** This interview was recorded on March 10, 2016 **
DR DAS
https://drdas.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/dr-das
Dr Das is the bassist and co-founder of Asian Dub Foundation. As an independent producer and remixer, he has developed a reputation for creating Dub that is heavy, militant and fiercely anti-exoticist. He describes his approach as “dubnoiz” and always features his emotive, cyclical bass melodies in a tense, shifting environment of alien noise and distorted percussion - inspired by Muslimgauze, early On-U Sound, 70s Miles Davis and Underground Resistance.
He has released three dubnoiz albums to date: “Emergency Baselines” (VU Recordings) in 2006, "Preparing 4 War” in 2014 and “Outsider Dub” in 2015, the latter two on Bandcamp.
His interest in experimental dance music goes back to when was an art student in the 80s. Even though he listened to punk and reggae, he started making music more influenced by bands like 23 Skidoo, Pink Industry, Portion Control and Severed Heads, using percussion, metal percussion, drum machines and tape loops. Later on, he played congas at warehouse parties along with the DJs and this exposure to acid house encouraged him to move towards a more electronic sound. He was still heavily into Dub, especially On-U sound and African Head charge, and realised dub could be a framework to hold all these sounds together, with the bass acting as a kind of ‘glue.’
And so he formed the idea of “dub/noise” and the first time this was realised was with Headspace, a project he started with Chandrasonic (ADF's guitarist) in 1988. It was during this period, he learnt to sample and how to use electronics in a live situation. This formed the foundation for the future ADF.
Dr Das started teaching with Community Music, London in 1990 and it was here in 1993 that he formed ADF with DJ Pandit G and MC Deeder after music technology workshops.
Pandit G introduced Dr Das to the music of Muslimgauze in 2000. He was blown away by the sound of distorted tablas and darbourkas and started his own experiments, putting loops through a RAT distortion pedal and Zoom ST244 sampler and then playing baselines on top. He knew he had found the sound he was looking for. In 2002 he started work on his first dubnoiz album. The US were about invade Iraq and so this became the sound and name of the project: “Preparing 4 War.”
Dr Das left ADF 2006 and saw it as an opportunity to return to the experimental music he was so keen to play. He immediately released “Emergency Basslines” on VU Recordings (preferring this set to Preparing 4 War, as the music was more fresh at the time). Preparing 4 War was finally released in 2014 (after he had rejoined ADF) but by this time, Dr Das’s production skills were considerably better. “Outsider Dub” came out the following year, the name being partly a reference to the fact that this music was generally not accepted by the 'dub scene' as being too experimental and aggressive.
As well developing as a producer, Dr Das always remained committed to his bass, and learnt to play lines that were more minimal, more “Zen,” to provide a contrast to the movement of the noise elements, but keeping a strong melody. The bass guitar provided a massive organic element to differentiate it from other electronic music.
Dr Das has performed with Dubnoiz Sound System internationally (live bass with Bantu on electronics) , including the US, UK, Colombia and India. Though he is now back with ADF, he spends all his spare moments writing fresh material and a new dubnoiz album will be released next year. (There is also an indian electronic distortion raga album waiting on a hard drive to be mixed.)
