Dub music

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This article is about the Jamaican music genre. For other uses of the term Dub, see Dub.
Dub
Stylistic origins: Reggae
Cultural origins: late 1960s, Jamaica
Typical instruments:
Mainstream popularity: mid 1970s through the 1980s
Derivative forms: Dancehall
Fusion genres
Dubtronica

Dub is a form of Jamaican music, which evolved out of reggae in 1960s Jamaica. The dub sound is usually accomplished by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, and adding extensive echo and reverb effects, and occasional snippets of lyrics from the original version.

Contents

[edit] Character

Dub music is characterized as a "version" of an existing song, typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local Sound Systems. The instrumental tracks are typically drenched in sound processing effects such as echo, reverb, part vocal and extra percussion, with most of the lead instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. Another hallmark of the dub sound is the massive low bass. The music sometimes features processed sound effects and other noises, such as birds singing, thunder and lightning, water flowing, and producers shouting instructions at the musicians. It can be further augmented by live DJs.

These versions are mostly instrumental, sometimes including snippets of the original vocal version. Often these tracks are used for "Toasters" rapping heavily-rhymed and alliterative lyrics. These are called "DeeJay Versions". As opposed to hip hop terminology, in reggae music the person with the microphone is called the "DJ", or properly "DeeJay", elsewhere referred to as the "MC." (Abbreviating "Master of Ceremonies," "Microphone Commander" or "Mic Control," this term varies regionially and demographically). Additionally in reggae the person choosing the music and operating the turntables is the "Selector" (elsewhere called the DJ).

A major reason for producing multiple versions was economic: A record producer could use a recording he owned to produce numerous versions from a single studio session. Version was also an opportunity for a producer or remix engineer to experiment and vent their more creative side. The version was typically the B-side of a single, with the A-side dedicated to making a popular hit, and B-side for experimenting and providing something for DJs to talk over. In the 1970s whole albums of dub tracks were produced, often simply the dub version of an existing vocal LP, but sometimes a selection of dubbed up instrumental tracks for which no vocals existed.

[edit] History

Dub music evolved from early instrumental reggae music and "versions" that incorporated fairly primitive reverb and echo sound effects. Errol Thompson engineered the first strictly instrumental reggae album entitled "The Undertaker" by Derrick Harriott and the Crystalites released in 1970. This innovative album credits "Sound Effects" to Derrick Harriott.

Whilst some have tried to attribute the "invention" of dub music to just one person, the facts show that by 1973, instrumental reggae "versions" from various studios had evolved into "dub" as a sub genre of reggae. Through the simultaneous efforts of several independent Jamaican innovators, these competitive engineers and producers worked hard to leapfrog each other with each subsequent dub release with no single person being able to claim all the credit for the origination of "dub" as a genre.

In 1973, at least two producers, Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Aquarius studio engineer/producer team of Herman Chin and Errol Thompson simultaneously recognized that there was an active market for this new "dub" sound and consequently they started to release the first strictly 100% dub albums. Lee Perry released "Blackboard Jungle Dub" in the Spring of 1973. It is considered a landmark recording of this genre.

It was not until 1975 that King Tubby was internationally recognized as the premier dub artist/innovator/producer with the release of his two debut albums "King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub" and "Surrounded By the Dreads at the National Arena". He was then immediately hailed as the leading dub music innovator of the day.

[edit] Recent history

Dub has continued to progress from that point to this, its popularity waxing and waning with changes in musical fashion. Almost all reggae singles still carry an instrumental version on the B-side and these are still used by the sound systems as a blank canvas for live singers and djs.

In the 1980s, Britain became a new center for dub production with Mad Professor and Jah Shaka being the most famous, while Scientist became the heavyweight champion of Jamaican dub. It was also the time when dub made its influence known in the work of harder edged, experimental producers such as Adrian Sherwood and the roster of artists on his On-U Sound label. Many of the bands characterized as post-punk were heavily influenced by dub. More well-known bands such as The Police and UB40 helped popularise Dub with UB40's Present Arms In Dub album being the first ever dub album to hit the UK top 40.

In the 1990s and beyond, dub has been influenced by and in turn influenced techno, jungle, dubstep, drum and bass, house music, trip hop, ambient music, and hip hop, with many electronic dub or dubtronica tracks produced by nontraditional musicians from these other genres. Musicians such as Bill Laswell, Leftfield, Ott, Massive Attack, Bauhaus, The Clash, Killing Joke, PiL, the Disco Biscuits, The Orb, Rhythm & Sound, Pole, Underworld, DeFacto, Sublime, Thievery Corporation, Gorillaz and others demonstrate clear dub influences in their respective genres, and their innovations have in turn influenced the mainstream of the dub genre. In the UK, Europe, Japan and America independent record producers are making dub. There is a Serbian dub band, Black Ark Crew and a Basque dub band Basque Dub Foundation. DJs appeared towards the end of the 1990s who specialised in playing music by these musicians, such as the UK's Unity Dub. Traditional dub has, however, survived (see Iration Steppas and Aba Shanti-I, for example) and some of the originators like Lee Perry and Mad Professor continue to produce new material. One modern dub producer who has received critical acclaim is Ryan Moore, for his Twilight Circus project. In the United States, a recent wave of new bands have adopted dub as their musical focus, including Dub Is A Weapon, best known for backing up Lee Perry during his most recent tours of the US.

[edit] Dub artists

[edit] External links

Reggae
Reggae - Mento - Ska - Blue Beat - Rocksteady - Dub music - Dub poetry - Toasting - Lovers Rock - Dancehall - Ragga - Reggae rock - Reggaetón - Roots reggae - 2 Tone
Reggae genres - Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
Related topics
Jamaica - Haile Selassie - Marcus Garvey - Rastafari - Rude boy - Skinhead - Dancehall (venue) - Dubplate - Jamaican sound system - Sound system (DJ) - Riddim - Jamaican English - Studio One - Trojan Records - Island Records - Coxsone Dodd - Chris Blackwell - Reggae musiciams - Dub artists - Jamaican record producers
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