About

This is a place for writing about the music properly: where it came from, how it was made, who made it, and why it still moves people fifty years on. Roots and dub have been written about badly for a long time, usually as background colour for somebody else's story. Here the music is the story.

What you will find

History pieces on the studios, engineers and records that set the shape of the sound. Writing about sound system culture, from the way a box is built to the way a dance is run. Interviews with the people doing the work. Record reviews that tell you plainly whether something is worth your money.

How it is made

Natty Dub is written and published independently. There is no advertising and nothing is sponsored. If a record is covered here it is because somebody thought it mattered, not because a label paid for the space.

Corrections and contributions

This music's history is full of dates that do not agree with each other and credits that were never printed. If you spot something wrong, or you were there and remember it differently, write in and it will be fixed with a note. Pitches from writers are welcome.

Reach us at hello@nattydub.com.

Where the history comes from

Dates and framing on this site are checked against published overviews rather than memory. These are the ones leaned on most, and they are all worth your time directly:

• Jamaica Information Service, on dub
• National Library of Jamaica, on King Tubby
• London Museum, on dub in London
• AllMusic, on dub as a style
• Adrian Sherwood's own biography

Where this site gets something wrong, the correction goes in with a note rather than a silent edit.