Roots Manoeuvres
In my debut for The Fence, I wrote about my tumble down the rabbit hole of Heathrow's intergenerational dub reggae dance scene
In October 2023 I wrote in these pages about how, that summer, I tumbled down a nostalgic rabbit hole of bass music in west London suburbia, culminating in the now-legendary occasion of Boiler Room: Southall.
Ever since then, I’ve been attending regular dub reggae dances held at Brook House F.C in Hayes. My monthly tradition is to yam a tandoori mixed grill and some pints of lager at a desi pub with some friends, then head over to Brook House to march to bass lines.
In my latest piece for Issue 23 of The Fence magazine, I wrote about the roots, survival and vibrancy of this hyperlocal subculture. It’s a story of postcolonial migration, a cultural cross-pollination that took place between Punjabis and Jamaicans on Southall’s picket lines and dance floors in Thatcher’s Britain, and the intergenerational legacy of the late, great Jah Shaka.
Shout out to DJ Kullar of Roots Youths Records and Rana and Taran of Vedic Roots for sharing their memories and creating some of my favourite musical moments of recent years.
You can order your copy to read it in print — The Fence is an excellent magazine full of quirky, well-written stories about British life — or read it online here.
