In the 1980s and 1990s, British reggae music developed with the success of artists such as Aswad, Matumbi, UB40 and Maxi Priest who popularized the sound in new stylistic directions. Meanwhile, the bhangra scene was growing across the UK, fusing traditional Punjabi folk music with vibrant electronic hip-hop production. Southall as an area was, of course, one of the genre’s incubators. Soon artists began to combine it with the existing dub influence; Bhangra and dub were mixed together at Punjabi weddings, a fusion of traditions that continues to this day.
“They composed some of the old school bhangra music with live instruments, and they don’t really have a bass guitar, just the kick of the drums to keep it flowing. But when you take a reggae bassline and mix it for a live audience, you get something special, ”says Taranvir. The sounds of two ethnic minorities found a synergy. The earliest and most successful of these hybrid endeavors was producer Bally Sagoo’s 1992 album “Essential Ragga”, which featured a combination of artists from the Caribbean and India singing together authentically, a sonic representation of a multicultural consciousness. The Asian Dub Foundation became known in the same decade, initially through appearances at anti-racism gigs.
Read next: How the Asian Dub Foundation’s Anti-Racism Attitude Connected Generations of British Asians
Inderdeep Ghatora, or Indy, 26 years old, also plays billiards with us. He owns a BMW E30 in cirrus blue metallic from 1987 and is 34 years old. It still has the heated seats from its original design.
“These cars are like time portals,” chuckles Indy, and Taranvir and Rana nods in agreement. “They’ll bring you back to the way it was. The feel of the seats, the smell of the fabric is still the same as it was back then. “
