Dub music

Dub is a form of Jamaican music, which developed in the early 1970s.

Related Topics:
Jamaican music - 1970s

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Dub is characterized as a "version" of an existing song, typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local Sound Systems. The instrumental tracks are typically drenched in sound processing effects, with most of the lead instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. The music sometimes features processed sound effects and other noises, such as animal sounds, babies crying, and producers shouting instructions at the musicians.

Related Topics:
Sound Systems - Sound effect

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These versions are mostly instrumental, sometimes including snippets of the original vocal version. Often these tracks are used for "Toasters" rapping heavily-rhymed and alliterative lyrics. These are called "DeeJay Versions". As opposed to hip hop terminology, in reggae music the person with the microphone is called the "DJ" (elsewhere called the "MC", for master of ceremonies), while the person choosing the music and operating the turntables is the "Selector" (elsewhere called the DJ).

Related Topics:
Toasters - Reggae - Master of ceremonies - DJ

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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. Version was also an opportunity for a producer or remix engineer to experiment and vent their more creative side. The version was typically the B-side of a single, with the A-side dedicated to making a popular hit, and B-side for experimenting and providing something for DJs to talk over.

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See in particular the works of King Tubby, who is widely recognized as the originator of dub music, although some (including himself) claim that Lee Perry was the inventor of this genre. Other significant artists include: Errol Thompson, Prince Jammy, Keith Hudson and Augustus Pablo, who produced some of the very best in dub music in the 1970s.

Related Topics:
King Tubby - Lee Perry - Errol Thompson - Prince Jammy - Keith Hudson - Augustus Pablo - 1970s

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In the 1980s, Britain became a new center for dub production with Mad Professor and Jah Shaka being the most famous, while Scientist became the heavyweight champion of Jamaican dub. It was also the time when dub made its influence known in the work of harder edged, experimental producers such as Adrian Sherwood and the roster of artists on his On-U Sound label.

Related Topics:
1980s - Britain - Mad Professor - Jah Shaka - Scientist - Jamaica - Adrian Sherwood - On-U Sound

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In the 1990s and beyond dub has been influenced by and in turn influenced techno, jungle, drum and bass, house music, trip hop, ambient music, and hip hop, with many electronic dub tracks produced by nontraditional musicians from these other genres. Musicians such as Massive Attack, Bauhaus, The Clash, PiL, The Orb, Rhythm & Sound, Pole, Underworld and others demonstrate clear dub influences in their respective genres, and their innovations have in turn influenced the mainstream of the dub genre. DJs appeared towards the end of the 1990s who specialised in playing music by these musicians, such as the UK's Unity Dub. Traditional dub has, however, survived (see Aba Shanti-I, for example) and some of the originators like Lee Perry and Mad Professor continue to produce new material.

Related Topics:
1990s - Techno - Jungle - Drum and bass - House music - Trip hop - Ambient - Hip hop - Massive Attack - Bauhaus - The Clash - PiL - The Orb - Rhythm & Sound - Underworld - Lee Perry - Mad Professor

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