The Profound Appeal of Dub: Recommended Masterpieces and a Popular Classic

Blackboard Jungle Dub ( Ver. 1 )The Upsetters

The Upsetters – Blackboard Jungle Dub – Blackboard Jungle Dub ( Ver. 1 )

The Upsetters, known as the house band of the legendary reggae musician Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Titled “Blackboard Jungle Dub,” this work is one of the earliest dub albums, unfolding a completely new kind of dance music that could blast you to the edge of the universe—powered by rock-solid rhythms that underpin reggae and dub, and effect work that dramatically transcended existing musical concepts.

It could be described as a sonic work that embodies the radicalism of Jamaican music.

Kunte Kinte – Agrican WarriorMad Professor

Mad Professor – Kunte Kinte The African Warrior

Mad Professor is a great music producer who not only works with renowned musicians in the reggae-dub sphere, but also actively produces artists from other genres such as rock and punk, continually taking bold risks with musical experiments through innovative and forward-looking methods.

Famous for his ferocious live performances—hailed as those of a “dub scientist who can silence even a crying child”—Mad Professor has a signature series titled “Dub Me Crazy.” The work discussed here is the second installment, Dub Me Crazy 2: Beyond The Realms Of Dub.

Hailing from Guyana and running his own label and studio in the UK, Mad Professor has an unusual background: originally a studio engineer, he began his artist career after listening to the early dub of King Tubby and Lee Perry.

True to his unique trajectory, this album possesses a different allure from pure Jamaican dub, delivering a dub record that defies easy categorization—one where a cool, detached perspective coexists with a restless spirit of experimentation.

Perfect DubJah Shaka

Jah Shaka Perfect Dub

Jah Shaka began running a reggae sound system in the late 1960s and, centered on activities rooted in Rastafarianism, has also been active as a musician.

He is a key figure in the UK reggae/dub scene who regularly tours Japan as well.

Known for preserving the traditions of roots reggae and serving as a bridge to the style known as new roots, Jah Shaka released Far I Ship Dub in 1992—a dub version of the album Fari Captain Of My Ship featuring reggae singer Max Romeo.

It’s a gem that lets you revel in Jah Shaka’s uniquely British dub-driven new roots sound to the fullest.

Unfortunately, both the CD and vinyl are currently out of print and hard to find.

If you spot a copy at a record shop, be sure to pick it up.

Dub To AfricaPrince Far I & The Arabs

Prince Far I & The Arabs – Dub To Africa

Prince Far I, who described himself as a “Chanter,” had a distinctive, gravelly, spoken-word-like vocal style and was also active as a producer.

Sadly, he was caught up in a tragic incident in 1983 and passed away at a young age in his thirties.

He was connected with Adrian Sherwood, a key figure in British dub and founder of On-U Sound, and has influenced many artists as an important presence in the history of dub.

Dub To Africa is a dub album released in 1979 on Adrian’s label Hitrun, the precursor to On-U Sound, with Prince Far I leading his own band, The Arabs.

Centered on a heavy bass-driven dub sound, it incorporates violin and horns, along with organ, guitar, and melodica, offering a richly varied set of arrangements; it’s also intriguing how certain aspects link up with new wave-oriented sounds.

Ten Feet tallJoe Gibbs All Stars

Joe Gibbs all stars Ten Feet tall

Joe Gibbs, a reggae producer from Jamaica.

He produced albums that became bestsellers in Jamaica and has dedicated himself to creating new reggae sounds since the 1970s.

This track was released as a single in 1970.

Tout ce qu’ils veulentDUB INC

DUB INC – Tout ce qu’ils veulent (Album “Hors controle”)

Dub Inc is a reggae band formed in France in 1997.

They are known for a sound that fuses dancehall, dub, ska, and rap.

This track was released in 2010 and is included on the album “Hors contrôle,” which reached No.

27 on the French charts.

For A ReasonLifetones

Lifetones – For a Reason

This Heat were a legendary band whose experimental sound shocked listeners and stood out within the UK-born post-punk genre, despite a relatively small body of work.

Lifetones, introduced here, was a new project launched by Charles Bullen—one of This Heat’s members—after the band broke up.

Their only album, For A Reason, released in 1983, long circulated as a hard-to-find rarity, but it was remastered and reissued on CD and vinyl in 2016.

The record has a fascinating feel—electronic dub as filtered through the UK post-punk/new wave side—rich with an exotic sense of rhythm and melody, near-dissonant chord progressions, and sonic treatments that thickly evoke the atmosphere of the underground at the time.

It’s a record I highly recommend to anyone who’s already delved into the more classic end of dub and is ready for a challenge.