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Sample Entry - Dub Version
Of all Jamaica's contributions to popular music, arguably none has had greater worldwide impact than the dub version. Indeed, the term 'dub' has become a commonplace, its referent many kinds of instrumental music, particularly in the dance genres of the late 1990s - for example, house and techno. While many of the versioning practises characteristic of reggae involve the re-recording of a song or rhythm track, the term 'dub,' 'dub version' or 'version' refers specifically to a recording engineer's remix of an existing recording. Almost without exception, these remixes highlight the bass and drum of the backing track - sometimes with snippets of the original vocals remaining, usually with the added effects of echo or reverb.
The first remixes began to appear in Jamaica in 1967. As with most innovations in Jamaican popular music, they grew out of the needs and practises of sound systems (mobile discothèques), where exclusive sounds were always at a premium. Some of the remixes were pressed in very limited quantities and played in the dance halls only; others were commercially available. Initially, they were mostly straight instrumentals, commonly featuring the organ as the lead instrument. Remixes displaying more of the engineer's input first emerged in 1968. In 1970, Lynford Anderson mixed the first true 'multitrack' dubs at Dynamic Sounds - including 'Phantom,' the dub version of the Clancy Eccles-produced 'Herbsman' by King Stitt. Around the same time, sound system owner 'Ruddy' Redwood played custom-made instrumental versions of producer Duke Reid's rocksteady classics. The impact in the dance hall was phenomenal. One contributing factor to the success of the remixes was their usefulness in providing rhythm tracks for deejays to talk and toast over. Riding the rhythms of Duke Reid, U Roy effectively launched the toasting phenomenon in 1970. Two years later - now bearing the name 'versions' - they were on the B side of virtually every single released in Jamaica.
Around 1972, the first dub versions to feature more radical alterations of sound appeared. These featured the fading (or cutting) in and out of the various channels, as well as added effects such as echoes, phasers and equalizers. Most accounts credit their design to one man, King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock), an electronics engineer and the owner of a leading sound system, Tubby's Hi Fi. With the support of his friend, producer Bunny Lee, he began to remix not only Lee's rhythms, but also those of other prominent producers of the era, including Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Glen Brown, Augustus Pablo and Carlton Patterson, on a recently acquired four-track mixing board. One of the first discs to credit King Tubby on the label was the 'version' side to Larry Marshall's 'I Admire You,' released as 'Water Gate Rock' in 1974.
Three albums by three different producers vie for the title
of the first dub album: Herman Chin-Loy's Aquarius Dub,
Lee Perry's Blackboard Jungle Dub and Clive Chin's
Java Java Java Java, all released in 1973. A veritable
deluge followed, the quantity of dub albums released by the
end of the 1970s numbering in the hundreds. While dub albums
are often attributed to the producer, the real star is the engineer.
In addition to the renowned King Tubby, important innovators
include Errol 'E.T.' Thompson, Studio One's Sylvan Morris, Lloyd
James ('Prince Jammy,' later 'King Jammy') and Hopeton 'Overton'
Brown ('Scientist').
By most accounts, the dub boom had run its course by 1982, although a number of enthusiasts, particularly in the United Kingdom, have kept the scene alive. Reggae singles have continued to come with a dub version, although it is perhaps fair to say that the practise has become somewhat perfunctory. However, the techniques and recording practises of dub live on most conspicuously in many other styles - not least in the multifaceted genre of drum 'n' bass, as so clearly indicated by its name.
Part of dub's original attraction may have been the relatively
meager technological arsenal of its engineers. Echo came from
tape recorders and reverb was provided by 'spring reverbs' -
all analog equipment. Most of the recordings that define the
style were recorded and mixed on four-track equipment; only
rarely were the additional four or 12 channels of latter-day
studios utilized as well. While dub has occasionally inspired
accounts that border on the metaphysical, the sensation of hearing
a favorite song (or rhythm) stripped to its bass and drum essentials
and played at earth-shattering volume in a dark, crowded dance
hall is in many ways one of the defining experiences of reggae.
Bibliography
Barrow, Steve, and Dalton, Peter. 1997. Reggae: The Rough
Guide. London: Rough Guides Ltd.
Hendley, Dave, and Hurford, Ray. 1987. 'King Tubby in Fine Style.'
In More Axe, ed. Tero Kaski and Ray Hurford. Helsinki
and London: Black Star and Muzik Tree, 91-98.
Potash, Chris, ed. 1997. Reggae, Rasta, Revolution: Jamaican
Music from Ska to Dub. New York: Schirmer Books.
Toop, David. 1996. Ocean of Sound. London: Serpent's
Tail.
Discographical References
Chin, Clive. Java Java Java Java. Impact.
1973: Jamaica.
Chin-Loy, Herman. Aquarius Dub. Aquarius 001. 1973:
Jamaica.
Dynamites, The. 'Phantom.' Dynamite. 1970: Jamaica.
King Stitt. 'Herbsman.' Clan Disc. 1970: Jamaica.
King Tubby. 'Water Gate Rock.' Black & White. 1974:
Jamaica. (B side of Marshall, Larry. 'I Admire You.') Reissue:
King Tubby. 'Watergate Rock.' Larry Marshall Meets King
Tubbys: I Admire You in Dub. Motion FASTCD/LP 0004. 2000:
UK.
Marshall, Larry. 'I Admire You.' Black & White. 1974:
Jamaica. Reissue: Marshall, Larry. 'I Admire You.' I Admire
You. Heartbeat 57. 1992: USA.
Perry, Lee. Blackboard Jungle Dub. Upsetter. 1973:
Jamaica.
Discography
King Tubby. Dub Gone Crazy. Blood and Fire 002. 1994:
UK.
King Tubby. The Dub Organiser. Black Solidarity 57.
2000: UK.
Pablo, Augustus. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown. Yard.
1976: Jamaica.
Roots Dub. Studio One. 1979: Jamaica.
U Roy. Your Ace from Space. Trojan 359. 1995:
UK.
Vital Dub. Well Charge. 1977: Jamaica.
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