Dub

Putting The Science Into Music

Dub developed in Jamaica during the late 1960s and early 1970s from instrumental versions of reggae recordings. Producers and engineers began removing or reducing vocals, emphasising drums and bass, and reshaping existing tracks through mixing-desk effects.

King Tubby became one of the style's central innovators by treating the recording studio itself as a creative instrument. Lee "Scratch" Perry, Errol Thompson, Scientist and other engineers expanded the approach through echo, reverb, filtering, tape delay and sudden shifts in volume or arrangement.

Dub recordings often exposed individual instruments before bringing them back into the mix, creating dramatic shifts in rhythm, texture and space. These techniques turned familiar songs into genuinely new versions, rather than simple instrumental copies.

Sound-system culture played an important role, since exclusive mixes and bass-heavy versions gave selectors distinctive material for dances. The physical impact of large speaker systems also pushed producers to give greater weight to low frequencies and percussion.

Dub later influenced post-punk, hip hop, house, techno, jungle, drum and bass, dubstep and many forms of experimental electronic music. Its production methods remain central to remix culture, while the genre itself continues through roots dub, digital dub, steppers and modern electronic interpretations.

At Scientific Sound Asia, dub is a defining feature of two shows: Basement Soul and Control Tower.