Dubtronica
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Dubtronica is leftfield electronic music built from dub bass, studio echo, trip-hop breaks, ambient pads, post-punk attitude, and sample collage. It is less strictly reggae than digital dub and less floor-locked than dub techno. The style often sounds like a smoke-filled studio session where dub engineers, beat programmers, and chillout DJs are all pulling the mix apart.
History
The term fits a 1990s zone where ambient house, trip-hop, big beat, post-punk dub, and electronic reggae overlapped. The Orb, Leftfield, Massive Attack, Asian Dub Foundation, Meat Beat Manifesto, Rockers Hi-Fi, Dreadzone, Sub Dub, Thievery Corporation, Tosca, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Dub Pistols, Gaudi, and Bill Laswell made dub feel compatible with club electronics, alternative radio, and headphone listening. Its afterlife runs through downtempo playlists, bass music, and cinematic electronic production.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Pitchfork African Head Charge and Sherwood reviews
- Bandcamp Daily On-U Sound guide
- trip-hop/downtempo histories
- Leftfield and Orb release histories