War goes pop: Protest music rocks US

New York: The Iraq war has become a favourite topic among pop groups in the US. Several new bands are gaining popularity for what is called protest music.

Their music marries punk rock and hip-hop and their influences include Rage Against the Machine, The Clash and the Asian Dub Foundation.

They were the face of protest music at the recent immigration rights rally in New York.

On Saturday night, the band played at CBGB's, the punk rock mecca of New York. The band is Outernational, and very upfront is Sonny Suchdev, who not only does vocals but also plays the trumpet, bongos and dhol, bringing an Indian flavor to their melody.

"All of us in the band brought our histories and our pasts with us. Our drummer is Puerto Rican and there's a lot of Latin influence in our music. Obviously, I'm Indian and grew up listening to Hindi film songs and bhangra in my family's house so that's a part of my heart, a part of who I am. Those elements come through very clearly in our music both melodically and rhythmically," says Sonny Suchdev, Outernational.

What also comes through clearly is the strong political content in what Outernational plays. And that's what band members say their music is about.

"In the world today you have some countries like US, which dominate the rest of the world, and you have the countries that are oppressed, commonly referred to as the Third World. We want to get beyond all this and that's the idea of Outernational," says Miles Solay, Outernational.

While that statement has heavy political riffs, Outernational's output of the musical kind also makes for fun listening.

CBGB is where punk pioneers like The Ramones got their start. And as Outernational plays at this classic New York venue, it may not remain an underground band for long.

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