Dub of Asia

by Don SnowdenFor all the Bollywood hullabaloo, first-wave bhangra DJs like Bally Sagoo came of age in late-'80s England, when ragga and Jamaican-rooted dub were major across-the-board influences on urban musical youth. Dub of Asia, the first release on Sagoo's own ISHQ label, shows that reggae variants are a crucial part of his equation, as Sagoo fuses Indians instruments and voices with dub sound-science studio techniques. You could mistake "Awaaz Dub Ke" for an Adrian Sherwood/Dub Syndicate track until Badan Ali Khan's vocal kicks in, and "Salaam Dub" is a good indicator of how deep basslines hold the whole shebang together, the essential fulcrum around which the music revolves. But it's the combination of elements at his disposal that gives Sagoo a distinct sound; Sherwood or Bill Laswell may employ tablas or other Indian elements in their dub technique, but they're not an intrinsic, central component in flavoring the riddims, as they are with Sagoo. Half the songs are dubs of material from his Columbia album Rising From the East and "Funky Rickshaw Dub" is a pretty good example of the way he mixes together all the various musical weapons at his disposal. "Bandit of Dub" starts out with a pure Jamaican pulse, then drops in a house keyboard hook before venturing into dub world -- Sagoo knows how to orchestrate and he's less about subtracting stuff than cannily adding things. A heavy guitar blitz breaks up the gentle lilt of the lush "Scent of the Exotic," "Easter Dub" makes particularly good use of Shabnam Majid's female vocals, and "Bad Munda Dub" throws together soul horn blasts, Badan Ali Khan's vocals, and some nonsensical DJing from one Jucky Ranks. Dub of Asia shows that Sagoo possess both a great dub sensibility and a full command of the creative techniques that extend beyond compelling dance grooves. It leaves the overall feeling of going on a continuous sonic voyage more than individual songs, which is pretty much what you look for in a dub underground CD, a measure of the success Bally Sagoo achieves on Dub of Asia.