Biography
Born in Yemen as Mohammed Aktar Ali, this DJ and producer spent his formative years in east London, where he soaked up diverse musical influences from multiple cultures. His Urdu name translates as scoundrel or black sheep. While employed by a reggae label supplying sound systems and PAs to clubs, he encountered dance music and started DJing. Alongside his brother he operated the Walthamstow pirate station Ali FM, later spinning house sets at Labyrinth. This path led him to produce his own material; under the alias Easy Mo he issued several house recordings on his Pure Vibes imprint. By the mid-90s his focus shifted to drum ’n’ bass, prompting a signing with Outcaste Records and a series of projects that drew on his multicultural roots. The promo “I Am That Type Of Badmarsh” preceded his contributions to Nitin Sawhney’s 1996 sophomore album Displacing The Priest and the well-received Differences EP, issued stateside on Ubiquity Records. He then partnered with multi-instrumentalist Shri on the 1998 album Dancing Drums, merging funky, dense breakbeats and dub-inflected grooves with traditional Indian instrumentation and Shri’s agile bass lines. Certain cuts, including the re-imaginings of Ananda Shankar’s “Dancing Drums,” incorporated Indian-inflected melodies, whereas “Gharana” and “130 Steps” emphasised rhythm and percussion. The record also contained a notable interpretation of the Dave Pyke Set’s late-60s sitar-driven “Mathar,” and its title track appeared on Outcaste’s Untouchable Outcaste Beats compilation. Concurrently Badmarsh maintained a solo presence, issuing the follow-up Outcaste promo “I Am That Type Of Badmarsh II.” Their second joint effort, the May 2001 release Signs, assembled a set of tracks less anchored in drum ’n’ bass and featured guest spots from Apache Indian and Kathryn Williams.