Much of the really interesting music coming out of England in the late '90s is being produced by members of what has come to be called the Asian Underground -- a dancehall aristocracy of mostly South Asian DJs, producers, dub artists and instrumentalists who seem bent on completely transforming the U.K. dance-music scene into a welter of wildly various and pan-ethnic influences: bhangra, dub, ragga, funk, speed-rap and metal, even surf guitar and classical Hindustani music all get thrown into the stew, and the result is thick, spicy and delicious. On this release from
Asian Dub Foundation, that vision is realized in tracks that blend Indian percussion with reggae basslines and jungle breakbeats, as on the head-banging "Buzzin," or which combine a straight one-drop reggae beat with Indian keyboard and pop vocal samples, as on "Black White." The singing is paradigmatic: vocalist Deedar sings and shouts in an accent divided in equal parts between Cockney, Indian and Jamaican. This is an exhausting but exhilarating album, and its depth and complexity of texture keep revealing new surprises with repeated listenings. ~ Rick Anderson