Diaspora and the Spaces of the London Urban Asian Music Scene
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The London School of Economics and Political Science ‘Desis Doing it Like This’: Diaspora and the Spaces of the London Urban Asian Music Scene Helen Kim A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, March 2011 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 Abstract My thesis examines the complex, fractured and diverse spaces of Asian cultural production in London, highlighting the immensely creative work in this area of popular music. The creation of these spaces presents new and different ideas about the self, and, furthermore, what it means to be young, Asian cultural producers in Britain and beyond. I conducted 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in which I collected interviews and engaged in participant observation in London’s various Asian music spaces - primarily at club nights, but also video shoots, album launches and music shows (large and small) throughout the city. Through ethnographic research, this thesis challenges and adds to the existing knowledge of Asian diasporic cultural production in the UK through the investigation of lived experience of diaspora. In stressing the knowledge that arrives out of everyday interactions this thesis seeks to go beyond the textual and theoretical in understanding diasporic music cultures. Furthermore the thesis explores how the everyday strategies produced within this Asian scene present a clear break from simplistic models of resistance that still forms the dominant reading of youth cultures. I argue that cultural production cannot be identified simply as a site for resistance or accommodation, nor are these Asian cultural producers following a strict binary model of authenticity or commodification. The findings suggest that these Asian music spaces are where young Asians actively engage in and create different and alternative ways of being that move away from ‘official’ constructions of Asians available in media and public debates. Moreover, Asian identities that are forged in these Asian music spaces are complex and contradictory, inclusive and exclusive. I argue that the cultural politics within the scene around representation, identity and production rely on both progressive, open, shifting and contingent definitions and boundaries of ethnic identity and forms of belonging while, at the same time, often impose or reinforce closed, exclusive, static and conservative notions of identity, nation, and gender. 3 Acknowledgements There are a number of people I would like to thank, without whom I would not have been able to complete my thesis. I would first like to thank my doctoral supervisor, Claire Alexander for all her generous support and firm (but loving) guidance given throughout the years. There are no words to express how grateful I am to you. I would also like to thank Mentor, Arika, Surindher, Dishi, Amrita, Mandeep, Ashanti and Gee for their insights and for kindly sharing their time, stories, and contacts with me. I am grateful to the Department of Sociology at the LSE for partly funding my research, and for subsidizing conferences, travel, etc. I am also grateful to the University of London for funding my fieldwork research and paying for all the club entrance fees. I am also grateful to Rachel, Malcolm, Victoria, Jesse and Richard for all the times I made you read my chapters and the amazing input and feedback you all have given. I would like to give additional thanks to the entire SO 201 research room crew for providing positive and sympathetic vibes over the years. Lastly, I would like to give a very special thanks to my family and friends for all their support and encouragement. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my father, Kyoung Sun Kim. 4 Table of Contents Chapter 1:Introduction ................................................................................................. 7 Setting the ‘scene’ ................................................................................................................ 7 Turning Toward Scenes ...................................................................................................... 10 Diaspora, Identity and ‘Desiness’ ....................................................................................... 15 Bhangra and Beyond: Politics of the Scene, Representation and Space ........................... 18 Chapter Summaries ............................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 2:Literature Review ...................................................................................... 27 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 27 ‘Talking About My Generation’ - Youth, Consumption and Subculture Studies................ 28 ‘Post’ Subcultures .......................................................................................................... 30 The elision of ‘race’ gender and sexuality in youth culture studies .............................. 32 Rastaman -Youth, ‘Race’ and Crime................................................................................... 33 Space, the Urban and Asian Scene..................................................................................... 39 Space, identity and diaspora .......................................................................................... 39 Regulating Bodies, Governing Space.............................................................................. 43 South Asian Popular Culture .............................................................................................. 46 Chapter 3:Don’t Talk, Just Dance : Fieldwork in da Club and Elsewhere ................ 51 Club Sites and Fieldwork .................................................................................................... 57 Gatekeepers and Information Sources .............................................................................. 63 Interviews........................................................................................................................... 66 Outsiders—Race, Gender and Ethnographic Work: The Politics of Doing Ethnography ... 70 ‘Doing’ Gender ................................................................................................................... 74 What’s in a Name? Positionality and Ethics ...................................................................... 79 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 83 Chapter 4:Who Are You Calling Radical? Politics and Religion and the Asian Scene Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 86 Asian/Muslim Youth as Radicalized ‘Dangerous’ Formations ........................................... 87 ‘Fear of Small Numbers’ ..................................................................................................... 92 ‘We’re Just Like Everyone Else’ - Identifying with the majority ......................................... 99 The Power of Consumption ............................................................................................. 110 Chapter 5:Diasporic Dealings .................................................................................. 123 Diasporic Dimensions ....................................................................................................... 125 How ‘desi’ is ‘desi’? Constructing a ‘desi’ identity in the UK ........................................... 128 ‘I’m Reppin’ ‘Desi’’ ....................................................................................................... 130 5 Dissing ‘Desi’ ................................................................................................................ 136 We call them ‘coconuts’: Music, Identity and Authenticity ............................................. 143 Music, Popular Culture and ‘Coconuts’........................................................................ 147 Home’ and Away: Thoughts on the location of ‘Back Home’ .......................................... 154 Belonging, Place and ‘back home’ ............................................................................... 156 ‘Homing’ London .......................................................................................................... 161 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 166 Chapter 6:Bombay Bronx, Cultural Producers and the Asian Urban Scene ........... 168 Introduction(s) ................................................................................................................. 169 Cultural Production and Bombay Bronx .........................................................................