The Process of Dub

In Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae, Michael Veal explains that Dub music is best described as a process. Dub music is a version of re-mixing and recomposing pre-existing songs and creating something new in which bits and pieces of the original recording can still be heard. Similar to the idea of collaging and overlapping images and textures. (pg 21-22) One example of the is "Beam Down" by Scientist. The majority of the song is filled with heavy repetitive beats, but softer, more abstract sounds can still be heard in the background creating an overlapping effect. As th song progresses more beats and consistent sounds are added in and out throughout the track. Again, this is an example of combining pre-existing tracks and sounds. Prince Jammy's "Jammin' for Survival" is a little more dynamic in that there is more overlap between the variations of sounds and doesn't produce as much as a distant feel as "Beam Down."