Hello, after last weeks relaxed beats today we have some spicier work, indo-dub basslines, searing sitar-inspired guitars and ‘traditional’ sounds, shot through with fast-chat conscious lyrics. Always open to fullfill a serious request, certainly by someone with the clarity of mind chosing Unknown as his/her nick (or is it timed modesty).
(11/11) Unknown said... can you post some asian dub foundation?
(24/11) Rho said.... Ah sure here's their first three postings... N'joy
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Asian Dub Foundation formed in 1993 as an outgrowth of the documentary Identical Beat, a film shot at London's Farringdon Community Music House, the site of a series of summer workshops designed to teach Asian children the essentials of music technology. In charge of the workshops were tutor Aniruddha Das and youth worker John Pandit, also a noted DJ; with one of their students, a 15-year-old Bengali rapper named Deedar Zaman, they soon formed a sound system that they called the Asian Dub Foundation. After each adopted an alias -- bassist/tabla player Das became Dr. Das, Pandit became Pandit G, and Zaman became Master D -- they gradually evolved into a working band with the 1994 addition of former Higher Intelligence Agency guitarist Steve Chandra Savale, an innovative performer known for tuning his strings to one note like a sitar, turning up the distortion unit, and playing his instrument with a knife, earning him the nickname "Chandrasonic."
Emerging in the midst of considerable anti-Asian violence throughout Britain, the Foundation's early demos landed them a contract with Nation Records, and they recorded their debut EP, Conscious, in 1994. Their distinctive sound is a combination of hard ragga-jungle rhythms, indo-dub basslines, searing sitar-inspired guitars and 'traditional' sounds gleaned from their parents' record collections, shot through with fast-chat conscious lyrics.
After earning a reputation as standout live performers, the Foundation -- who now included dancer Bubble-E and second DJ Sun-J -- won widespread acclaim for the 1995 single "Rebel Warrior." Their first full-length effort, Facts and Fictions, followed later that same year. Their third (second UK) album Rafi's Revenge was nominated for a Mercury Prize combining a unique combination of punk energy with a jungle/reggae core. It had been preceded by a France only release RAFI (96) Tours to the United States with the Beastie Boys and Japan followed to wide acclaim. Their following album, Community Music, developed their sound further and received a coveted 10/10 review in NME.
The band pursued other avenues performing a live rescore to the film La Haine in 2001, and continued performing it around the world for the next five years. They developed this approach in 2004 with the film The Battle of Algiers, first performing the piece at the Brighton dome on the same day that photographs of torture in Abu Ghraib were released.
In 2003, they released Enemy of the Enemy which became their best-selling album and contained the track "Fortress Europe," a stinging 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 at Larzac in France at a celebration of José Bové, a radical campaigning farmer. In December 2003 A.D.F. released Live: Keep Bangin' on the Walls (live at Ancienne Belgique). For 2005's Tank, they were joined by On-U Sound collaborator Ghetto Priest on vocals, that year they won "Best Underground" at the UK Asian Music Awards.
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, aka Babu Stormz, who also plays bass with British-Asian electro/grunge/hip-hop band Swami. In September 2006, the dub/punk opera "Gaddafi: A Living Myth", with music by Asian Dub Foundation, opened at the London Coliseum. In Spring 2007, Asian Dub Foundation announced the release of a best of compilation Timefreeze 1995-2007 which includes a bonus disc of rare remixes and live tracks.
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 Prawn. In 2009, Asian Dub Foundation contributed to the Indigenous Resistance project after having met up with the Atenco resistance movement in Mexico. Asian Dub latest album "A History of Now "(2011) features Ministry of Dhol, Nathan "Flutebox" Lee, Chi 2 and Skrein.
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Asian Dub Foundation's album debut finds the band with their chops fully intact, even at this early date. Dr. Das' rapping flow is speedy and intricate, though continually inflected in the same ways (very reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha). The production and programming, by Steve Chandrasonic and Dr. Das, is the real highlight here, incorporating traditional Indian percussion and instruments, but constantly name-checking contemporary dance styles like bhangra and ragga jungle. The haunting vocals that open "Rebel Warrior" make it a highlight, while Chandra's deep drum programs provide continual thrills.
Asian Dub Foundation - Facts And Fictions (flac 438mb)
01 Witness 4:50
02 PKNB 6:27
03 Jericho 7:02
04 Rebel Warrior 6:27
05 Journey 7:06
06 Strong Culture 6:44
07 TH9 5:25
08 Tu Meri 4:57
09 Debris 4:18
10 Box 6:09
11 Thacid 9 (Dub Version) 5:32
12 Return To Jericho (Dub Version) 4:26
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On R.A.F.I., the Asian Dub Foundation further refines their sound, honing their blend of miscellaneous styles -- ragga, jungle, dub, rock, hip-hop, rap -- to a consistent aesthetic characterizing each of the songs and the album as a whole. If this album is less daring with its application of influence, it also benefits from this very lack of daringness by staying true to a common sound: fractured drum'n'bass rhythms, deep dub basslines, dancehall reggae rapping, revolutionary ideology, and rock accessibility. This album won't lead anyone to call them the next Rage Against the Machine, but it will satisfy anyone with a hunger for the group's truly patented sound.
Asian Dub Foundation - R.A.F.I. (flac 372mb)
01 Assassin 4:13
02 Change 3:07
03 Black White 3:34
04 Buzzing 5:35
05 Free Satpal Ram 4:24
06 Modern Apprentice 4:55
07 Operation Eagle Lie 4:17
08 Hypocrite 4:29
09 Naxalite 4:56
10 Loot 5:07
11 Dub Mentality 4:26
12 Culture Move 4:30
13 Real Areas For Investigation 4:22
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Much of the really interesting music coming out of England in the late '90s is being produced by members of what has come to be called the Asian Underground -- a dancehall aristocracy of mostly South Asian DJs, producers, dub artists and instrumentalists who seem bent on completely transforming the U.K. dance-music scene into a welter of wildly various and pan-ethnic influences: bhangra, dub, ragga, funk, speed-rap and metal, even surf guitar and classical Hindustani music all get thrown into the stew, and the result is thick, spicy and delicious. On this release from Asian Dub Foundation, that vision is realized in tracks that blend Indian percussion with reggae basslines and jungle breakbeats, as on the head-banging "Buzzin," or which combine a straight one-drop reggae beat with Indian keyboard and pop vocal samples, as on "Black White." The singing is paradigmatic: vocalist Deedar sings and shouts in an accent divided in equal parts between Cockney, Indian and Jamaican. This is an exhausting but exhilarating album, and its depth and complexity of texture keep revealing new surprises with repeated listenings.
Asian Dub Foundation - Rafi's Revenge (flac 321mb)
01 Les Nuits 6:20
02 Morse 6:21
03 Ethnic Majority 4:31
04 Jorgé 2:29
05 Finer 3:31
06 Ease Jimi 5:33
07 Argha Noah 7:55
08 Fire In The Middle 4:17
09 Survival 4:30
10 Capumcap 5:10
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01 Intro 1:16
02 Real Areas For Investigation 3:26
03 Culture Move (Audio Active Pusher Sound Mix) 7:30
04 Naxalite (Adrian Sherwood Mad Scientist Dub Mix) 4:48
05 Modern Apprentice 4:50
06 Digital Underclass 4:47
07 Dub Mentality (Rafi) 4:23
08 Buzzin’ (Dylan Rhymes Remix) 3:32
09 Hypocrite 4:25
10 Charge (Live) 3:55
11 Free Satpal Ram (Russel Simmins Remix) 4:06
It would be great to have a reup of this series. It sticks to the era...
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