéad O'Connor about a woman serving life for killing an abusive husband. In 2003, they played their biggest gig in front of 100,000 people in France at a celebration of

José Bové Joseph "José" Bové (born 11 June 1953) is a French farmer, politician and Syndicalism, syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman for Via Campesina. He was one of the twelve official candidates in the 2007 French pres ...

, a radical campaigning farmer. For 2005's ''

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

'', they were joined by On-U Sound collaborator Ghetto Priest on vocals, with the help of

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques ...

. The band continued performing their ''La Haine'' soundtrack around the world for the next five years. They developed this approach in 2004 with another improvised soundtrack to the film ''

The Battle of Algiers ar, Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir , director = Gillo Pontecorvo , producer = Antonio MusuSaadi Yacef , writer = Franco Solinas , story = Franco SolinasGillo Pontecorvo , starring = Jean MartinSaadi YacefBrahim H ...

'', first performing the piece at the Brighton Dome. In 2005, they won "Best Underground" at the

UK Asian Music Awards The UK Asian Music Awards, also known by the abbreviation UK AMA, was an awards show that was held annually in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2012. The awards show has been produced and broadcast by B4U Music since 2008. Awards winners were dec ...

. Bassist Dr Das announced his intention to retire in May 2006 to resume teaching and produce his own music. He was replaced by Martin Savale, who also plays bass with British-Asian electro/grunge/hip-hop band

Swami Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...

. In September 2006, the dub/punk opera "Gaddafi: A Living Myth", with music by ADF, opened at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

. In Spring 2007, Asian Dub Foundation announced the release of a

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

compilation '' Time Freeze: The Best of Asian Dub Foundation'' which included a bonus disc of rare remixes and live tracks, including a live recording of a

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

song featuring Chuck D. The album also featured a new track recorded with former vocalist Deeder Zaman. In May 2007 ADF performed a radio session and interview on the

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

and Nihal show on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

where they performed three new tracks: "Climb On", "Superpower" and "S.O.C.A.". In June 2007, they were the only Western act to perform at the Festival of

Gnawa music Gnawa music (Ar. ) is a body of Moroccan religious songs and rhythms. Its well-preserved heritage combines ritual poetry with traditional music and dancing. The music is performed at ''lila'', communal nights of celebration dedicated to prayer ...

in Essaouira,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

playing to a crowd of 60,000 people and collaborating with traditional Gnawa musicians. In August 2007, Asian Dub Foundation started playing with two new vocalists, Al Rumjen (previously and subsequently with King Prawn) and Aktarv8r, who returned after MC Spex was asked to leave the band due to personal issues. In November/December 2007, Asian Dub Foundation recorded a new album, ''

Punkara Punkara is the sixth studio album by the collective Asian Dub Foundation. It was recorded with The Go! Team producer, Gareth Parton at The Fortress Studios, London. It is the first album released with new singer Al Rumjen formerly of King Praw ...

''. It was released in March 2008 and followed by a tour of Europe and Japan. In 2009, ADF contributed to the Indigenous Resistance project after having met up with the Atenco movement in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Asian Dub Foundation started work on their new album, provisionally entitled ''A New London Eye'', which would feature Ministry of Dhol, Nathan "Flutebox" Lee, Chi 2 and Skrein. The album eventually came out as ''The History of Now'' and the band toured extensively to promote it. The cover contained many fantasy iPhone "Apps" intended to parody the contemporary age. In May 2012, the band was asked by immersive pop-up subversives

Secret Cinema Secret Cinema is a London-based entertainment company that specialises in immersive film and television events. Founded and created in 2007 by Fabien Riggall, it began with mystery screenings at initially undisclosed venues in London, inclu ...

to revive their live soundtrack to ''La Haine'' at

Broadwater Farm Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle (London), River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Housing estate, Estate ("BWFE") ...

and also performed the piece in Paris the night of the French elections. Later that year ADF were rejoined by Dr. Das, Ghetto Priest and Rocky Singh. They recorded a new album, ''

The Signal and the Noise ''The Signal and the Noise: Why Most Predictions Fail – but Some Don't'' (alternatively stylized as ''The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – but Some Don't'') is a 2012 book by Nate Silver detailing the art of using ...

'', and headlined a series of festivals including "Bearded Theory" and "Asigiri Jam" in Japan. In 2013, ''The Signal and the Noise'' was released only in Japan. In 2014, the band debuted their live soundtrack to ''

THX 1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, wi ...

'',

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

's first feature-length film. George Lucas and his collaborator

Walter Murch Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. With a career stretching back to 1969, including work on '' THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', ''Am ...

gave their blessing to the project and it was performed at the Brooklyn Festival in Prospect Park which led to an Arts Council Sponsored Tour of the UK in 2015. In 2015, ADF released '' More Signal More Noise'' jointly between Believe Records their own ADF Communications imprint. The album was a re-recorded version of the 2013 Japan only release. They were joined in early 2015 by ex-

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

drummer Brian Fairbairn and toured Italy with a revived version of their ''La Haine'' soundtrack. They recorded a BBC Radio 6 session for

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

in 2015 and played headline slots at WOMAD and

Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

festivals in 2016. In June 2017, it was announced that the band is working on an upcoming album, titled ''Access Denied.'' In May 2019, the band released Youth Quake Pt 1, pairing electronica and breakbeats with a speech that teenage Swedish activist

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

gave to the United Nations conference on climate change in 2018, in support of

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

and the urgent struggle for Climate Justice. The band reissued the album ''Rafi's Revenge'' the same year. In April 2020, the band released the video for ''Stealing the Future''. The track was from the album ''Access Denied'' that was released in September of the same year. Collaborators on the album include comedian

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

, Palestinian refugee band 47Soul,

Ana Tijoux Anamaría Tijoux Merino (; born 12 June 1977), commonly known by her stage name Ana Tijoux or Anita Tijoux, is a Chilean-French singer and musician. She became famous in Latin America as the MC of hip-hop group Makiza during the late 1990s. In ...

and

Dub FX Benjamin Stanford (born 11 June 1983), better known by his stage name Dub FX (stylized as ''Dub Fx'' or ''DubFx''), is an Australian musician and worldwide street performer. Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia,Moses, Allan (2010)Dubbing int ...

Campaign for UK singles chart number one

In September 2020, the band released their song with Stewart Lee called "Comin’ Over Here". This track was based on a sketch from the BBC programme

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was ...

, which was a routine about the UKIP politician (and later, party leader)

Paul Nuttall Paul Andrew Nuttall (born 30 November 1976) is a British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2016 to 2017. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009 as a UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate, and ...

. In December 2020, a video for the song was released, which was part of an internet campaign to get the record to number one in time for the chart published by the Official Charts Company on 31 December 2020, thereby making it the 'Brexit Day Number One'. The song debuted at number 65 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and made it to number 1 on the UK Singles Sales Chart.

Discography

UK albums

*''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1998) UK #20 (reissued 2019) *'' Community Music'' (2000) UK #20 *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2008) *''A History of Now'' (2011) *'' More Signal More Noise'' (2015) *''Access Denied'' (2020)

Live albums, compilations, alternate mixes

*'' R.A.F.I.'' (1997) (originally only released in France) *''

Conscious Party ''Conscious Party'' is Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers' third album. It was released in 1988. This album became popular with the hits "Tumblin' Down" and "Tomorrow People". It won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1989. In 2009, "To ...

'' (1998) (originally only released in France) *'' Frontline 1993-1997: rarities and remixes'' (2001) *'' Live: Keep Bangin' on the Walls'' (2003) live at

Ancienne Belgique Ancienne Belgique (French for "Old Belgium") is a concert hall for contemporary music in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the historic heart of Brussels, it is one of the leading concert venues in Belgium, hosting a wide variety of international and l ...

*'' Time Freeze: The Best of Asian Dub Foundation'' (2007) *''

'' (2013) (originally only released in Japan, basis for More Signal More Noise) *''More Signal More Noise: The Remixes (2015)'' *''Access Denied (2020)

Singles

* 1997: "Naxalite" * 1998: "Free Satpal Ram" - UK #56 * 1998: "Buzzin'" - UK #31 * 1998: "Black White" - UK #52 * 2000: "Real Great Britain" - UK #41 * 2000: "New Way, New Life" - UK #49 * 2003: "Fortress Europe" - UK #57 * 2003: "1000 Mirrors" (feat. Sinéad O'Connor) * 12/10/2010: "A History of Now" * 2015: "Zig Zag Nation" * 2015: "The Signal and the Noise" * 2015: "Stand Up" * 2020: "Comin' Over Here" - UK #65

DVDs

*''Asian Dub Foundation Live'' (DVD) (2003)

References

External links

Official website
*
"Rappers with a cause"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 24 January 2003
Discography at Discogs
{{authority control English electronic music groups Musical groups from London Asian Underground musicians Desi musicians Nation Records artists Sound systems FFRR Records artists Slash Records artists On-U Sound Records artists Political music groups Naïve Records artists Cooking Vinyl artists