Asian Dub Foundation
Frontline 1993-97: Rareities & Remixes
Nation/Beggars Banquet
The Deacons of Desi Dub are back, celebrating ten years in the game with this remix project. The original Asian Massive, Master D, Pandit G, Sun-J, Chandrasonic, and Dr. Das have been mixing dub and dancehall with radical South Asian flare like nobody else. It is a territory few have tread for fear of being engulfed by their formidable wake. Earth-rumbling bass lines and frantic tabla meld into an intoxicating elixir of deep grooves. Sure, Master D’s got that sometimes-annoying Brit toasting rap style, but it’s easy to get used to in light of the vibrations spitting out of your sound system.
DJ Scud’s remix of “Witness” kicks off Frontline with its rapid-fire, heavy distortion dancehall that bangs your heart out of your skull. Dry & Heavy’s “P.K.N.B.” treatment sounds as though it were recorded in the deepest cavern on the planet. “Tu Meri” is a nice 2stepper. “Change a Gonna Come” is a perfect little piece of dubbed-out d&b, and Panicstepper takes the same tune and rocks it into sheer manic depressive post-industrial insanity. And “Nazrul Dub” is a deep throb desi dub with some beautifully melded hip-hop breaks.
Much more than an Intro to Cultural Anthropology lecture, Frontline is a high-voltage testament to the great music ADF has been putting out for a decade. Their syncretic soul is not simple sampling. It’s much more than just some “cool” sounds they dug out of a crate. These folks live and breathe and believe in their music, and one listen will convert you.
Nation Records: http://www.nationrecords.co.uk • Beggars Banquet: http://www.beggars.com
