In a message dated 31/12/99 6:50:07 blag@ultra.gawth.com writes:
quoted 12 lines mm, you can talk about witchdoctors and mystics if you want, but King> mm, you can talk about witchdoctors and mystics if you want, but King
> Tubby invented dub. Period. I'm sure if you asked the Mad Professor
> directly, he'd also tell you that King Tubby is the "dub originator."
> Don't take it from me, take it from Steve Barrow:
>
> "Today the remix and dub version are commonplace in popular music; less
> widely appreciated is the fact that these techniques were pioneered in a
> tiny studio at 18 Bromilly Avenue in the Kingston district called
> Waterhouse. That pioneer of dub was an electronics engineer and sound
> system operator named Osbourne Ruddock, but to the crowds who flocked to
> his dances, and the countless singers and record producers who utilised
> his skills, he was known as King Tubby."quoted 3 lines Every style of music is based on what came before, and no one benefits> Every style of music is based on what came before, and no one benefits
> from skipping the intermediaries. Jumping straight back to some african
> witchdoctor without giving any props to King Tubby is just plain wrong.quoted 16 lines Where does Fela Kuti fit into this? He's a lot closer to a witchdoctor> Where does Fela Kuti fit into this? He's a lot closer to a witchdoctor
> than King Tubby was, I mean, he was in Africa, and he did 20 minute long
> songs with trance inducing precussion and call and response sections, but
> I wouldn't describe *anything* that he did as "dub." How does that fit?
>
> I guess I'm freaking out a little bit too much, but Tubby is completely
> overlooked by just about every electronic music fan I've ever met in my
> life, and I can't figure out why, mainly because he was a fucking genius
> *and* none of ths stuff we're listening to today would even exist if he
> didn't come up with the flying cymbal (and those spring-reverb
> thunderclaps and the dropped in test tones, etc etc) first.
>
> You can't go to the record store and talk to a witchdoctor for
> inspiration, but you can go and buy a King Tubby album. I'd say that King
> Tubby is more of an inspiration to most musicians than witchdoctors are.
>
I think in this instance Steve is directly referring to the ' modern '
pioneer of dub. I only maintained that not 'ALL' dub came from King Tubby.
This is not to detract from his genius in the sphere of revolutionizing this
sound production. What I was referring to was probably more along the lines
of ethno-musicology which goes back into the roots of dub.
Perhaps I travelled to far back. Perhaps we are arguing with different
paradigms. We must be a bit more discerning when we credit someone with being
an 'originator' - most times this is often misunderstood with 'innovator'.
For a more elaborate example of the nature of shamanistic ritual music and
its relationship with modern dub music check out the Ethno Tribal Dance CD on
the Melt 2000 label. And I must add that Bob Marley was certainly fascinated
by the power of withdoctor music that he did travel to Africa seeking this
mystic experience.
:~)
A Z
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