Natural audiotopias: The construction of sonic space in dub reggae. John Baker (2009)

ABSTRACT 

Dub reggae is widely regarded as an early form of the remix. Dub artists modify 
previously recorded reggae songs by manipulating a song’s individual tracks with a 
mixing board and layering them in aural effects such as reverb and echo. These effects 
are fundamentally spatial in quality, giving the listener an impression of vast open space. 
This paper is an analysis of the techniques utilized in dub’s construction of sonic space as 
well as an investigation of the cultural meaning of those spaces. My analysis utilizes 
Josh Kun’s theories about “audiotopias” (temporary aural spaces created through music) 
in order to study how sonic spaces create “new maps” that allow an individual to analyze 
their current social predicament. These “new maps,” therefore, engender a “remapping” 
of reality, a reconstitutive process that parallels dub’s emphasis on modification and 
alteration. This paper also argues that dub’s audiotopias are implicitly natural, although 
they are constructed through modern recording technologies such as the echo chamber 
and the reverb unit. A final chapter applies these analytical techniques to one of dub’s 
most popular musical offspring, hip hop.1 

Written by John Baker

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Department of American Studies. College of Arts and Sciences. University of South Florida.

link here


Quote and annotations;

“In order to study how sonic spaces create “new maps” that allow an individual to analyze their current social predicament. These “new maps,” therefore, engender a “remapping” of reality, a reconstitutive process that parallels dub’s emphasis on modification and alteration.” (Baker 2009 pg.ii)

"In 1976, Melody Maker published an article by music critic Richard Williams entitled “The Sound of Surprise.” Williams’ essay was a short but prescient description of the still-shockingly-new phenomenon of dub reggae. Williams prophetically noted that “there are possibilities inherent in this aberrant form which could perhaps resonate throughout other musics in the years to come” (145). (Williams 1976 quoted in Baker 2009 pg.5). 

This statement demonstrates that from the beginnings of early dub an interest was taken in its innovative production techniques and how these techniques could possibly influence future music. EDM is a good example of a genre that has taken influences from dub's use of space and spatial effects and used it to create new sonic spaces, soundscapes or audiotopias. 

Baker (2009 pg.27) describes Tubby's reverb technique in the following way "Tubby’s percussive use of reverb “widens” the track, giving the listener an impression of deep canyons and limitless plains."

"Doyle’s assertion that natural reverberant spaces can possess sacred qualities has particular implications for Jamaica’s Rastafarians, whose belief in the “ital” (natural) stresses humanity’s spiritual connection to the earth." (Baker 2009 pg.23).

Dub artists with a strong connection to the Rastafarian religion were looking to create this connection with “the other” or to create something new and unheard before which could give them the edge in a "sound clash" between two competing sound systems.

Baker (2009) uses “Josh Kun’s theories about “audiotopias” (temporary aural spaces created through music)” to describe dub’s soundscapes created with the use of echo and reverb effects. “In order to study how sonic spaces create “new maps” that allow an individual to analyze their current social predicament. These “new maps,” therefore, engender a “remapping” of reality, a reconstitutive process that parallels dub’s emphasis on modification and alteration.” (Baker 2009 pg.ii). The use of reverberation and delay effects along with creative mixing and soundstage techniques combined an extra spatial dimension creating strange dub soundscapes that had not been heard before and with an emphasis on the rhythm section, this has become the characteristic dub sound. "Dub artists utilized reverb to construct sonic spaces that sounded as if they were free of human impediment and therefore full of possibility." Baker (2009 pg.26).

Baker then goes on to describe how dub’s audiotopias can be described as natural which is problematic as these alternate spaces which are created, serve to remove the listener from the everyday, therefore cannot be described as natural. Also Baker contradicts himself with this statement by talking about giving the listener an impression of deep canyons and limitless plains. The spaces created through the creative use of effects in dub were never meant to be natural, with the help of the previously mentioned effects Dub artists were able to create impossible soundscapes or audiotopia’s which do not relate to any real world acoustic spaces.

"Dub’s rhythmic decentring,"..."can be read as simply another example of the genre’s emphasis on fragmentation. Dub’s echoic alternate rhythms are never fully established, after all. They do not overtake the rhythmic foreground but instead remain within the song’s defining background, influencing the listener’s awareness of sonic space. They are incomplete, offering only a hint at the possibilities offered by the audiotopia." (Baker 2009 pg.41).