Dub Music

PART 2

Music and politics.

Let’s start with a little background info about slavery in Jamaica:
By the beginning of the 19th century, Jamaica's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks (Africans) outnumbering whites (Europeans) by a ratio of almost 20 to 1. Even though England had outlawed the importation of slaves, some were still smuggled into the colonies. The British government drew-up laws regimenting the abolition of slavery, but they also included instructions for the improvement of the slaves' way of life. These instructions included a ban of the use of whips in the field, a ban on the flogging of women, notification that slaves were to be allowed religious instruction, a requirement that slaves be given an extra free day during the week when they could sell their produce as well as a ban of Sunday markets.
Following a series of rebellions and changing attitudes in Great Britain, the nation formally abolished slavery in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The population in 1834 was 371,070 of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black, 40,000 ‘coloured’ or mixed race, and 311,070 slaves.
Jamaica gained independence in 1962. There were few years of successful economical growth. However, the optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality, and a sense that the benefits of growth were not being experienced by the urban poor.
That obviously increased tensions in society and affected the nature of the music. Many people were killed down there in the 1970s, through the political civil war in Jamaica. Unfortunately King Tubby, the most important persona in dub culture, was gunned down.

The politic is built into the structure of the music. When you play a heavy dub bass and this heavy , it sounds like you wanna destroy Babylon. These cultures, like dub and dancehall from so called "ghetto areas", proved to be very vibrant, very enduring, because they have to work hard to satisfy people in oppressed conditions. They have to take them out of those conditions so they have to be strong to do that. They have to lift people out of that surroundings and make them forget; like Bob Marley said:
when the music hits, you feel no pain.


Reggae and dub came up with the idea of making the bass a melodic factor, "hook line", it's the catch, it's what grabs people. Whereas in western pop music usually, melody is played on guitars or keyboards or the vocals. ln reggae and dub it's the complete opposite. Dj’s put the bass at the top.
lf you go to a Jamaican dance, the bass is very important to the set. Sound systems used to use incredibly powerful amplifiers and speakers. There could have been 12000W just for the base line.
Parties for poor masses were organized on the beaches. They were called dancehalls, but there was no hall. They took places under the sky. Such a party could be heard from few miles, they ought to attract people and energize them.




This is a King Tubby’s remake of very popular jazz theme: Take Five.

QUESTIONS:
Would you agree that dancehall parties are very like parties in clubs nowadays?
Have you ever been on a dub / dubstep party?