What inspires me most about India are the adivasi communities: Bassist Aniruddha Das

It was normal for everyone in the band to write and usually it got incorporated into the ADF set. However, 2002 onwards, my writing was more experimental as a consequence of listening to the ’70s music of Miles Davis and UK electronic artist Muslimgauze, who distorted Arabic percussion in a very provocative way. Then, the US invaded Iraq and while the madness unfolded on the daily news, it informed the soundscapes I was creating. This became my album Preparing 4 War, which I released this January, 12 years later.

How different is the solo act from ADF?

My solo work is predominantly instrumental, though sometimes with edited spoken word. It’s stripped down to the bass, drums and percussion similar to the original Jamaican dub. I distort tablas and dhols to create accidental harmonics. The basslines dominate since I listened to Indian ragas as a child. That is why I call my bass style ‘indodub’. It’s an abstracted form of what ADF does. My music is implicitly political while ADF is explicitly political because it uses lyrics.

You left ADF in 2006 for a few years. How was that period?

During my sabbatical, I developed my ‘dubnoiz’ compositions, releasing the CD Emergency Basslines in 2006. I was the in-house producer for label Indigenous Resistance, which documents the struggles of indigenous people worldwide. I also played bass with bands such as Ethiopian reggae act DubColossus and an Indo-jazz project by Arun Ghosh.

Tell us about the ‘90s in the UK when a lot of bands with Indian roots dabbled in contemporary electronic sets.

Sampling technology gave us access to our culture and to our parents’ record collections, and a way to express without necessarily having knowledge of actual Indian instruments. The use of technology was also a reaction to the UK-based bhangra scene of the late ’80s, which was often criticised by young ‘Asians’ as being too kitschy. The new Asian sound was militant compared to the classical sounds. Finally, the white ‘host’ community took notice.

ADF’s music speaks about several issues with songs like Naxalite. How does one reach out to a wider audience with such content?

Many ‘political’ artistes are musically tame and only play to audiences who already agree with their message. We confronted those who didn’t agree with us and compelled them to dance. Then you could slap them in the face with any lyric you wanted.

What is your perception of the electronic music industry in India?

I honestly know little of electronic music in India. However, I like Word Sound Power (WSP), Gods Robots and Bagula Bhagat. I’ve collaborated with WSP and it was the best lyric-based project I’ve engaged in since the first ADF album Facts & Fictions in 1995.

What are your future projects?

I have two solo albums left to release. Outsider Dub is a follow up to Preparing 4 War. Sunadamala VolI, due next year, is made with an electronic raga machine and exposes the accidental musical commonality of Indian ragas and dub basslines. It’s a sonic commentary on the dark side of Indian society.

What is ADF’s plan now?

ADF has yet to do a worldwide release of its last album Signal & The Noise, released so far, only in Japan. We recently created and performed in New York a live soundtrack to an existing film called THX 1138, the first film of George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. Various tracks from this project are now earmarked to be adapted to the normal ADF live sets and a future album.

What is your India inspiration?

What inspires me most about India are the adivasi communities who have the audacity to take on the incessant bullying of corporations protected by state paramilitary ‘paid slaves’. They are the people of the future.

Dr Das performs at Turqoise Cottage, Saket, tonight, 9 pm onwards.

Contact: 9818182812