Search - Asian Dub Foundation :: Enemy of the Enemy

ADF Are Back with a Very Solid Return

Mintu Banerjee | Hamilton, ON Canada | 02/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since ADF's highly accomplished predecessor from 2000 "Community Music", much has changed. First of all, Deeder (Deedar Zaman) rapper and MC left the group to devote his time to social activism. This would have been enough to stop most groups, but not ADF. Being more of a collective than a group as was the case in their early days, ADF recruited the young and talented rap sparring partners MC Spex and Aktarvata. To give ADF their very own Lata Mangeshkar-style diva, Sonia Mehta was added to the fold and to capture some of the explosiveness of their live shows they have included Rocky Singh on drums and Prithpal Rajput on dhol and tabla. So what's the result? For those who picked up the "Fortress Europe" EP last fall, they will know that both "Fortress Europe" and "Enemy of the Enemy" hearken back to a more aggressive and noisy ADF, but this time the sound is more stripped down, has a bit more of an industrial approach and features strong flavours of American hip hop thanks to the styles and influences of Spex and Aktarvata. "Rise to the Challenge" and "Power to the Small Massive" are easily the best examples of the classic perfection of the ADF sound coupled within their new approach. "1,000 Mirrors" with Sinead O'Connor on guest vocals is a surprisingly impressive track. The track begins with the booms and echoes of classic early Scientist style dub, but then adds in shades of the Special's "Ghost Town" in mood and approach. Sinead's now raspy and convincing vocals with Sonia's melodic wailing in the background create the perfect vocal wall of sound for the topic at hand (domestic violence). "19 Rebellions" pushes the fold of their causes globally, while "2 Face" is a throwback to more straightforward American hip hop. The album gets a bit murky with the somewhat washed out "Dhol Rinse" the Sesame Street-esqe "Basta", and the fairly average "Cyberabad". ADF have definitely proven that they are back, haven't lost their edge and are still taking the cause to even farther stretches of the globe. The sense of being a collective has definitely been achieved, but this comes at the cost of the album feeling somewhat disjointed at times. With the revolving cast of vocalists and rappers, ADF may be suffering the same problem that De La Soul had with "AOI - Mosaic Thump" where the "Too Many Cooks..." adage holds true. Perhaps in their next effort Spex and Aktar will be a bit more front and centre vocally to bring the group vs collective pendulum back to the centre. If you are already an ADF fan this is a very solid addition to your collection. If you are new to ADF pick up either "Rafi's Revenge" (if you like hard edge ragga jungle riddims with highly intense social and political lyrics) or "Community Music" (if you tend to like a more musically diverse and less aggressive sound) first. If ADF come to your town, be sure to check them out...few bands rival them live...Power to the Small Massive!"

Giving half the world a voice

fuzzywuzzit | Canberra, ACT Australia | 11/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"needed to put in this review because ive seen a few bad reviews out for this album- being indian, and a punk, i really like adf cause there arent any decent sub continental, let alone politically conscious bands in the english mainstream / alternative. this new album is very good - very political, with really good beats, some mad tabla and dhol (inlike standard fusions which just use stereotypical beats) and some really good riffs. i couldnt be bothered putting in a song by song hit, and id rather you made up your own mind, but i will say that the overall sound aesthetic is kinda like primal scream's exterminator - ie, lo-fi-ish production with a fair bit of distortion and noise. and theres a few low basslines (actually one) that sound like vanishing point, which is one of my favourite albums.if you like the clash, and you like electronica- well, adf are my modern day clash, albeit a little angrier. and they well have right.You don't like the effect, don't produce the cause.Hollywood, Hollywood tinsel this.We cant hear ourselves!Too many generations down the line to forgive.
(off the new album)"