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Dub Reggae is a form of dub music. It evolved out of ska and reggae in 1970s Jamaica. Dub was an evolution of sound of earlier artists such as Horace Andy and Burning Spear.
The dub reggae sound includes extensive use of echo and reverb effects accompanied by simplistic lyrics (see toasting). Some fans and artists of older Jamaician music styles dissapprove of the direction that dub reggae took the island's music. Dub reggae developed through sound system owners, using the simple two track music production of the time and lifting out the vocal track to leave just the instrumental. this was then played an augmented with effects or by live djs. Inevitably the studios caught on and started producing records with a vocal on the one side and a "version" or "dub" on the other. The effects such as echo, reverb, part vocal and extra percussion being added before the record was pressed. During the mid-1970s dub music began to evole as genre on it's own particularly with audiences outside of Jamaica. Whole albums of dub tracks were produced, often simply the dub version of an existing vocal lp, but sometimes a selection of dubbed up instrumental tracks for which no vocals existed.
Dub reggae has progressed from that point to this, it's popularity waxing and waning with changes in musical fashion. Almost all Reggae singles still carry a dub version on the b side and these are still used by the sound systems as a blank canvas for live singers and djs. In the uk, europe, japan and america independent record producers are making dub in quantities unseen before, often mixing and blending with newer musical styles such as "House" and "Drum and Bass". The influence of dub reggae music world wide continues to grow.
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