Strong message, strong grooves

Xenophobia
De>Tri>Mental
Cooking Vinyl through Festival
Reviewed by Sujatha Fernandes Brutal murders, police harassment of young Asian and Black youth, constant stop and searches, and immigration laws that target Asians and Black people are all part of the growing wave of racism in Britain. Fighting back, De>Tri>Mental expresses the sentiment of the anti-racist movement which is emerging in response. De>Tri>Mental are part of a musical tradition in Britain that mobilises the power of lyrics to express opposition to racism. It is a tradition that has its roots in reggae and has been highly influenced by artists such as Bob Marley and Linton Kwesi Johnson. In the '60s, reggae helped to inspire the Rock Against Racism movement in Britain which turned punk into a radical political form and led on to the anti-Thatcher campaigns of the '80s. At a time when the rock scene was dominated by the likes of Eric Clapton and his "Keep Britain White" remarks, David Bowie's nazi salutes and the swastika-wearing punk generation, reggae helped transform the anger and energy in punk music away from a fascist direction, channelling it into progressive politics. Linton Kwesi Johnson followed with the new British reggae. Inspired by the North American Black power poets, he invented "dub poetry", mixing Jamaican patois with a reggae beat. Kwesi Johnson's lyrics were extremely powerful, dealing with police brutality, racist violence, attacks on Asians by the National Front and the Brixton riots. Bad-Sha-Lallaman and Goldfinger of De>Tri>Mental draw on many of the styles that artists like Kwesi Johnson popularised. They also deal with some of the same issues. However De>Tri>Mental want to expand their political consciousness and draw links between struggles around the world, "from the ghettos of Kingston through to Brixton ... from the ghettos of Bombay to the guns of LA." The black people under attack in South Africa share the same struggle against oppression as the people in Lebanon, Palestine and Bosnia. Since Lallaman and Goldfinger split from Fun>Da>Mental their music has evolved politically, away from the simplicity of "White versus Black" analyses to a broader vision of the way in which capitalism victimises both black and white people. By resisting the impulse to elevate skin colour and ignore class, their music has a much greater and broader social relevance. Xenophobia, De>Tri>Mental's debut album, encompasses a range of issues from the way in which young Asian people in Britain are targeted by police in the song "Informer", to the exploitation and oppression of the Third World in "Richman's World". "Sista India" deals with the struggle for women's rights and the need to preserve identity and culture. The contribution of Goldfinger and Lallaman to rap is well recognised and, together with Bassman Raj on bass groove and Peace Man on rhythm, they send out a timely message backed up with strong grooves.