WOMAD

Fun^Da^Mental

From United Kingdom

An audio-visual barrage of amphetamine intensity, Fun^Da^Mental hit the stage and explode into a tumbling ball of fury that takes on all-comers with its inspired invective. Asian roots are enthusiastically slung into the culture blender with high octane samples, and the fiery cocktail that results sears its way into the audience's minds. The core line-up of sampler manipulator Aki Nawaz and hyper-active rapper Impi D is supplemented by a gloriously diverse range of additional players. Sometimes a powerful Sikh appears, pounding away on a dhol, other times the violin of master musician Nawazish sails serenely through the sonic tempest. At the Barbican Global Spirit festival, the stage suddenly filled with the thundering roar of some 20 young whirling dervishes from the London Dhol Foundation. Continually mutating, Fun^Da^Mental have one constant aim - to confront and expose the insidious crime of racism. Their uncompromising approach peaks with the track, 'Dog Tribe'. The venomous reptilian sound of a National Front bigot spewing his bile onto their answerphone tears through the air with its message of hate and hangs there fleetingly as a grim warning before being swept aside by the outrage it unleashes. Albums, 'Seize the Time', 'With Intent to Pervert the Cause of Injustice' and the varied re-mixes of 'Mother India' give the opportunity to watch the sparks fly out of your stereo, but the experience is most powerful in the flesh, where their raw, vital energy flows most freely.