5 minutes on the history of dub music

The Heart and Soul of Jamaica.

We look to music as a mode of ecstasy and transportation, a way to experience new cultures and ideas, and very few succeed at this like Jamaican Dub music. Rich in culture and history and a genuine love for music and expression, Jamaican Dub music has had an enormous impact on contemporary music and music culture. Including electronic dance music.

This is why it's so important to educate yourself about it.

That's why we've created this in-depth article: to help guide you through everything from the definition to this history of the significance of Jamaican Dub music.

So, sit down and light up - we're about to take a stroll through the birth and life of Jamaican Dub music.

What Is Jamaican Dub Music?

If you're looking for a short description, Jamaican Dub music is a form of electronic dance music that grew out of traditional reggae in the late 60s before flourishing in the 70s. It revolves around the innovation of pre-existing records through the editing and remixing process.

However, the history of dubbing begins long before the rise of Jamaican Dub music and learning more about it can be beneficial.

If you're a fan of foreign television shows, you're probably already familiar with the term dub, which is an abbreviation for double.

As used about the recording material, dub appears a lot earlier in history than your favorite anime or K-drama, however. We trace the term back into the Roaring 20s when silent movies were made not so silent by layering a soundtrack over the visual clips.

Stay with us now - this is all-important to understand what precisely Jamaican Dub music is.

In a way, Jamaican Dub music is the innovation of music that already defines the music culture. We can trace the origins of this genre into the earlier 60s, where a process that involves taking old songs and copying them onto exclusive software for use, usually acetate discs that were later known as dubplates, became popular. Most of these songs were reggae, which is why dub is considered to have grown out of reggae (you'll recognize this if you've ever heard your children bopping along to a remix of a song you loved back in high school).

At the end of the 60s, dub music truly formed when these dubplates began to be edited. In a music scene always craving novelty, these new mixes, which had either all or some of the voices mixed out, became the holy grail of sound. Innovation led to self-expression, and Jamaican Dub music swept through the nations, which we'll talk more about further down below.

what was the first Jamaican dub album or track?

“Pop a Top” was compiled by the amazing producer Linford Anderson AKA Andy Capp (yes, after the famous comic strip character) in 1968 and self-released in 1969, making it one of the earliest Dub tracks that can be easily found. Andy Capp founded the Upset Record label with Lee Scratch Perry in 1967.

And, Lee “Scratch” Perry’s release of “Blackboard Jungle” in 1973 which he worked on with King Tubby is considered a critical point for Dub. King Tubby is said to have been the style’s accidental creator. Either way, he and Perry played a major role in defining the genre through its early years. The track Phantom by Clancy Eccles and The Dynamites is also synonymous with being “Dub” before it was Dub and should not be missed. The story of Ruddy Redwood and the dub mistake is also a pivotal story in the evolution of Dub as well as Hip Hop!

Another early album to be recorded with the intention of actually being in the Dub style is “Pick a Dub” by Keith Hudson in 1974.

The Characteristics of a Typical Jamaican Dub Music Song

As we see above, dub music, through its innovation and creativity, shares one common characteristic: each song is a version (or double) of a pre-existing melody. Most of the time, these pre-existing songs are instrumentals, giving the sound system more creative freedom in creating a unique sound.

Versions are alternative cuts of a song made specifically for the deejay to toast over. If you're not familiar with Jamaican music, toasting is a form of Jamaican rap. These alternative cuts rely heavily on instrumentals, specifically those that emphasize the drum and bass lines. The versions are then used as the foundation of the new Jamaican Dub music, which is recording new elements from the sound system. You'll also find that these new tracks feature heavy sound effects such as echo, reverberation, and instrumental and vocal mixes and cuts. This characteristic, in particular, is one reason Jamaican Dub music is often grouped with Afrofuturisitc music.

While Jamaican Dub music is a form of electronic music, that doesn't mean it's entirely removed from nature. You'll often see that it features other, more natural noises, such as birds singing, thunder and lightning, and water flowing.

The result is music that feels organic, even though it is being created through electronic synthesizers and mixers. This feeling of naturalness and organic aesthetic is increased by the deejay's live and often impromptu toasting or speaking over the track.

The Jamaican Dub Music Culture and Scene

One of the biggest parts of the Jamaican Dub music culture and scene is the Jamaican sound system and sound clash. They're the ones you thank for this culturally and historically rich music genre.

The Jamaican sound system refers to the individual or team of people who produce the music. It also refers to their sound equipment, which can include things such as a turntable or PA system, or speakers. The Jamaican sound system is the heart and soul (or Soul if you want to talk about the blends of reggae and American soul music that helped dub grow) of the Jamaican dub music scene.

One of the most critical roles within the sound system (the Jamaican sound system, that is! Be careful not to mix this up with an American sound system, which can mean things like stereos and speakers) is the deejay. Unlike the American DJ, who chooses the songs, the Jamaican deejay brings life to them. They're the ones to speak over the records, innovating them and reinventing them with their twists.

However, the American DJ isn't nonexistent in the sound system.

You'll find them nestled into a role known as the Selector, who selects the tracks as the name implies.

In a music genre derived from a country rich in history and culture, it's no surprise that Jamaican Dub music's fashion represents that bright individuality. While Jamaican Dub music's style can and does dip into aspects of self-expression, it represents more than any national pride by highlighting some of the keystone symbols of the country, especially regarding colors. It is also heavily influenced by the culture and fashion of the era and its parent genre, reggae.

Bright yellows, greens, and reds are featured in almost every outfit, highlighted by the sharp contrasts of darker colors like black. As a form of electronic music, which relies on dance and movement, clothes' looser styles are important. Track jackets, bare chests for men, and baggier pants were common, as were hats. While much of the style had been modernized from its reggae roots, significant articles of clothing like the Rasta hat reappeared in the Jamaican Dub music scene.

The Popularity of Jamaican Dub Music

Like the memorandum (I bet you haven't heard that name in a while), traditional Jamaican Dub music hasn't so much as disappeared from popular music as it has evolved. In a genre born from innovation, it should come as no surprise that Jamaican dub had laid the groundwork for several genres still enjoyed today.

Many of these innovations can be seen in the 80s, such as Mute Beat's experimental work of creating dub from live instruments. It's seen mostly in the United Kingdom, which became the new powerhouse of dub music production such as Mikey Dread, Mad Professor, and Jah Shaka.

In contemporary times, we can see Jamaican Dub music reemerging in the forms of dubtronica.

Jamaican Dub music's popularity in its many forms has made it clear that this music genre is the parent of much of the music we continue to enjoy in today's day and age, with references and influences popping up in a wide variety of contemporary music genres.

The Impact of Jamaican Dub Music

We can thank Jamaican Dub music for much of our music scene today. However, the impact of the music genres goes so much deeper than that.

Jamaican is a country rich in culture and history. However, when it first gained independence from Britain in the early 1960s, it'd lost some of its individuality.

Like most things in their midlife, Jamaican underwent an identity crisis.

However, Jamaican Dub helped unite the new emerging cultures and brought together one unified music scene that was undeniably rich in Jamaica's culture and innovative genius. The Jamaican sound system and the formation of Jamaican Dub gave the newly independent country another layer of depth to its national identity, one that took the rest of the world by storm.