Dub & Reggae

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Why I set up Dub & Reggae

My brother is James, the lead guitarist of Dubconscious, an Athens, GA reggae/dub jam band. He introduced me to the music and I can't stop listening.

Personally, I prefer dub to reggae, because it doesn't typically include vocals, and I enjoy the experimentation, effects, and atmospheric sound. That said, I probably haven't heard the best of reggae, so jump to the discussion board and tell me what I'm missing!

Enjoy! Chris, aka Dubman

What is dub?

Dub is the 1970s flower child of Jamaican reggae music. Reggae 45 RPM singles' b-sides were typically provided without vocals, which could then be tweaked with reverbs, echoes, samples, and overlays, resulting in textured, rhythmic, instrumental melodies called versions.

Versions initially done for both creative and economic reasons: they didn't require extra studio sessions and they required invention and experimentation in order to create something new from existing tracks. The first vocal-free reggae album was "The Undertaker," released in 1970 and engineered by Errol Thompson, with music and sound effects by Derrick Harriott and the Crystalites.

Throughout the early 1970s, reggae studios began competing with each other, releasing progressively more innovative versions. In 1973, Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Blackboard Jungle Dub," a seminal dub-only album, marked the beginning of dub's recognition as a distinct musical genre. In the mid-1970s King Tubby released "Surrounded By the Dreads at the National Arena" and "King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub," becoming dub's premier musician, producer, and innovator.

Dub tracks are really just remixed versions of existing reggae songs, and generally emphasize the drum and bass components of the music, using the other instruments as accents. In live performances, selectors can remix the music and DJs can toast and rap along with the music. (Versions with live vocals are called "DJ Versions".) Many reggae singles still include B-side instrumental versions.

More info available at Wikipedia's dub music page.

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