Dub Revolution : Jamaica’s Sonic Innovators and the Birth of Remix Culture

A monumental history of reggae's most innovative and sonically adventurous sub-genre, from the leading authority on reggae music and its many subcultures

Dub Revolution explores the most innovative and sonically adventurous sub-genre of reggae: dub. Dub emerged in the early 1970s through the work of legendary producers like Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Prince Jammy, Scientist, Mad Professor, and in particular the late King Tubby, who was tragically murdered at a young age. Adopted by punks in London and later a crucial influence on underground dance music culture both there and in New York, the culture and legacy of dub still echoes and resonates today, reverberating from sound systems in Kingston and around the world. It's no exaggeration to say that without dub, there would be no hip-hop or house music.

​The evolution of dub marks the birth of the remix and the emergence of the studio as an instrument in itself, a place where songs and their constituent parts could be pulled apart and re-shaped into wild new cosmic sounds. The history of dub is also inseparable from the often violent and troubled history of post-colonial Jamaica, gang culture and Kingston's relationship with Britain and the USA. David Katz's monumental and forensic history of a musical form that continues to astonish and sound like the future five decades after its inception stands as the authoritative book on a form that continues to fascinate generation after generation.