Featuring contributions from a quite formidable cast of trailblazing activists, artists and agitators, including voice of a generation Greta Thunberg, Palestinian shamstep warriors 47Soul, Chilean vocalist and voice of recent protests in Chile, Ana Tijoux, beatboxer and vocal extraordinaire Dub FX, as well as the shrewd UK comedian Stewart Lee, ADF form an unprecedented union of voices unlike any album that has come before.
Tracklist:
CAN’T PAY WON’T PAY
STEALING THE FUTURE
FRONTLINE
ACCESS DENIED
REALIGNMENT
COMING OVER HERE feat. Stewart Lee
HUMAN 47 – feat. 47 Soul
MINDLOCK
SWARM
LOST IN THE SHADOWS
YOUTHQUAKE PART 1 – Greta Speaks
NEW ALIGNMENT
FRONTLINE SANTIAGO – feat. Ana Tijoux
SMASH AND GRAB THE FUTURE – feat. Dub FX
Exactly 25 years on from the group’s landmark debut album Facts and Fictions and comprising key members Steven “Chandrasonic” Savale, Dr. Das, Nathan “Flutebox” Lee, Aktar “Aktavator” Ahmed, Stephen “Ghetto Priest” Townsend and former Prodigy drummer Brian Fairbairn, Asian Dub Foundation are as commanding and vital as ever. Following last year’s reissue of ADF’s seismic 1998 Mercury-Prize nominated third album RAFI’s Revenge (London Records) and the group’s extensive schedule of live dates as well as performances of their much-famed rescore of Mathieu Kassovitz’s cult classic film La Haine, Access Denied sees ADF return to base with their first album proper since 2015’s More Signal, More Noise.
Indo-jungle-punk banger, Stealing The Future rings the lyrics “hands up if you’re a citizen of nowhere and you’re not scared”, a riposte to former UK prime minister.