This article looks at the youth musical cultures of bhangra and Asian underground
alongside wider societal shifts relating to British Asian youth in recent decades. The
article first examines previous youth studies research, primary media source material
and data from qualitative interviews; it then looks at these twin hybrid musically expressive
forms fusing Indian instrumentation and fashion which have been principally
produced by second-generation British-born youth of Asian origin ? a group who have
hitherto not been particularly noteworthy in either UK pop lore or youth studies. The
data presented in the main body of the article are based on a number of semi-structured
interviews in which the subjects? own discursive framing of, and qualitative
reasons for, their actions and reactions to events and cultural products are given. The
fieldwork was carried out at various bhangra and Asian underground musical events in
London and Manchester, allowing a longitudinal picture to develop of British Asian
music and its place in the representations and realities of Asian youth. |