BY AIDAN RASMUSSEN
Asian Dub Foundation's reputation has preceded them. Five English-born South Asians who sound like a modern-day Clash with sitars, have enough fire in their bellies to light a small tandoori oven and produce genre-defying electronic/rock music which serves as a platform to raise social awareness.
To that interesting mix add an attitude taken straight out of the Rage Against The Machine agit-rock handbook - they have toured with their American brothers-in-arms - and you could be forgiven for expecting a dour soapbox type on the other end of the line.
Much to my surprise I am greeted by the band's cheeky, personable and quick-to-laugh DJ, Pandit G, who proceeds to chortle his way through the next 25 minutes.
The laidback turntable-and-samples specialist can't stop laughing. The Anglo-Indian, whose early inspirations include The Fall, constantly takes the mickey out of himself and his band.
On whether he thinks his band has hit its straps musically on third album Community Music, he answers: "What happened was that we had more time really to express all the different bits and elements of our music.
"There's instrumentals and spoken word and it gave us more of a chance to create contrast and colours and also, as we get more experienced, our production gets better - we remember to switch things on and off," he says, again bursting into laughter.
Regarding musical influences, he mentions Lee Scratch Perry then says: "We have so many musical tastes that we can't just have one CD player on the tour bus. If we did, we'd have a huge fight."
Definitely not the sort of behaviour you'd expect from a man whose outfit acts as much as a focus group as it does a band.
The band has taken up the cause of Satpal Ram - an Indian man they believe was jailed unfairly for murder. While having a meal at a Birmingham restaurant, Ram was set on by six white men. While defending himself, he stabbed one of his assailants twice with a knife he used at work to open small packages. The man refused treatment and later died. Ram was given a life sentence.
ADF took up his cause and recorded Free Satpal Ram which appeared on their second album Rafi's Revenge. Ram is now 14 years into a "life" sentence - which normally lasts seven-and-a-half to 11 years - which understandably irks the now deadly serious Pandit G.
"We want to challenge them [the British Justice Department] as to why Satpal, who was given a life sentence, has served 14 years. When is the cut-off point for Satpal? Even if they say he's guilty, how come? He's done his bloody time, why isn't he out? He's lost his youth. What more can you take away from him?"
So, does the same band that wrote that protest song, have a sense of humour?
"No way mate," speeds the reply, "no way, we're really deadpan. Put that one down in your story. Yeah, of course we do, I don't think there is a contradiction. The seriousness is in the message, and you've got to make that distinction." That message is a simple one. If they can lift themselves out of a system that is unfairly geared towards white Anglo-Saxon Britons, so too can others.
Practising rather than preaching, Pandit and his band-mates have set up an organisation called Adfed (Asian Dub Foundation Education) which provides structures and role models for young Asian bands and musicians.
By teaching music technology skills in an environment that encourages musical creativity and innovation they hope to redress the dearth of Asian performers and technicians in the English music industry. After all, ADF formed out of the community music programme in London where bassist Dr Das and guitarist Chandrasonic were tutors and vocalist Deedar was a student.
"If more musicians followed suit and interacted with their communities and fans, you might see an end to the almost demigod-like status of rock stars," says Pandit. "It would at least go some way towards breaking down the mystique between the artist/performer and the audience. "You might get back to the idea that if you're an artist or musician, you have been given the privilege of a platform from which to stand on.
"You might as well use it to say something and make people aware that they can do what we are doing. There aren't a few of us with a God-given talent you know, and the rest that haven't.
* Asian Dub Foundation play at the Powerstation on Tuesday, September 12.
For more information: www.asiandubfoundation.com
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