Asian Dub Foundation

Asian Dub Foundation was born out of London’s Farringdon Community Music House, aided by the documentary “Identical Beat”, which highlighted workshops designed to get Asian children interested in music technology. Initially formed by tutor Aniruddha Das, youth worker and DJ John Pandit, and 15 year old student and Bengali rapper Deedar Zarman, the group wasted no time calling themselves the Asian Dub Foundation and adopting aliases. Former Higher Intelligence Agency guitarist Steve Chandra Savale joined shortly afterwards as did programmer Sunjay Gulabhai Tailor, both of whom would prove to have a huge impact on the group’s output.

In the midst of a tumultuous climate in Britain with violence toward Asians, the group appeared as ray of hope to some and an ameliorating force to others. Asian Dub Foundation subsequently signed with Nation Records who issued the group’s debut EP “Conscious” in 1994. A year later, with a reputation as a solid live act, ADF were extolled for their single “Rebel Warrior” taken from their debut full-length “Facts and Fictions” in 1995. The record marked the arrival of dancer Bubble E, after which the group earned their first Mercury nomination for their sophomore album “Rafi’s Revenge”. Peaking at No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart, the record is noted for its reggae/dub roots and concentration of punk energy. The group supported the release with a successful worldwide tour including a support slot opening for the Beastie Boys in the U.S.

The 2000 full-length “Community Music” once again peaked at No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart and earned widespread critical acclaim, notably from NME. Asian Dub Foundation subsequently played the revered Pyramid Stage at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival and announced Dedder Zaman would be leaving the collective. A selection of b-sides, remixes and rarities arrived in 2001 entitled “Frontline 1993-1997: rarities and remixes”, followed by the well-received studio album “Enemy of the Enemy” in 2003. Proving to be their best-selling album to date, the record was a social commentary on a number of different issues including the European immigration policy and domestic violence.

The group subsequently played in front of 100,000 people, their biggest gig to date, at Larzac in France in 2003. Marked by the arrival of Ghetto Priest on vocals, Asian Dub Foundation’s fifth official studio album was released in 2005. The same year the group won the Best Underground award at the UK Asian Music Awards, after which bassist Aniruddha Das announced he was leaving the group to focus on his teaching.

A dub/punk opera entitled “Gaddafi: A Living Myth”, with music composed by Asian Dub Foundation, hit the London Coliseum in 2006, a year later the group released the greatest hits compilation “Timefreeze 1995-2007”. The group subsequently performed at the Festival of Gnawa music in Essaouira, Morocco before issuing the full-length “Punkara” in 2008. The studio album “A History of Now” arrived in 2011, followed by “The Signal and the Noise” in 2013 which the group supported once again by an extensive worldwide tour.