Dub Music
I. Introduction: A Brief History
Dub music, also referred to as dub reggae, is a sub-genre of reggae that developed soon after reggae itself in Jamaica in the late 1960s and early 1970s[1]. Where reggae music is a form of Jamaican dance music characterized by its off-beat rhythm and unique counterpoint between the bass and down beat of the drum[2], dub music takes pre-existing recordings and heavily modifies them using various studio technique; Often, the recordings would have reverb or echo added to them or even be dubbed with instrumental or vocal samples from the original recording—hence the name “dub music“[1]. In many ways, dub music can be seen as one of the earliest styles of music to experiment with remixing[3].
Most people point to an event in 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica where Rudolph “Ruddy” Redwood went to a studio owned by Duke Reid to record a cover of ‘On the Beach‘ by the Paragons. When one of the engineers pressed the record, he accidentally forgot to add the vocal track leaving the track as an instrumental[3]. Redwood ended up playing this at a party shortly thereafter while his deejay, Wassy toasted (essentially rapped) over the instrumental. The result was a massive success with the party-goers and over the next couple years, dub music exploded throughout Jamaica[4].
II. Notable Artists
Some notable musicians who contributed to dub music are outlined in the following section. As in the previous entries, my goal is to focus primarily on underrepresented, diverse musicians who were largely overlooked—or still are largely overlooked in western culture.
Lee “Scratch” Perry (1936 – 2021)
Perry started out as a record seller at Clement Coxsone Dodd’s sound system in the late 1950s. Perry would record several dozen songs for Dodd’s record label Studio One[5] before he and Dodd had a falling out resulting in Perry leaving the studio to pursue his musical career elsewhere. Perry career his career briefly working with Joe Gibbs in his label, Amalgamated Records[5]. After that relationship eventually soured too, Perry finally formed his own label, Upsetter Records, in 1968; from then until 1972 he would record with his band appropriately named the Upsetters[5]. Perry started to make a name for himself around this time being especially known for his unique approach to music production[6]. While he collaborated with and produced for many other artists throughout his careers, one of the early tracks he produced which perfectly showcases his unique, experimental production style is the 1971 track ‘Mr. Brown‘ by Bob Marley and the Wailers (see video below)[7]. While the Marley has managed to penetrated the western zeitgeist with his countless beloved contributions to reggae and the music world at large, songs like ‘Mr. Brown’ were surely augmented by endlessly innovative dub production techniques by producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry[8].
Reflection on ‘Mr. Brown‘ by Bob Marley and the Wailers (1971):
Pretty much immediately as the song starts and the weird organ-like drone comes in and I hear the laid-back but wacky chord progression overlaid by the static-hiss, I know I’m in for a good time. But once the Wailers and Bob Marley’s vocals come in, I know I’ve found a song I guarantee I’m going to be coming back to. Thinking specifically about the production, I notice that it’s relatively sparce – there’s not a lot going on at one time: you have a single track of organ laying the foundation with decorative piano twinkling overtop. There is little to no percussion present from what I can hear. The song is carried by it’s relaxed vocal melodies by the band but the chord’s played by the organ are slightly unsettling making for a pleasantly unsettling experience. I’ve listened to Bob Marley before, of course, but now, with the context of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s production, at least on this track, I can appreciate what is going on here even more.
Herman Chin-Loy
Best known for his music production work in from the late 1960s through the 1970s, Chin-Loy is a Chinese Jamaican who is another pivotal figure in the dub music scene in Jamaica[9]. He started in the music industry by working for his half-brother, Lloyd A. Chin-Loy, at his record store in Half Way Tree, Kingston, Jamaica in the late ’60s. While he started out in a business role at the record store, he soon developed an interest in music production[10]. In his first new years as a producer, he collaborated with many local reggae artists such as Horace Swaby (AKA Augustus Pablo) who is himself a big name in the history of reggae and dub music in Jamaica. In 1973, Chin-Loy would record and release what is often called one of the first dub albums ever in ‘Aquarius Dub‘[11]; the first track of which, ‘Heavy Duty’, is highlighted below (see video below)[12].
Reflection on ‘Heavy Duty‘ by Herman Chin Loy (1973)
The opening seconds here are instantly engaging with the interesting use of echo and reverb on the vocal sample saying the word “heavy”. As the song goes on, it progresses into one of the smoothest guitar and bass driven instrumentals I have ever heard. It’s distinctly reggae, of course, but there seems to be an emphasis on the bass here as it is very prominent. There is a little more percussion, at least in some parts of the song, than in ‘Mr. Brown’, but the emphasis really seems to be on the bass. Towards the end of the song, some brass comes in for a little flare, but otherwise, this is, like ‘Mr. Brown’, a surprisingly minimalist track in terms of how many layers of instrumentation you hear at one time. It would be interesting to listen to the original recording that was dubbed and edited in-studio and compare it to ‘Heavy Duty’ directly.
Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock (1941 – 1989)
Said to essentially be the inventor of the remix[13], Ruddock, often refered to by his moniker King Tubby, is truly an influential figure in many styles of modern of music production—especially most forms of dance and electronic music[14]. While King Tubby would have a successful career as a mixing engineer, his innovative use of dubbing and other electronic studio techniques were as experimental as it gets. He found his way into the Jamaican music scene in the late 1950s as a talented radio repairman and radio repair shop owner in Kingston, Jamaica. He started working for Duke Reid in 1968 as a disc cutter[15]. In Jamaica at the time, it was common for musical artists to record singles with the main track on the a-side of the 45 RPM disc and an instrumental cut of the track on the b-side. As a disc cutter, this meant that King Tubby would have to “dub out” the vocals of the song to create the instrumental-only version[15]. Through experimentation with faders and other studio techniques, King Tubby found that he could accentuate different frequency ranges over others and use other effects of drastically change the sound of the record[16]. Into the 1970s, King Tubby became one of the most well-known music producers in Jamaica. One of his most well-known works—and one of the best known examples of dub music in general—is the 1974 track ‘King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown‘ by King Tubby and Augustus Pablo (see video below)[17].
Reflection on ‘King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown‘ by King Tubby and Augustus Pablo (1974):
Of the three tracks here, this one might be my personal favourite just for the percussion. The beat is relentlessly chugging along like a train at full throttle and the fills, done with what sound to be some sort of metalic drum (not quite steel drum, I don’t think), are such a neat touch that almost make those sections a little noisy. I also love the reverb / delay effects applied to the harmonica and vocal samples interspersed throughout the track. Speaking of the vocals, I can totally see how this is an early version of what we now call a “remix”. I can very clearly hear how this track was made from an original track and parts were dubbed out and various effects were added to make something totally new. It’s simply a remix that was way ahead of its time. I’ll definitely be coming back to King Tubby’s work in the future.
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