Since the late 1980s, dub reggae and the methods linked to it have been widely used by dance and ambient music producers. But the term first referred to a remix method developed in Jamaica as early as 1967. Recording engineers made reggae tracks where the producer’s work was often more clear than the musicians’ work; these heavily worked tracks were called versions. The methods used to make versions soon grew into what is now called dub.
The term in this sense appeared in 1972 and was mostly the result of experiments by recording engineer Osbourne Ruddock, also known as King Tubby. Over the years, dub has changed, especially in the UK. In fact, much modern music, from hip hop to trance and from ambient sound to experimental electronica and drum ’n bass, owes a debt to remix culture shaped mainly by dub methods. Even so, although it is clearly an important genre, its value is rarely fully understood or recognized.
