You can't be beating a bit of dub: the bass-heavy reggae off-shooooot sound only really caught on outside its Caribbean homeland in the late 1970s, despite the fact it had been a staple musical diet down Jamaica way for decades. Dub used to be known as "raw reggae" for the simple reason that the basic track would have its melody stripped down, the rhythm section of drum and bass would be brought to the fore and there was only a residue of other instruments present in the mix, all treated with massive levels of echo. And no lyric either.
It's a toss-up between King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry as to who first patented the dub sound as a commercial proposition, but there has been so much interweaving of influences over the years, that it's a thankless tasko trying to pin down ownership. King Tubby, an electronic engineer, was certainly the first man to pioneer the tradition of all reggae A sides having the same song done dub fashion on the B side, and if you want to investigate his ground-breaking work, catch a listen of the seminal 1974 release King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub. Lee "Scratch" Perry also made a massive contribution to dub, but probably more in the way of the trademark echo-laden sound that still distinguishes dub from reggae, dancehall and ska.
Alongside the punk/reggae interface at the end of the 1970s, came a lot of "underground" dub albums which would prove to be the main inspiration behind people like the Mad Professor and Adrian Sherwood, two people who are still busy keeping the 1990s safe for dub, while groups like Sound Iration and the Disciples have moved dub, rather curiously, into the "roots" section of the record shops. Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound record label is the best place to look these days for the latest in dub developments. A loose amalgam of musicians, under Sherwood's tutelage, known as The Dub Syndicate has brought out a fascinating collection of 1990s dub, starting with Stoned Immaculate in 1990 and up through Echomaniac in 1994 - contributors included U-Roy, Aswad and Michael Franti. The new Dub Syndicate album, The Pounding System, has just been released and is a thoroughly engrossing affair. It's the sound of the summer, and it starts here. Pounding System by The Dub Syndicate is released on the On-U Sound label.
Dublin's FM 104 show Planet X has become the first syndicated radio show and is now going out every Friday night (10 p.m. midnight) on Cork's 96FM, Limerick's 95FM, Galway Bay FM and Waterford's WLR FM. With a huge listenership in Dublin, Planet X specialises in brand new and soon-to-be released music (as much as 90 per cent of the show) and the programme is a remarkable success story given that it's been totally ignored by the media, despite very impressive listenership figures. Other radio news is that Tom Dunne is back doing his Mostly/Totally/Quite A Bit Of Irish music rock show on 98FM every Sunday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. . . . Pretty damn cool line-up for this year's Liss Ard music festival to be held down Skibbereen way from September 2nd to 6th. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds will be headlining, and also present and correct will be Patti Smith, Tindersticks, David Gray and rock'n'roll poet (oh really) Murray Lachlan Young. Further info and ticket booking from 028-23015 or the web site: lissard.com. . . . Friday First is the name of the new and rather happening club down in the City Arts Centre which opens tonight. From reggae to downbeat with all stops in between, doors open at 11 p.m. and it finishes when it feels like it (way to go) . . . Always one of the better festivals, the London Fleadh takes place tomorrow in Finsbury Park with James, Billy Bragg, Shane McGowan, Sinead O'Connor, the musical genius of The Corrs, Dr John, John Martyn and loads more all bringing it all back home. Next week: Sonic Youth being very clever indeed.
