"Dub Revolution": a book that traces the birth of remix culture

Every year, a new story about reggae or dub emerges. Most tell the same thing without adding much. "Dub Revolution" is the kind of book you open with skepticism and close convinced - because it doesn't stop where most others do.

What the book talks about

The subject is twofold: the history of Jamaican dub (King Tubby, Lee Perry, Studio One, Prince Jammy, the complete lineage of sound systems), and the arrival of this vocabulary in international remix culture. It's this second part that distinguishes the work. The book demonstrates that the practice of remixing - as an artistic gesture and not as a commercial extension of the single - is born in Jamaica, in the recording studios of Kingston, before crossing Bristol, New York, and London.

For a DnB/jungle reader, it's essential. The lineage Studio One → King Tubby → English sound systems → jungle is the one we systematically recall at DBN Link - and it is documented here, book in hand, with the sources.

What is sometimes missing

The book is solid on the years 1970-1985. It is a bit less so on the period 1988-1995, when Jamaican dub meets British breakbeat and gives birth to jungle. Congo Natty, Shy FX, Reinforced - the book mentions them, but does not devote the development one would have liked. It is the flaw of a work that frames dub as a starting point more than as a continuous influence.

Verdict

A must-read - figuratively speaking. The book takes its place on the shelf of serious junglists, next to David Toop and "State of Bass". Not a heavy tome for specialists: an accessible work that reminds us what DnB owes to Kingston, both technically (dub plate, versions, remix) and culturally (sound system, MC).

Lineage recalled

Studio One → King Tubby → Scientist → Prince Jammy → London sound systems → Congo Natty → Shy FX → jungle. The book doesn't say anything else. We repeat it because it needs to be repeated.