Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 2. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordingsChris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press, 2006 () created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section (the stripped-down drum-and-bass track is sometimes referred to as a riddim), the application of studio effects such as delay and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.Michael Veal (2013), Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae, pages 26–44, "Electronic Music in Jamaica", Wesleyan University Press.
Dub was pioneered by recording engineers and producers such as Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Hopeton "Scientist" Brown, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Errol Thompson and others beginning in the late 1960s. Augustus Pablo, who collaborated with many of these producers, is credited with bringing the distinct-sounding melodica to dub, and is also among the pioneers and creators of the genre. Similar experiments with recordings at the mixing desk outside the dancehall scene were also done by producers Clive Chin and Herman Chin Loy.Larkin, Colin: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, These producers, especially Ruddock and Perry, looked upon the mixing console as an instrument, manipulating tracks to come up with something new and different. The Roland Space Echo was widely used by dub producers in the 1970s to produce echo and delay effects.
Dub has influenced many genres of music, including rock, most significantly the subgenre of post-punk and other kinds of punk,Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 3. pop,Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 4. hip-hop, post-disco, and later house,Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 1. techno, ambient, electronic dance music,Roy Shuker (2012), Popular Music Culture: The Key Concepts, pages 117–118, Routledge. and trip hop. Dub was a basis for the genres of jungle and drum and bass, as well as a major influence on dubstep, with its orientation around bass and utilization of audio effects.Living through pop, p. 107.Discographies: dance music, culture and the politics of sound, p. 79.Multi-Ethnic Britain 2000+: New Perspectives in Literature, Film and the Arts, p. 263. Traditional dub has survived, and some of the originators such as Mad Professor continue to produce new material.
Name The use of the word dub in a recording context originated in the late 1920s with the advent of "talking pictures" and referred to adding a soundtrack to a film; it is an informal abbreviation of the word double. Over the next 40 years or so the term found its way into audio recording in general, often in the context of making a copy of a recording on another tape or disc.
It was in this sense that the term was first used in the Jamaican recording industry: new recordings were often initially copied onto one-off acetate discs, known colloquially as soft waxSteve Barrow, sleeve notes of "Dub Gone Crazy", Blood And Fire Records, BAFCD 002, February 1994. or dub and later as dubplates, for exclusive use by sound system operators; playing a song as an exclusive recording on a sound system was a good way for a producer to test the potential popularity of a recording before committing to the pressing of hundreds or thousands of copies of singles for retail sale. Initially, these acetates would simply be the standard recording of a song that was yet to be released on a single; around 1968–69, however, they started to be exclusive mixes with some or all of the vocal mixed out. Producer Bunny Lee notes: Yeah... it was really VERSION those days it wasn't dub yet beca' it was jus' the riddim. One day an incident: Ruddy's (sound system operator Ruddy Redwood) was cutting dub, an when it start, Smithy (recording engineer Byron Smith) look like 'im start bring on the voice and Ruddy's say: no, mek it run and 'im take the whole backing track off it. 'Im say, alright, run it again, and put in the voice. 'Im didn't do no more like that yet.
After describing how Redwood then had his deejay first play the vocal version and then the instrumental version at a dance, and how popular this novelty was, Lee continued: The next day now, 'im start it and just bring in the riddim. Or... down in the tune, bring a little voice and drop it out again... yes. Ruddy use to handle that part himself, drop in the voice and drop it out. All Smithy do was cut the dub...
Jamaican soundsystems had always sought exclusive recordings from their origins in the late 1940s. However, when they played American rhythm & blues records through the 1950s, these were simply records that rival sound system operators didn't have and couldn't identify. This progressed from the late 1950s onwards via having local musicians record a song exclusively for play on a particular sound system to having exclusive mixes of a song on acetate, which became possible with the arrival of multi-track recording in Jamaica. From the concept of a version with some or all of the vocal mixed out dubbed to acetate, the novelty-hungry sound system scene rapidly drove the evolution of increasingly creative mixes in the first few years of the 1970s. Within a few years the term dub became attached to these regardless of whether they were on an exclusive acetate or "dubplate". As the use of the term widened and evolved, Bob Marley and the Wailers used the order "dub this one!" in live concerts to mean, "put an emphasis on bass and drums". Drummer Sly Dunbar similarly points to a usage of the related term dubwise to mean using only drums and bass.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 62.
It is possible that the existing use of the word dub for other meanings in Jamaica around the time of the music's origin may have helped to cement its use in the musical context. The most frequent meanings referred to either a form of erotic dance or sexual intercourse;Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p. 61. such usage is frequently present in names of reggae songs, for instance, of the Silvertones' "Dub the Pum Pum" (where pum pum is Jamaican slang for female genitalia), Big Joe and Fay's "Dub a Dawta" ( is Jamaican patois for daughter). I-Roy's "Sister Maggie Breast" features several references on sex: I man a-dub it on the side Say little sister you can run but you can't hide Slip you got to slide you got to open your crotches wide Peace and love abide
However, all three of these songs were recorded after the use of dub for a style of remixing was already prevalent.
Characteristics
According to David Toop, "Dub music is like a long echo delay, looping through time...turning the rational order of musical sequences into an ocean of sensation."
Dub music is characterized by a "version" or "double" of an existing song, often instrumental, initially almost always pressed on the B-sides of Jamaican 45-rpm records and typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local sound systems. A "version" is an alternative cut of a song made for the DJ to "toast" over (a form of Jamaican rapping), usually with some or all of the original vocal removed. These "versions" were used as the basis of new songs by rerecording them with new elements. The instrumental tracks are typically treated with sound effects such as echo, reverb, with instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. The partial or total removal of vocals and other instruments tends to emphasise the bass guitar. The music sometimes features 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. The many-layered sounds with varying echoes and volumes are often said to create soundscapes, or sound sculptures, drawing attention to the shape and depth of the space between sounds as well as to the sounds themselves. There is usually a distinctly organic feel to the music, even though the effects are electronically created.
Often these tracks are used for "toasters" rapping heavily rhymed and alliterative lyrics. These are called "DJ Versions". In forms of sound system–based reggae, the performer using a microphone is referred to as the "DJ" or "deejay" (where in other genres, this performer might be termed the "MC", meaning "Master of Ceremonies", or alternately, the later developed slang terms: "Microphone Commander" or "Mic Control"), and the person choosing the music and operating the turntables is called the "selector" (sometimes referred to as the DJ in other genres).
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. A version was also an opportunity for a producer or remix engineer to experiment and express their more creative side. The version was typically the B-side of a single, and used for experimenting and providing something for DJs to talk over, while the A-side was more often dedicated to the original vocal-oriented track. In the 1970s, LPs of dub tracks began to be produced; these could be, variously: a collection of new dub mixes of riddims previously used on various singles, usually by a single producer; the dub version of an existing vocal LP with dub mixes of all the tracks; or, least commonly, a selection of previously unissued original riddims mixed in a dub style.
History
Dub music and toasting introduced a new era of creativity in reggae music. From their beginning, toasting and dub music developed together and influenced each other. The development of sound system culture influenced the development of studio techniques in Jamaica,Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae. and the earliest DJs, including Duke Reid and Prince Buster among others, were toasting over instrumental versions of reggae and developing instrumental reggae music.Cut 'n' mix: culture, identity, and Caribbean music, p. 83.
"Versions" and experiments with studio mixing (late 1960s)