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User:Indofunk/indofunktest

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Indofunk
Indofunk, live at the Bitter End in New York City, 2005
Indofunk, live at the Bitter End in New York City, 2005
Background information
OriginNew York City
GenresJazz, Funk, Electronica, Hindustani music
Instrument(s)Firebird trumpet, bass, drums, guitar, sitar, keyboards, tabla, mrdhangam
Years active2000—present
LabelsSaraswati Records
MembersSatish
Bryon Hankins
Hary Ganglberger
Lee Boice
Walter Fishbacher
Bill Buchen
Past membersShivalik Ghoshal
Steven James
Murali Balachandran
Websitewww.IndofunkCity.com

Indofunk is a New York City jazz-funk-Indian classical fusion band, using both Western (electric bass, electric guitar, keyboards, drumset), Indian classical (sitar, sarod, tabla, mrdhangam), and fusion (Firebird trumpet, electric sitar) instruments.

Biography

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The band 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 14-year-old Bengali rapper named Deeder Zaman, they soon formed a sound system which 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 and Atom Spies 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.

Channeling influences ranging from punk to ambient music to Bengali folk songs, Asian Dub Foundation quickly gained a strong fanbase not only among clubgoers but also among the anti-fascist movement, who applauded the group's vocal stand against racism.

After earning a reputation as formidable live performers, the band — which now included dancer Bubble-E and second DJ Sun-J — won widespread acclaim for the 1995 single "Rebel Warrior". Their second album Rafi's Revenge was nominated for a Mercury Prize combining a unique combination of punk energy with a jungle/reggae core. Tours to America (with the Beastie Boys) and Japan followed to wide acclaim. Their following album developed their sound further and received a coveted 10/10 review in NME.

Deeder Zaman left the band after playing his last concert on New Year's Eve 2000, and the band expanded to include Pritphal Rajput (dhol, tabla), Rocky Singh (drums), MC Spex (vocals), Akhtarvator (vocals), the latter recruited from the band's ongoing education project ADFED. The new line-up played a few one off gigs mostly at festivals over the summer of 2000 with their first full tour taking place in Brazil in 2001 where they visited various music projects especially "Afro-Reggae" in Rio, who are the subject of the recent film "Favela Rising".

The band pursued other avenues performing a live rescore to the film La Haine in 2001, and continuing to perform it round the world for the next five years. They developed this approach in 2004 with 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, adding great poignancy to the event.

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 ADF played their biggest gig in front of 100,000 people at Larzac in France at a celebration of José Bové, a radical campaigning farmer. For 2005's Tank they were joined by On-U Sound collaborator Ghetto Priest on vocals.

Bassist Dr. Das announced his intention to retire from ADF in May 2006 to resume teaching and producing his own music. He was replaced by Martin Savale, aka Babu Stormz, who also plays bass with highly-acclaimed British-Asian electro/grunge/hip-hop band Swami.

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

In Spring 2007 Asian Dub Foundation announced the release of a best of compilation Timefreeze 1995-2007 which will include a bonusdisc of rare remixes and live tracks (featuring Public Enemy's lead rapper Chuck D). The album will also feature a new track recorded with former vocalist Deeder Zaman.

In May 2007 Asian Dub Foundation performed a radio session and interview at BBC radio1 Bobby and Nihal show where they performed three new tracks: "Climb On", "Superpower" and "S.O.C.A.".

In June 2007 ADF were the only Western act to perform at the Festival of Gnawa music in Essaouira, Morocco playing to a crowd of 60,000 people and collaborating with traditional Gnawa musicians.

During the time between 2004 and 2007 that Aktarv8r left ADF he was play live on stage with the London band Oojami. Oojami makes Turkish dance bellydance music. On the late 2006 released album "Boom Shinga Ling" is Aktarv8r playing on a couple of songs and is in the album credited under his own name Aktar Ahmed.

In August 2007 ADF start playing with 2 new vocalists, Al Rumjen (ex King Prawn) and Aktarv8r return back after MC Spex stop directly as vocalist.

Late october is to be released a new album of Visionary Underground with bass lines playing by Dr. Das who is also play nowadays on the most of thier live gigs.

Discography

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Albums

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Asian Dub Foundation

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Dr. Das

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Singles

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  • 1997 "Naxalite" UK #112
  • 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) UK #81

DVDs

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Others

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Asian Dub Foundation's music has been featured in several video game titles; "Flyover" in Burnout Revenge, "Rise To The Challenge" in FIFA 2004 and Test Drive Unlimited, and "Fortress Europe" in Need for Speed: Underground.

References

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Category:Jazz Category:American jazz musical groups Category:Asian Underground musicians Category:Desi musicians

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