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.
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