Dub

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Dub is a genre of music^[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,^[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings^[3] and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass parts (this stripped down track is sometimes referred to as a 'riddim'). Other techniques include dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works. Dub also sometimes features electronically generated sound effects, or the use of distinctive instruments such as the melodica by artists such as Augustus Pablo.^{[citation needed]}

Dub was pioneered by Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Errol Thompson and others^[2] in the late 1960s. Similar experiments with recordings at the mixing desk outside of the dancehall environment were also done by producers Clive Chin and Herman Chin Loy.^[4] These producers, especially Ruddock and Perry, looked upon the mixing desk as an instrument, manipulating tracks to come up with something new and different. Dub has influenced many genres of music, including rock (most significantly the sub-genre of post-punk and other kinds of punk^[5]), pop,^[6] hip hop,^[5]disco, and, later, house,^[7] techno,^[7] ambient,^[7] and trip hop.^[7] Dub has become a basis for the genres of jungle/drum'n'bass^[8]^[9] and dubstep.^[10]

The Term

The verb dub is defined as making a copy of one recording to another. The process of using previously recorded material, modifying the material, and subsequently recording it to a new master mix, in effect transferring or "dubbing" the material, was utilized by Jamaican producers when making dubs .^[11] The term dub had multiple meanings in Jamaica around the time of the music's origin. The most frequent meanings referred to either a form of erotic dance or sexual intercourse;^[12] such usage is frequently present in names of reggae songs, for instance, of The Silvertones' "Dub the Pum Pum" (where pum pum is Jamaican slang for female genitalia), Big Joe and Fay's "Dub a Dawta" (dawta is Jamaican slang for girlfriend). I-Roy's "Sister Maggie Breast" features several references on sex:

I man a-dub it on the side
Say little sister you can run but you can't hide
Slip you got to slide you got to open your crotches wide
Peace and love abide

Some musicians, for instance Bob Marley and The Wailers, had alternative meanings for the term dub. In concert, the order "dubthis one!" meant "put an emphasis on bass and drums". Drummer Sly Dunbar points to a similar interpretation, relating the termdubwise to using only drums and bass.^[11] Another possible source was the term dub plate, as suggested by Augustus Pablo.^[13]John Corbett has suggested that dub could derive from duppie, a Jamaican patois word for ghost, as illustrated by Burning Spearhaving named the dub version of his Marcus Garvey album Garvey's Ghost, and by Lee Perry stating that dub is "the ghost in me coming out".^[14]

Dub, electronic music and the dubstep movement

Dub went on to play a role in inspiring many genres of electronic music, such as dubstep and jungle. The name "dubstep" originated from the common use of dub elements in the genre, and because both traditional dub and dubstep are often played at a similar tempo. Jungle, a related genre, originated in the late 1980s when DJs started playing dub records at twice their playing speeds. This resulted in an early 1990s "jungle" sound which record producers went on to recreate in the studio. In early 2000s, DJs and producers paid homage to the forerunners in the 1980s and began playing their highly produced breakbeat, jungle and drum & bass records at around 70 bpm, which resulted in the creation of dubstep. The more experimental releases of UK garage producers contributed to early dubstep, and sought to incorporate elements of dub reggae into the South London-based 2-step subgenre. Dubstep rhythms are usually syncopated, and often incorporate triplets and the One drop rhythm common to traditional Reggae, a reference to the genre's Dub music influences.

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