Riders (TUDubmix)2024

Dub is an electronic music style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Today, it is a globally influence on music production and electronic instrument design. Similar, in many respects to electroacoustic music, dub consists of sonic transformations created using custom-designed loudspeakers and studio technologies.

Thought Universe EMS produced a dub version of the song Riders on the Storm by The Doors. Dub music is characterized by a ‘version’ or ‘double’ of an existing song, often instrumental, initially almost always pressed on the B-side of 45 RPM records and typically emphasizing the drum and bass for sound popular in local sound systems. The vocal was sung by the Jamaican singer and songwriter Horace Andy. Andy’s singing style mixes melodic phrases with extended techniques. He found mainstream success singing for the UK trip hop band Massive Attack. He vocals often imitate the sound of studio instruments used in the production of dub reggae music. This crossover of combining the natural sounds of the voice together with electronic sound creates an otherworldly experience. Alongside the vocal stem an electronic underscore was composed of instrumental parts, drum machine rhythms and synthetic textures. In homage to the dub aesthetic, the final mix was recorded live straight to DAT tape using an analogue mixing desk and SFX units. The sonic machines, when played by the hand of an artist, imprinted their own schizophrenic characteristics directly into the sounding material.

 

Video 1 – Mixing the live Riders (Dub Version) with Colin Laird (aka. Martian Tin Can).

Text by Dr. Mark Pilkington/Thought Universe  © 2024