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Dub Music

Dub music centres on bass, echo and studio effects, with strong links to Jamaican soundsystem culture and UK bass traditions.

Articles on Dub Music

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Trip Hop / / Sarah Collins

Trip Hop Subgenres, Explained

There's no official subgenre chart for this one — but there are clear strands, and telling them apart makes the whole genre click.

Trip Hop / / Alice Stewart

A Beginner's Guide to Trip Hop

New to trip hop? Here's everything you need to get your bearings, from Bristol's sound-system roots to the artists and albums worth hearing first.

Chillout / / Gemma Phillips

Chillout Subgenres, Explained

One word, eight different rooms — here's how chillout's subgenres actually relate to one another, and who represents each one best.

Dub Music

Roots and rhythm

Dub music emerged from Jamaican studio culture, placing bass weight, echo, reverb and rhythmic space at the centre of the arrangement. In the UK, dub music has influenced soundsystem culture, reggae, electronic production and many modern bass genres.

Studio techniques

The dub music sound is often created through mixer performance, tape delay, spring reverb, deep bass lines and stripped-back drum patterns. Producers working in dub music value outboard processing, analogue character and the ability to reshape tracks in real time.

Soundsystem culture

Dub music remains closely linked to live sound reinforcement, custom speakers and DJ-led playback systems. Music Adviser UK uses the dub music category to help UK musicians and collectors find gear, records and inspiration connected to this spacious, low-end-driven style.