Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae (Music Culture)

In this historical, analytical, and interpretive study, Veal (ethnomusicology, Yale U.) examines the studio-based genre of Jamaican dub, which originated in the early 1970s. Treating both sociocultural and analytic aspects, he discusses the context of roots reggae at the time (focusing on Jamaican reggae); economic, stylistic, and technological catalysts for its emergence; formal strategies for the dub mix; and qualities of the music, including the specific styles of the era's studios and engineers. He also examines its influence on today's popular music, and how it is a metaphor for the society and time from which it emerged and global culture today, specifically black culture. An index of songs and recordings and list of recommended ones, by engineer, are included. Veal made several trips to Jamaica from 2000 to 2003, visiting studios and talking with musicians to research the book. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

When Jamaican recording engineers Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Errol Thompson, and Lee "Scratch" Perry began crafting "dub" music in the early 1970s, they were initiating a musical revolution that continues to have worldwide influence. Dub is a sub-genre of Jamaican reggae that flourished during reggae's "golden age" of the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Dub involves remixing existing recordings--electronically improvising sound effects and altering vocal tracks--to create its unique sound. Just as hip-hop turned phonograph turntables into musical instruments, dub turned the mixing and sound processing technologies of the recording studio into instruments of composition and real-time improvisation. In addition to chronicling dub's development and offering the first thorough analysis of the music itself, author Michael Veal examines dub's social significance in Jamaican culture. He further explores the "dub revolution" that has crossed musical and cultural boundaries for over thirty years, influencing a wide variety of musical genres around the globe.