Twelve dub records, in order
A route through dub itself rather than through reggae: twelve albums in sequence, from the first tentative experiments to the point where the method left Jamaica altogether.
King Jammy
Engineer and producer
- Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica
- 1970s onwards
Lloyd James learned at King Tubby’s, building amplifiers and then mixing, and for years his records carried the deep, careful signature of that school. Then in 1985 he put out a tune that split the music in two.
Under Me Sleng Teng, voiced by Wayne Smith, was built on a preset rhythm from a small Casio keyboard, sped up and stripped down. No band, no studio full of players. It was enormous, and within a couple of years most of the Jamaican industry had followed it into digital production.
People still argue about whether that was a gain or a loss. What is not arguable is that Jammy did it first, and did it with a mixing engineer’s ear rather than a novelty seeker’s.
Go and listen
These are searches, not verified pages. Names in this music are reused often, so check you have the right King Jammy before you buy anything.
On Natty Dub
Sleng Teng and the day the music went digital
In 1985 a preset rhythm from a cheap Casio keyboard went to number one in Jamaica and took the whole industry with it. Forty years on, people are still arguing about what was lost.