I knew this will be one of my favorite albums of 2011 even before I’ve been listening into it. I saw them live back in 1999 and since I’m a follower. Playing an explosive mixture of rapcore, dub, dancehall and raggae, using rock instruments and including punk and hardcore influences, ADF are one of the killer acts of Great Britain beside The Prodigy and much recently Subsource. Intense and speeding serious social and political messages, live they will smash off any scene and move the audience, their studio albums maybe do not capture all that energy and explosion, but still they are much heavier than most of the other bands and even heavier than some of the so-called “modern”, alternative or post-metal bands. They unique style of blending hardcore energy, punk rawness, electronics and dub inspired many other artists, but not so many managed to get even closer, not to mention the issue of credibility.
“The new” “Burning Fence” is probably “Frequency Urgency”, an intense anthematic track, but all 12 tracks are quite percussive themes, from the dreamy, airy and beautiful “Power Of 10” to the smashing “Future Proof”.
Talking but influences and mentioning “Burning Fence”… Well, don’t need a reason cos no reason is reason enough coming quite from their song, I (proudly) admit it.
Who’s the piggy in the middle now
Who’s gonna be the next to rise up and chant Keep on running
Running from the middle ground
Who’s gonna be the next to rise up and chant
Riot start in IKEA
Who’s gonna be the next to rise up and chant
In the buzzword battleground
Goin nowhere faster now!”
Living troubled times, ADF rise questions and the answers are right here before our eyes our buried deep in our soul. We may ignore them, we may refuse the truth, but nobody will stand up for us as nobody died for our sins ever. The history of now it’s as we write it, a better tomorrow it’s only possible if we get involved today. But nobody can open your eyes while you prefer to be def, dumb, blind. Making no albums, but manifest, ADF gives wake-up calls.
Asian Dub Foundation discography:
Facts and Fictions (1995)
R.A.F.I. (1997) (originally only released in France)
Rafi’s Revenge (1998)
Conscious Party (1998) (originally only released in France)
Community Music (2000)
Frontline 1993-1997: rarities and remixes (2001)
Enemy of the Enemy (2003)
Live: Keep Bangin’ on the Walls (2003) live at Ancienne Belgique
Tank (2005)
Time Freeze: The Best of Asian Dub Foundation (2007)
Punkara (2008)
A History Of Now (2011)
Asian Dub Foundation – Official Site
Asian Dub Foundation @ MySpace
Cooking Vinyl Records
