What everyone should know about dub music

Not much is known about dub music as the late '60s roots of electronica. A common mistake is often referencing the latter with music in the latter part of the 20th century like goth, new wave, and hip-hop. Haidak, an up-and-coming DJ, believes that dub is often overshadowed by its parent genre: reggae. Here, he will lay down the facts on what dub music actually is and its influence on modern music.

Dub, as said earlier, was a sub-genre of reggae that came out of Jamaica in the late '60s and early '70s. It was a result of studio experimentation by music producers and recording engineers such as Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Errol Thompson, among others. Another pioneer, Augustus Pablo, is widely credited for adding melodica into the genre, points out Haidak.

For these gentlemen, especially Ruddock and Perry, the mixing console is a musical instrument where tracks are experimented with to create something new and different. The Roland Space Echo was widely used in the '70s when dub producers tried to create echo and delay effects. Today, these originators continue to produce new materials, maintaining the same elements of the traditional dub, notes Haidak.

The influence of dub was widespread and scattered for it to be recognized on its own. One has to listen to collaborations where dub equally shines aside from it having inspired the other. Artists such as Culture Club, Bauhaus, The Police, Massive Attack, The Clash, and Soundgarden share a long list of prominent groups influenced by dub.

Haidak is an up-and-coming DJ, born in Washington DC, U.S.A. He currently switches home base between Koh Phangan and Amsterdam and likes to share opinions online about music and the industry. He is heavily influenced by late '90s techno, house, and electronica. For more about Haidak, you may visit this website.