Instrumental Dub
Located in 1 route
Dub and reggae presented as fully instrumental music, with the vocal absent from the start rather than merely stripped in the mix: melodica, organ, horns or guitar carry the theme over a heavy dub-treated rhythm section, the riddim reshaped with echo and reverb but built as a standalone instrumental. Augustus Pablo's plaintive melodica lines are the archetype, floating a haunting minor-key melody above booming bass. The result is contemplative, cinematic and hook-driven without words. Reggae as pure mood and melody.
History
Instrumental dub grew from the version and rockers traditions of the early 1970s, when Augustus Pablo's melodica instrumentals such as "Java" (1972) and his King Tubby–mixed rockers sides showed that a dub-treated riddim could stand alone as a tune; his album "East of the River Nile" defined the melodica-dub sound. King Tubby's and Keith Hudson's instrumental dub sets, and Scientist's later Channel One instrumentals, extended the format, prized by selectors and listeners alike. The idiom kept dub's studio craft while restoring melody, and its melodica-and-bass template echoes through trip-hop, ambient and film scoring.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Michael E. Veal, Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae (2007)
- Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae (2004)
- Lloyd Bradley, Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King (2000)