Combining hypercharged political rants with heavyweight breakbeats and wondrous Indian instrumentation, Asian Dub Foundation are socially aware commentators who simply defy categorization. Taking a cue from maverick groups... more » like Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, they match jackhammer rhythms and furious rapping on "Dub Mentality," while "Buzzin'" employs elements as disparate as sitars, dub bass lines, and indie-rock-guitar distortion. Rafi's Revenge landed the coveted Mercury Music Prize in the U.K. for being one of the best releases of 1998. It's a fitting honor. --Aidin Vaziri« less
Combining hypercharged political rants with heavyweight breakbeats and wondrous Indian instrumentation, Asian Dub Foundation are socially aware commentators who simply defy categorization. Taking a cue from maverick groups like Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, they match jackhammer rhythms and furious rapping on "Dub Mentality," while "Buzzin'" employs elements as disparate as sitars, dub bass lines, and indie-rock-guitar distortion. Rafi's Revenge landed the coveted Mercury Music Prize in the U.K. for being one of the best releases of 1998. It's a fitting honor. --Aidin Vaziri
RAFI'S REVENGE IS THE ULTIMATE CELINE DIONNE ANTIDOTE
11/22/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rafi's Revenge is an underground cult classic here in Durban (South Africa) and it's not hard to see why. It mixes up ragga, drum'n'bass, rock, hiphop and Asian folk music into an original, massively energetic, ultra funky and utterly captivating record. And of course the progressive, conscious lyrics make this an album that's as valuable socially as it is musically.If you've ever listend bands and artists like Rage Against the Machine, LKJ, Groove Rider, Roni Size, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, Funmental etc, etc this album will probably be like a shot of adrenalin straight to your jugular. It's garunteed to put fire in your eyes, iron in your soul and a whole lot of groove in your hips. What more could you want from an album?"
ADF: A band to keep an eye on.
08/14/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The sound is a cross between Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Jamaican Rankin'. But you know what? It works. Solid bass and drum in the back. Great sound engineering. The music is well architectured with driving lyrics.Some HighLights: Naxalite: Fast & furious. Culture Move: Excellent Baseline.These guys are on a mission to blend Indo-Asian sounds with Afro-Jamaican beats and from the sounds of this album, I think they are on their way..."
Rafi's RAGE!!!
08/28/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is exellent from start to end! Sometimes it is groovy, and sometimes in shakes with rage. The lead singer/rapper sounds a bit like Zack de la rocha of Rage against The Machine, his rap spit political fire! The 5 East Indian members are musical wizards that create innovative beats. With political lyrics that make you wanna get involved and beats that make ya wanna bop your head, especially on songs like "dub mentaliy". This is somethin that will catch your musical ear sooner or later!!!!!"
A glimpse of things to come
12/27/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"'Rafi's Revenege' is a powerful statement, both musically and culturally. Musically, it is hard not to compare the young Brixton lads to the US's Rage Against the Machine- political rant/rap with squealing guitars and pounding beats. But really that's where the similarities end. ADF combines several flavour to the mix- rap, ragga, jungle and even a touch of bollywood, sometimes unsuccessfully. Agenda wise, ADF succeeds where RATM failed- there is a consistent political focus to ther writing- the acceptance and accreditation of South Asian and Afro Carribean youth in the United Kingdom. This is the focus of the album, and it never strays from its mission. The band however loses its intensity in the middle of the album- after pummeling through the first four tracks, the album mellows out to a blunted ragga beat, only to return to fired intensity with 'Operation Eagle Eye.' This band was built on the hyper dynamics of Das's rapping with the rubberband interaction of drum and bass with guitar pyrotechnics, and they chose to omit it for a 1/3 of the record. To really get a feel for this fabulous group, locate their live album, 'Concious Party'- it indeed captures their frantic energy and true colours. Look for good things in the future for ADF!"