Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines contemporary debates surrounding the articulation of ethnicity in the UK, paying particular attention to the experiences of Asian people. It focuses on the specific experiences of migration and settlement in the post-war period and examines subsequent attempts to construct 'authentic' discourses of identity and belonging. The book looks at the post-war history of Asian influences and involvement in popular music in the UK. It focuses on the pressures brought to bear on Asian musicians by the "burden of representation", from both commercial and 'community' sources. The book analyses a range of influences that were significant in the emergence of Asian bands in the 1990s and examines the combination of traditional Asian, global and Western influences that have combined to produce new, syncretic manifestations of cultural expression and identity.