September 2023 – Adventures in Ambient: Music of Another Dimension

Prelude

In the last article (August 2023), I explored the alluring realm of dub reggae, as one of my musical passions. This month, as we race headlong into autumn with its cooler, darker evenings, I’d like to explore another musical genre close to my heart, ambient electronica. There seems to be a great deal of consensus about where ambient came from while, at the same time, a great deal of disagreement about what it is today, let alone where it is going. While this may sound inherently contradictory, the convoluted world of ambient music is quite fascinating, at least to me. Unlike reggae, which had a defined geographical origin – the small island of Jamaica in the Caribbean – ambient has a completely different set of roots. Also, while dub reggae and ambient seem entirely discrete, there are some crossovers.

Once again, like dub reggae, the ambient musical landscape is not really guitar‑based. It is essentially one of three things, acoustic – mainly classical – instruments, the sounds of the natural and built world all around us, and electronic sounds, primarily but not exclusively synthesizers.

As with all previous articles, this is not intended to present any sort of definitive academic analysis, it is purely my interpretation of ambient music, past and current, as I see (or rather hear) it. There are a lot of blurred overlaps and permeable boundaries here, so I am certain that some readers will disagree vehemently with my version of the story. That is their prerogative and this is my article, so I’m sticking to my biased version. This is also only the proverbial ‘tip of the iceberg’ with lots more to discover.

No AI has been used in researching and writing this article. All images used are royalty free courtesy of Pixaby and Wikimedia Commons.

So, get comfy, chill and absorb yourself into the mesmerising universe of ambient music for a while.


Defining ambient

Perhaps a good starting point is to understand what the solitary word ‘ambient’ actually means, both in non‑musical and musical contexts.

Literally, ambient is an adjective meaning ‘of the surrounding area or environment’, ‘existing or present on all sides’ or ‘enveloping or completely surrounding’. As a noun, it means ‘an encompassing environment or atmosphere’. In this article we are not talking about ambient temperatures or ambient pressures, although these may affect sound vibrations in the environment. We are also not talking ambient light, although this may affect mood and temperament.

Defining ambient sound

Ambient sound is the total of all background or surrounding noises that exist in every direction, in any immediate surroundings, as measured by sound pressure level (SPL – expressed in decibels). Decibel levels are important because they provide information to the brain on how quiet or loud a sound is in relative terms. Human ears and brains are designed to detect slight variations in SPL in stereo (binaural hearing), which help us determine from which direction a sound originates. Basically, ambient sound is the total of what you can hear in the present moment, wherever you are.

Ambient sound is always present, even if it is at very low levels. Humans cannot tolerate near‑0dB for long. 0dB is unobtainable under normal conditions. Experiments have shown that people who are deprived of ambient sound can quickly become unsettled or disoriented because humans rely on ambient sound to locate themselves within their environment. The dissociation of sight and sound is inherently problematic for us. The quietest place on Earth is an anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in Minnesota, USA. It is so quiet that the longest anybody has been able to experience it is just 45 minutes.

The simple fact is that there is always some ambient sound present in our lives. These ever‑present characteristics play a part in ambient music compositions.

Defining ambient music

Ambient music is a term that means, ‘a genre of instrumental music that focuses on patterns of sound rather than typical melodic form and is used to promote a certain atmosphere or state of mind’. Another definition is ‘incidental music intended to serve as an unobtrusive accompaniment to other activities and characterised by quiet and repetitive instrumental phrases’.

So far, so what? Useful background info but it doesn’t really mean much on its own. So let’s delve a bit deeper.


A brief pre‑history of ambient music

There is a significant amount of information on the hinterwebby thingummy about the history of the genre, so this is a brief retelling of the essential elements, starting in France, then Germany before crossing the Atlantic to America and then back to the UK. These unfolding events were probably all ahead‑of‑their‑time and in the vanguard of experimental art.

Let us begin by going all the way back to 1917. French composer Erik Satie (1866‑1925) used Dadaist‑inspired explorations to invent what he called musique d’ameublement (‘furniture music’ or, more literally, ‘furnishing music’), music played by live musicians and designed to be unconsciously experienced rather than consciously listened to. Satie described his compositions as music that could be performed at a function to create a background atmosphere for the function, rather than being the prime focus of it. In Satie’s words, his music would, “… be part of the noises of the environment”.

Satie’s use of repeated short compositions is said to have influenced ‘minimal music’ from 1960s onwards, particularly the experimental avant‑garde music of composer John Cage. Satie is also regarded as an essential forerunner to modern ambient music and a key influence on British artist, Brian Eno.

During the 1940s, Frenchman Pierre Schaeffer (1910‑1995) who was, amongst other things, a composer, engineer and musicologist took a different approach. Schaeffer experimented with recording sound, then processing the signals to create an abstract sound collage. The resulting sounds and tones were unrecognisable from the originating source material. Schaeffer used musical instruments, vocals, recorded environmental ‘sound objects’ and electronic sound synthesis. This type of music composition became known as musique concrète (concrete music).

Prolific and controversial German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928‑2007) was a pioneer in electronic music. Stockhausen’s electronic music compositions comprised abstract noise collages created through the use of tape loops, oscillators and recorded sounds. He also specialised in ground breaking ‘spatial music’, using multiple sources to locate sounds within a three dimensional space (an early form of surround sound). Stockhausen created one of the first examples of purely electronic music using sine wave generators and filters, called ‘Studie I’ (1953). In 1954, he pushed the boundaries of classical music using acoustic instruments augmented by electronic sounds. The same year, he published the first fully electronic music score. Stockhausen, the so‑called ‘father of electronic music’, was an important figure who rejected conventions and heavily influenced multiple genres outside classical music, including jazz, pop and rock decades later.

Muzak is a type of background music created by American inventor George Owen Squier in 1934. Known commonly as elevator music (or lift music in the UK), it became used predominantly in public spaces, retail stores and other venues. The word muzak has become embedded in the public consciousness as synonymous with all types of generic and inconspicuous background music. Muzak was particularly prominent during the 1960s and 1970s. Muzak has been a registered trademark of Muzak LLC since 1954. Ambient by stealth?

From the 1950s, particularly in Germany, elektronische musik (electronic music) took precedence over previous forms such as musique concrète. The term ‘elektronische musik’ was first used by German composer and musicologist Herbert Eimert in 1952 to describe music created only by the use of electronic instruments and technology. As the genre developed, elements of musique concrète were incorporated into electronic music. Natural environmental recordings combined with music resurfaced later as a popular element of new age music. German electronic music heavily influenced krautrock, an experimental rock genre that emerged out of West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s with bands like Can and Neu!.

American composer John Cage was another influential figure in post‑war avant‑garde music including electroacoustic music. He had been experimenting with studio electronics since the late 1930s. In 1952, Cage ‘performed’ his now‑famous composition, 4′33″. The piece is not, as many believe, silence; it is the intentional ‘absence of deliberate sound’. The musicians do nothing but be on the stage with instruments. For the aforementioned duration of the piece, the audience is encouraged simply to listen to and experience the ambient sounds in the auditorium around them.

Minimal music is a form of art music that, as its name suggests, uses a very limited array of components to produce a composition. Minimal can apply to the instruments used, the sounds/tones produced, as well as the studio processes employed. Minimalism may comprise continuous drones, pulses or repetitive phrases. Minimalism emerged in New York in the late 1960s with American composers such as Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and La Monte Young. It has been suggested that minimalism was one influence behind experimental rock band The Velvet Underground during the 1960s and, much later, on electronic dance music (EDM) sub‑genres such as minimal techno. In 1990, British electronica duo The Orb used a sample from Steve Reich’s work on their hit single, ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’.

At this point, it is worth making quick mention of cinematic music, a.k.a. film scores or original soundtracks (OSTs). The first music to accompany film goes back to the earliest part of the 20th Century if not further, although its use really came into its own, ironically, with the advent of talking pictures in 1927. Cinematic music is composed specifically as a background to fit well with what is happening on screen by creating a certain atmosphere. Many classic theme music pieces would simply not exist without the films for which they were created. Some of the best cinematic music is an integral part of the audio‑visual experience, rather than the music being consciously listened to in isolation. The best soundtracks are equally good pieces of music in their own right and the art form has become highly respected (and profitable). John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Bernard Herrmann, Lalo Schifrin, Vangelis, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hans Zimmer are some of the principal cinematic music composers.

In the field of television, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, set up in 1958, stands out for its experimental work in electronic incidental sound design and music for radio and TV. Key members of the unit included Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram and David Cain.


A brief history of electronic sound synthesis

It is probably true to say that synthesizers changed the world of music forever. Here’s a short resume of how that change came about. Warning! This is the techy bit.

Analogue synthesizers – The word synthesizer was first used by RCA in 1956, although it has widely been used to refer to electronic musical instruments from the early 20th Century onwards. Early electronic analogue sound synthesizers were developed in the 1920s and included the Theremin, invented by Leon Theremin in Russia in 1920, the Ondes Martenot, invented by Maurice Martenot in France in 1928 and the Trautnium, invented by Friedrich Trautwein in Germany in 1929.

There are basically only three parts to an analogue synthesizer; one or more oscillators to produce the sound, filters to change the sound, and voltage‑controlled amplifiers to adjust the volume of the sound. In addition, envelope generators are frequently used to change the behaviour of the sound (commonly referred to as ADSR – attack, sustain, delay, release).

Another major development in electronic sound synthesis was by American engineer Robert Moog (1934‑2005) who invented the first commercially available analogue synthesizer, the Moog Modular in 1964. The first fully integrated synthesizer, including the keyboard, was the Minimoog released in 1970. Moog developed his products in response to demand for more practical and affordable electronic musical instruments.

Moog Synthesizer

Samplers – A sampler is an electronic device that captures, records and plays back sections of the recordings. The first example was the Chamberlin, invented by American Harry Chamberlin in 1946. The British Mellotron, introduced in 1963, was perhaps the first famous electro‑mechanical instrument used to play back tape recorded sound samples.

Sequencers – A key factor in making music synthesizers usable was the introduction of the programmable sequencer to program and play back multi‑part arrangements. The first example was probably the analogue Buchla 100 synthesizer in 1964. More importantly, Moog introduced the Moog Modular Sequencer Module – the 960 Sequential Controller in 1968.

As synthesizers became more complex, additional features were added, such as arpeggiators that automatically play a sequence of notes based on a chord or scale, and a range of effects used to process the sound even further.

Digital synthesizers – The first digital synthesizer was made by Synclavier in 1977, while the first commercially successful model was made by Yamaha in 1983. The first production polyphonic synthesizer, able to play chords, was the analogue Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer, designed by Tom Oberheim, produced from 1975 to 1979. Yamaha, however, may disagree, citing their GX‑1 ‘Dream Machine’. These were followed shortly thereafter by the Polymoog. Another first was the programmable analogue Prophet 5 made by Sequential circuits in 1978. The culmination of these inventions was the introduction of the Fairlight CMI (standing for ‘Computer Musical Instrument’) in 1979, the first polyphonic digital synthesizer, sampler and sequencer.

Finally, polyphonic digital sound synthesis was here to stay, as was the studio recording technology able to exploit it. Miles away from ambient while owing a debt to it, Donna Summer’s massive disco hit single, ‘I Feel Love’ (1977), written and produced by Giorgio Moroder, was seen as a milestone and “a rejection of the intellectualization of the synthesizer in favour of pure pleasure”. It did, however, herald sound synthesis to the popular market. The phenomenal boom in synthpop during the 1980s, leading to the EDM boom of the 1990s, was the tangible result of lengthy electronic music development.

MIDI – MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a powerful industry standard protocol introduced in 1983 that enables wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and audio devices to communicate. MIDI has become essential for synchronizing, playing, editing, and recording music.

These, and many other tools, were a valuable resource for the new generation of experimental composers and musicians. Everything was pretty much now in place.


A brief history of ambient music

Up to this point it is probably fair to say that elements of ambient music’s predecessors existed, and indeed thrived, on the periphery of the popular music of their time, rather than being front and centre of the mainstream. During the 1960s, that was about to change, albeit relatively slowly.

One interpretation of ambient music is that it is a style of calm, often electronic instrumental music with no discernible rhythm or beat, used to create or enhance mood or atmosphere. Ambient music emphasises tone and textural layers of sound that focus on the actual sounds being produced rather than the traditional musical form in which those sounds would normally reside. As such, ambient music may well intentionally eschew formal structured composition, harmony, melody and metre.

While now commonplace, ambient music, at least in the past, broke the rules of what we understand as familiar music or song content. Ambient music is not limited by accepted tropes of how it is produced, making use of acoustic and electronic musical instruments, unorthodox implements used as instruments, environmental sound recordings and sometimes vocals. A large proportion of ambient music is instrumental, not requiring narrative arrangement through either sung lyrics or spoken words.

One characteristic of ambient music since the 1990s has been the ubiquitous use of looping, creating repeated sections of sound, initially using tape and most commonly through digital effects. Another key trait has been the use of modern digital reverb and delay techniques to provide a sense of space, disconnection and otherworldliness.

One key element of ambient music is the way it can reward equally both passive and active listening. The listener can either focus on the content or allow ‘cognitive drift’ to occur, which can encourage a sense of calm, introspection or contemplation, meditation or as an aid to sleep.

While ambient music is a self‑contained genre, it does not stand alone; it has been incorporated into, or fused with, many other musical genres. This fact, in part, contributes to the debate about what ambient music actually means today and why it has become successful both artistically and commercially.

At last, getting to the point now… Ambient music as we now (think) we know it emerged in various forms during the 1960s and 1970s, largely thanks to the commercial availability of synthesizers. The album that is widely regarded as the watershed that brought ambient music to wider attention was, ‘Ambient 1: Music For Airports’ (1978) by British musician, producer and artist Brian Eno. This studio album also established the term ‘ambient music’ in the public mind set. Eno, either solo or in collaboration with other artists, released many subsequent ambient works, further defining the genre. By the early 1980s, the ‘new’ genre had become recognised and widely accepted. Eno has been oft‑quoted that “ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting”.

In 1995, Brian Eno used the term ‘generative music’ to describe any music created by a computer system that is ever‑different, non‑repeating and always changing. Eno has frequently used generative ambient music as a background for visual art installations, thereby creating an immersive audio visual experience. There are now a number of autonomous ambient music generators available on the Internet, such as Generative.fm, that provide completely unique compositions that never end, never repeat and last as long as the listener wants them to. The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into music is likely to expand the scope of generative music considerably.

A discrete subset of the genre is Japanese ambient pioneered by artists such as Hiroshi Yoshimura, Haruomi Hosono, Midori Takada, Osamu Sato and Susumu Yokota during the 1980s. The offshoot aligned with the Japanese concept of ‘wa’, meaning harmony and serenity. Japanese ambient was an expression of the deep cultural appreciation for nature, an aesthetic preference towards minimalism, and traditional values of maintaining peace.

Ambient has heavily influenced many sub‑genres of downtempo dance music, including ambient house, ambient techno, ambient dub, trip‑hop, nu‑jazz, new age, chillwave and deep house. Ambient has undoubtedly come a very long way from its avant‑garde artsy origins. Ambient was now cool and it was here to stay.

In recent years, ambient music has continued to evolve and expand. Some contemporary artists have incorporated elements of jazz, classical music, and other genres into their work, while others have experimented with new digital technologies such as AI and virtual or augmented reality to create new experiences. Improvisation and extemporisation have become integral elements of many ambient compositions.

Overall, ambient music has remained a vibrant and innovative genre that continues to explore the limits of what is possible in music. Perhaps, the essence of ambient music continues to flourish at the margins, requiring some effort to discover as the means of dissemination moves away from traditional record companies, labels, distributors and physical media. The Internet and streaming services may become the only means to access these esoteric future forms.

Ambient music’s experimental aspirations, though, have been an on‑going thorn in its side, which seems particularly hard to expunge. Partly because of its eclectic roots, many regard the lofty art & culture baggage of ambient as self‑absorbed, arrogant, sanctimonious, pompous and pretentious – or just plain dull and boring. Brian Eno in particular has attracted considerable scorn for refusing to conform to populist ideals and short‑term fads. The fact that he is not fazed by such clichéd criticisms and follows his own path regardless, encourages his opinionated detractors even further.

A predilection for ambient music is a choice, not a requisite and it doesn’t carry any cache amongst some imaginary elitist intellectual cultural community. It is, though, not for everyone, with many seeing ambient as a tedious interminable din. Indeed, if anything has been learned through the decades about ambient music is that its appeal is, at least partially, subliminal, nurturing our subconscious need for enlightened contemplation and therefore beyond our ability to control whether we appreciate it or not. Discuss…

Influential artists that have dabbled in ambient music either in part or whole include (in no particular order) Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, William Basinski, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Pauline Oliveros, Cluster, Biosphere, Harold Budd, John Hassell, Max Richter, Tim Hecker, Terry Riley, William Orbit, Four Tet, Steve Hillage, Stars Of The Lid, Bonobo, Mark McGuire, Ash Ra Tempel, Alice Coltrane, Jon Hopkins, Edgar Froese, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Caretaker, Laurie Speigel, Tycho, GAS, Boards Of Canada, Burial, Fripp & Eno, Slowdive, Air, Julianna Barwick, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Ben Chatwin, Richard Norris, Luke Abbott, The Cinematic Orchestra, Daniel Avery, Darshan Ambient, The Gentleman Losers, Ibizarre, A.M.P. Studio, Orbient, Nacho Sotomayor, Sigur Rós, Johnny Jewel, Bicep, Marconi Union, Memory Tapes, Neon Indian, Com Truise, The Orb, The KLF, Divination, Lawrence English and The Irresistible Force.


A brief history of other music genres related to (but not) ambient music

New age music –New age music emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, influenced by a variety of styles including classical music, jazz, world music, religious music, folk and rock. New age music often explores arcane folklore, ancient traditions, ethnic groupings, astrology, mythology, mysticism, spiritualism, fantasy and even the occult. Lacking any precise definition, it is often seen as an umbrella for many different and often divergent styles. Ambient and new‑age music are two distinct genres albeit with some overlap between them.

Starting with the similarities… New age music is a genre of music characterised by its soothing and relaxing qualities. It often features acoustic instruments such as flutes, harps, guitars and pianos, traditional Asian or African instruments as well as nature recordings and synthesizers. New‑age music is often used for relaxation, contemplation, yoga, massage, stress relief and anxiety management. As background music, it is used to create a calm, serene, peaceful atmosphere for other activities.

… and some key differences… Ambient music tends to be more experimental and abstract than new‑age music, with a greater emphasis on soundscapes and textures rather than rhythm, melody or harmony. New age music tends to be more melodic, structured and more easily accessible than ambient music.

Overall, both ambient and new age music are genres designed to create a sense of serenity in the listener (the ends). However, they go about achieving this goal in different ways (the means).

New age music has habitually been ridiculed (erroneously) for being part of hippie culture, with acolytes that embraced new age beliefs being called ‘zippies’. From the 1990s. Zippies were in favour of new age principles such as social change, environmentalism, and alternative lifestyles while also being influenced by rave culture, cyberculture, and psychedelic drugs.

New Age Travellers are a loose grouping of people primarily in the United Kingdom generally adopting new age beliefs along with the counter culture movement of the late 1960s. Their nomadic lifestyle often brought them into conflict with static communities and the authorities.

Prominent new age artists include Enigma, Enya, Deep Forest, Clannad, Gregorian, Phil Thornton, Patrick Kelly, Peter Gabriel, Bernward Koch, Paul Winter, Grouper, All About Eve and William Ackerman.

Nature recordings – Ambient nature sounds or, technically, field recordings are a popular sub‑genre of ambient music that feature environmental recordings such as the sounds of water, animals, thunderstorms, wind and even fire. The origins of combining natural sounds with musical compositions can be traced back to the early 20th century. Field recording is regarded by many as a genre in its own right, with or without music.

Field Recording

The use of field recordings in music became more widespread in the 1950s and 1960s with the advent of portable recording equipment and with digital recording from the 1980s. Musicians such as John Cage and Dan Gibson began using natural or built environmental sounds into their compositions.

The use of field recording in ambient music can be traced back to Brian Eno’s ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports’, which featured recordings of airport terminal announcements and other environmental sounds. Since then, many ambient artists have incorporated field recordings to create captivating soundscapes that blur the line between music and environmental sound.

Some popular ambient nature sound artists include David Dunn, Chris Watson, Dan Gibson, Diane Hope, Lawrence English, Biosphere and Francisco López.

Downtempo and chillout music – Ambient music did not burst onto the scene overnight and, at least initially, it did not attract significant commercial success. With the popularity of EDM and the domination of house and techno in nightclubs, ambient experienced a mini‑revival towards the late 1980s with sub‑genres including ambient house, ambient trance, ambient techno and ambient dub. During the dance‑dominated 1990s, ambient music became trendy as an after‑party ‘comedown’ with the advent of ‘chillout rooms’; spaces within clubs that served as venues for a relaxing alternative to the high‑energy ‘rave rooms’.

Chillout is a form of downtempo music (or vice versa) characterised by relaxed rhythms, mellow beats, laid back grooves and atmospheric soundscapes intended to induce a tranquil mood – fertile ground for ambient music to proliferate. Chillout is heavily derived from EDM, but typically at slower tempos and with sonic palettes often reminiscent of ambient, electronic‑styled new age, progressive electronic and even elements of instrumental hip hop, dub, deep house and breakbeat.

However, neither chillout nor downtempo come under the definition of ambient, due to their prominent use of structure and rhythm. Sunset beach bars, restaurant venues and cult dance clubs in Ibiza in the 1990s jumped onto the ambient/downtempo/chillout bandwagon as an escape from the more intense side of life and a counterpoint to the hectic rave and acid house scenes of the time. In the UK, the Bristol trip hop scene also capitalised on the chillout boom.

The chillout zeitgeist during the late 1990s was partly due to a proliferation of commercial chillout compilation albums from record labels such as Ministry of Sound, Café del Mar, Café Mambo, Beyond Records, Kompakt Records and Mercury Records. Mainstreaming ultimately motivated underground producers to move away from chillout into other more adventurous leftfield ventures. By the early‑mid 2000s, popularity of chillout music faded heavily. However, it would see a revival in the 2010s and 2020s (so far), which aimed to recapture the spirit of earlier forms of the genre.

Ambient and downtempo/chillout and are not interchangeable, although the boundaries between them are often unclear. Downtempo and chillout would go on a different path to influence subsequent genres like psybient, psychedelic trance, chillwave, lounge, post rock, lo‑fi hip hop, hypnagogic pop and nu‑jazz.

Prominent downtempo and chillout artists include The KLF, The Orb, Thievery Corporation, Deep Dive Corp, East India Youth, The Album Leaf, Nightmares on Wax, Falco, Robert Miles, Morcheeba, Bowery Electric, Mr. Scruff, Tosca, Hallucinogen and Ultramarine.

Trip Hop – Trip hop is a genre of electronic music that emerged from downtempo/chillout in the early 1990s. Trip hop is characterized by its use of hip hop beats, samples, and dense atmospheric soundscapes, fusing influences from jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub and R&B. Like other forms of electronic music, trip hop uses structure, melody and beats, differentiating it from ambient. The term trip hop was first used in an article in Mixmag magazine in 1994 about American artist and producer DJ Shadow. Trip hop music was popularised mainly by artists from Bristol in the UK such as Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky. Trip hop further influenced genres like instrumental hip hop and UK garage.

Other artists that have made use of trip hop leanings include Sneaker Pimps, Aim, Howie B, The Dining Rooms, FKA Twigs, Glass Animals, Kosheen, Martina Topley‑Bird, Poliça, Smoke City, 9Lazy9, Bomb The Bass, Coldcut, Morcheeba, Pretty Lights, DJ Shadow, DJ Food, DJ Vadim, Funki Porcini, Gorillaz and London Grammar.

Electronica – Electronica is a massively broad term for music that uses electronic instrumentation and sound manipulation technology as the primary means of production. As such, it is a catch‑all for music that doesn’t slot easily into existing sub‑genres. In its widest sense, electronica is pervasive, directly or indirectly, in much of modern contemporary music. There is, therefore no point in defining it or attempting to establish its scope here.

Since the 1960s, electronica artists have both influenced and taken influence from many other music genres. The commercial breakthrough of electronic music occurred with the advent and subsequent domination of synthpop, Europop and Eurodance in the 1970s. This was followed by EDM sub‑genres such as house, techno and electro from the 1980s onward. The burst in electronic creativity was fuelled by a self‑perpetuating feedback loop, pushing things further in the popular mainstream as well as in the margins that continues to this day.

Some prominent artists under the diverse panoply of electronica include (again in no particular order) Clara Rockmore, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Kraftwerk, Röyksopp, Gary Numan, Japan, David Sylvian, Natural Snow Buildings, Global Communication, Moby, The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Underworld, The Human League, Visage, Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, Ultravox, Rick Wakeman, Jean‑Michel Jarre, Skrillex, Leftfield, Herbie Hancock, Electronic, Deadmau5, Fred Again.., Sven Väth, Major Lazer, Armin van Buuren, Sasha, Thom Yorke, Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP), Daft Punk, Four Tet, Floating Points, Flying Lotus, Hot Chip, Pet Shop Boys, Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, Giorgio Moroder, M83, Goldfrapp, Amon Tobin, Carl Cox, Crystal Castles, Infected Mushroom, Groove Armada, Eat Static, LCD Soundsystem, Faithless, Disclosure, System 7, 777, Erasure, Yazoo, Paul van Dyk, Eric Prydz, Heaven 17, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD), Tears For Fears, Monaco, Bronski Beat, Vince Clarke, Eurhythmics, Thompson Twins, Yello, Squarepusher, Machinedrum, Pendulum, Romare, Calvin Harris, Apollo 440, Ladytron, MØ, Flume, Public Service Broadcasting, Solar Fields, The Grid, X‑Press 2, Arms And Sleepers, Caribou and ATB.


A brief history of ambient electronica (and related) artists

OK, so we’ve looked at some of the genres that have led up to the current day and the prevailing view of ambient music in context. Now, it’s time to take a brief look at some key artists involved along the way, whether they could strictly be considered proponents of ambient music or not. Here are some of the most prominent.

Tomita – Isao Tomita (1932‑2016) was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analogue synthesizer arrangements. Tomita is known for his electronic versions and adaptations of familiar classical music pieces as well as futuristic science‑fiction themes and trance‑like rhythms. Tomita received four Grammy Award nominations for his studio album based on music by classical composer Claude Debussy, ‘Snowflakes Are Dancing’ (1974). He also famously adapted Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets’ (1976).

Wendy Carlos – Wendy Carlos (1939‑) is an American musician and composer born as Walter Carlos and transitioning to female gender in 1972. She is known for her pioneering electronic music and film scores. Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before studying music composition at Columbia University in New York City. She helped in the development of Robert Moog’s first commercially available synthesizer. Carlos’ breakout release was Grammy Award‑winning ‘Switched‑On Bach’ (1968), an album of music by Johann Sebastian Bach performed entirely on synthesizer. Carlos went on to release further synthesized classical music adaptations, as well as experimental and ambient electronic music. She composed film scores for three major studio films, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971), ‘The Shining’ (1980), and ‘Tron’ (1982).

Tangerine Dream – Tangerine Dream is a German band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese (1944‑2015). The best‑known incarnation of the group was the mid‑1970s trio of Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann. Tangerine Dream is considered a pioneer in electronic, ambient and space music, a.k.a. kosmische musik (‘cosmic music’). Tangerine Dream were key members of the so‑called Berlin School of electronic music. Despite having released over one hundred albums over the years, they are best known for their use of synthesizers and sequencers, including milestone albums, Phaedra (1974) and Rubycon (1975). Tangerine Dream has also composed over sixty film soundtracks as well as the score for the video game Grand Theft Auto V. However, it is their mid‑1970s material that profoundly influenced the development of electronic music styles such as ambient, new age and EDM.

Klaus Schulze – German electronic music composer and musician Klaus Schulze (1947‑2022) is considered one of the pioneers of electronic music since the late 1960s. Schulze was an early member of the band Tangerine Dream before leaving to pursue a solo career in 1970. Schulze had a prolific career, releasing over sixty studio albums. Schulze’s music is known for its long, repetitive sequences and its use of analogue synthesizers. His early work was influenced by the psychedelic rock of the late 1960s and early 1970s, while his later work was more experimental and ambient. Schulze’s music has been used in films such as ‘The Exorcist’ (1973).

Brian Eno – English musician, composer, producer and artist Brian Eno (1948‑) has become synonymous with contemporary ambient music, pioneering and contributing to the ambient, electronica and minimalist drone genres. He started out in experimental rock, glam rock, art pop and art rock as former keyboard player with Roxy Music. Along with his extensive solo career, Eno has also collaborated on many side projects with other artists including Harold Budd, David Bowie, David Byrne, Fred Again.., Jon Hopkins and Cluster. Many of his collaborations explored beyond the scope of purist ambient music. He has also been prominent behind the studio desk producing many artists including John Cale, David Bowie, Jon Hassell, Laraaji, Talking Heads, Ultravox, Devo, U2, Coldplay, Daniel Lanois, Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones, Slowdive, James, Kevin Shields and Damon Albarn. In addition, Eno has composed a number of film scores. If that wasn’t enough, Eno has also worked prolifically in other media, including audio visual installations, art installations, film and as an author. As mentioned above, Eno pioneered the introduction and growth of generative music. A little known fact is that Eno also composed the six‑second music snip that accompanied the start‑up of the Windows 95 computer operating system, known as ‘The Microsoft Sound’. Love him or loathe him, Eno’s legacy is probably as far reaching as it is incalculable.

Brian Eno (courtesy of Cosciansky)

Kratwerk – German electronic band Kraftwerk was founded in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Kraftwerk is widely regarded as an innovator and pioneer of electronic music and was one of the first successful acts to popularise and commercialise the genre. The group began as part of West Germany’s experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before adopting electronic instruments for which they are best known, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Their massive hit single and album, ‘Autobahn’ (1974) cemented their reputation. Kraftwerk inspired many artists including David Bowie, Joy Division, New Order, Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem.

Jean‑Michel Jarre – Jean‑Michel Jarre (1948‑) is a French composer, musician and record producer. He is widely regarded as an innovator in electronic, ambient, new age and synthpop music. His breakout studio album, ‘Oxygene’ (1977) has become an electronica classic, selling over 18 million copies worldwide. Jarre’s musical style builds on the work of Tangerine Dream and adds a bit of populist French va‑va‑voom. He is famous for organising extravagant outdoor events involving laser light shows, visual projections and pyrotechnics to accompany his stage music. One of his concerts in Moscow, Russia in 1997 holds the world record for the largest audience for a single outdoor event, estimated at 3.5 million people.

The Orb – The Orb is an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. The duo began as ambient and dub DJs based in London before making the move into music production. The Orb is well known for their psychedelic ambient space sound. Over the years, The Orb has developed a cult following among clubbers ‘coming down’ from drug‑induced highs and, as such, their music became popular in club chillout rooms. Their influential debut studio album ‘The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld’ (1991) established the UK’s underground ambient house trend. The Orb’s second album, ‘U.F.Orb’ (1992) confirmed the band’s popularity and ensured their longevity. The Orb was influenced heavily by predecessors, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk. The Orb has maintained their signature science fiction aesthetic throughout their prolific career.

Amorphous Androgynous – British electronic music duo Amorphous Androgynous and its better known alter ego, The Future Sound of London (FSOL), was founded by Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans in 1988. The duo’s music is characterized by its psychedelic, ambient, and experimental sound. They acted as a bridge between the underground and well‑established electronic artists and has been influential in the development of electronic music genres such as ambient house, ambient dub and trip hop. They have released several albums, including ‘Tales of Ephidrina’ (1993) and ‘Lifeforms’ (1994).

Orbital – Orbital is an English electronic music duo founded by brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll in 1989. The band has had on‑off periods of activity, breaking up and reforming on more than one occasion through the years. The band’s name is taken from the M25, London’s orbital motorway, which was key to the early (illegal) rave scene and (legal) acid house scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Orbital’s involvement with dance music has led to its strong reputation as a live band. They have mixed ambient sounds along with techno, trance, breakbeat and electronic rock styles. They have also been hugely influential in the development of modern electronic sub‑genres such as glitch, wonky and Intelligent Dance Music (IDM), as well as EDM.

The Chemical Brothers ‑ English electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers, originally known as The Dust Brothers, was formed in 1989 by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester, UK. Along with peers, The Prodigy and Fatboy Slim, they were pioneers in bringing the big beat, techno, house and EDM to popularity. Their breakout studio album, ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ (1997) rapidly became a rave classic. Like Orbital, they have become regular headliners on the festival and arena circuits. While their music is far from ambient, the origins are still evident and their enduring influence has also been widespread.


Contemporary music genres related to ambient

Here we are now, well into the 3rd decade of the 21st Century, so what position does ambient occupy now? Has it stagnated, frozen in aspic? Is it languishing in some obscure genre limbo? Or is it still evolving either on its own terms or in other ways? Let’s look at where ambient influences have led us and which may give a clue to where it might be going in the future. Here are eight of the most important modern‑day ambient spin‑offs.

Drone – Drone is a music genre that plays on long, sustained tones or repeated single notes. Unlike other genres that use drones as a component, drone music puts drones at the forefront, removing most melody and rhythm. As such, it bears many similarities to ambient. Drone music explores the changing timbre of individual sounds over time. For electronic drone, this is often achieved by slight fluctuations in the drone’s pitch, tone and amplitude.

The origins of drone, whether electronic or classical, are found in traditional music from across the world and date back to the 1940s with ‘Monotone Silence Symphony’ (1949) by Yves Klein. Drone developed through minimal music and through rock. Drone has seen a resurgence in the 2020s. Drone music has expanded to influence countless other genres, including ambient, EDM, drone metal and post‑rock.

Progressive Electronic – Progressive music in its widest sense generally attempts to expand existing stylistic boundaries associated with a specific genre of music. It also places emphasis on creating a sense of progression or development throughout a piece of music. Layered soundscapes, intricate changes in rhythm, a wide range of sound effects and textures are commonly used. Improvisation is also a key characteristic of progressive electronic music, as many musicians use improvisation to create new and inventive sounds rather than relying on pre‑recorded samples or synthesizer presets. Another important aspect is the use of lengthy, extended compositions, with tracks frequently having multiple sections and mood changes. Basically, progressive electronic covers a large proportion of electronic music from the late 1960s to the current day, including post rock. Is it a genre in itself? Make up your own mind.

Vaporwave – Vaporwave emerged in the early 2010s and is characterised by its use of synthesizers, slowed‑down samples and a great deal of studio manipulation including time shifting and cutting up of sound clips, then applying reverb, echo and other studio effects. The advent of computer‑based digital audio workstations (DAWs), such as Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Abelton and Cubase, greatly aided production and the Internet provided the means of distribution through platforms like YouTube, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Vaporwave got its name from ‘vaporware’, a term applied to computer hardware or software which is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge.

At first, vaporwave was a nostalgic reflection of the sounds of the 1980s and 1990s, drawing from popular music, contemporary R&B, smooth jazz and muzak, as well as from consumer culture, corporate logos, films, radio broadcasts and television commercials. Vaporwave has been described as a form of ‘post‑Internet’ electronic musical movement that reflects the fragmented and disorienting experience of living in the digital age.

The release of ‘Eccojams Vol. 1’ (2010) by Daniel Lopatin, under one of his aliases Chuck Person, is widely regarded as the foundation of vaporwave as a genre. The debut was followed ‘Floral Shoppe’ by Macintosh Plus and ‘Far Side Virtual’ by James Ferraro (both 2011), bringing greater visibility to vaporwave and its associated aesthetics. Despite this, vaporwave remains niche with tracks not readily available on physical media such as CDs or vinyl.

Like ‘pure’ ambient, vaporwave shuns structure and rhythm. The use of looping, glitching, pitch‑bending, panning, and echoing sound samples came to define the sound of vaporwave, giving the patchwork sound a hazy, surreal, dreamy and atmospheric quality with a focus on hyperreality. The vapor movement alludes to a disconnection or separation from reality presented through its original form.

In addition, vaporwave gave birth to a distinct aesthetic based on subcultures like cyberpunk, seapunk, manga and anime. Artist names, album titles and track listings often used uncommon symbols and Japanese script. In conjunction with the heavily manipulated and often intentionally degraded sound of vaporwave music, much of the genre’s artwork featured low‑grade image distortion or digital artefacts, bringing the limitations and flaws of past technology and positioning it within the broader post‑internet artistic landscape. The integration of the visual and the music elements can be interpreted as a criticism of consumer capitalism and hi‑tech culture.

Dreampunk – Dreampunk is an evolution of Vaporwave, also emerging in the mid‑2010s. Dreampunk artists wanting to experiment with more minimal and atmospheric compositions while, at the same time, distancing themselves from the nostalgic restrictions of the 1980s. The Internet record label, Dream Catalogue, helped popularize dreampunk within the vaporwave community as well as further afield.

The abstract, hypnotic, atmospheric soundscapes and repetitive structure of vaporwave is perhaps closer to ambient music, although the presence of rhythm differentiated it from its predecessor. This contributes to the dreamlike ethereal sound for which the genre is known. Dreampunk artists tend to seek anonymity, with many using several Internet aliases to create a sense of mystique around their music, hiding behind the aesthetic, often utilizing abstracted imagery of cityscapes, neon‑lit night scenes and incorporating futuristic dystopian and cyberpunk themes. Like vaporwave, dreampunk also uses Japanese scripts to further mystify their image. Classic dystopian and cyberpunk films such as ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) and ‘Ghost in the Shell’ (1995) also influenced and inspired the music genre. Both vaporwave and dreampunk continue to thrive in the underground.

Ambient, morphed through the lens of vaporwave and dreampunk, heavily influenced other genres such as hypnagogic pop, chillwave, VHS pop, witch house and slushwave.

Some popular vaporwave and dreampunk artists include Blue In Tokio, Fishmans, T e l e p a t h (テレパシー能力者), 2 8 1 4, Windows96, SkyTwoHigh and Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza.

Chillwave – Chillwave, a.k.a. glo‑fi, is an Internet genre that originated predominantly from the United States circa 2009. Chillwave, like vaporwave, looked back to the aesthetics and musical styles of the 1980s and 1990s, intentionally evoking a sense of nostalgic reflection. Chillwave melded analogue instruments with modern recording technologies and techniques to create a hazy dreamlike atmosphere. Chillwave appropriated elements of synthpop, funk, downtempo, EDM and alternative/indie genres like indie pop, neo‑psychedelia and synthwave.

Chillwave, vaporwave and dreampunk led to a great deal of fusion and crossover material, blurring the differences between them. Chillwave declined in popularity by the start of the 2020s but like many other genres, the end of chillwave may have been greatly exaggerated. Expect it to come back to the fore in due course. Chillwave’s influence would go on to play a part in genres such as cloud rap, alternative R&B, future bass, synthwave, ethereal wave and bedroom pop.

Prominent chillwave artists include Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Washed Out, Memory Tapes, Flume, Com Truise, Tycho, Panda Bear, Lemon Jelly and Nite Jewel.

Intelligent Dance Music and its spin offs, glitch and wonky – Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) is a genre of electronic music that emerged in the early 1990s as a derivative (and rejection) of EDM. It is characterized by complex rhythms, intricate melodies, and a focus on sound design and experimentation. IDM artists often use unconventional time signatures, polyrhythms, glitches and de‑tuned sounds to create a unique listening experience. The genre is also known for its use of ambient textures and atmospheres, which can create a vague or otherworldly feel. IDM has been influential in the development of other electronic music genres such as ambient techno, and intelligent techno.

Some of the most well‑known IDM (and glitch/wonky) artists include Aphex Twin, Four Tet, Daniel Avery, Actress, Floating Points, Machinedrum, Moderat, Oneohtrix Point Never, Boards Of Canada, Mouse On Mars, Flying Lotus, LFO, Clark, Luke Vibert, Autechre and Squarepusher.

Dream pop – Deriving more from structured alternative and indie rock rather than ambient, dream pop uses reverb‑laden guitars, effects‑rich vocals, and dense studio production, to create a psychedelic, spacious, ethereal and surreal sound, albeit with a de‑emphasized beat accompanied by quiet, breathy harmonised vocals to elevate the music from its origins.

Dream pop is commonly fused with other genres such as shoegaze and noise pop, although dream pop does not solely depend on ‘walls of sound’, heavily distorted guitar layers or feedback. Dream pop relies heavily on modulation effects such as chorus, tremolo, vibrato, delay and reverb, to create mesmerising sonic textures. Dream pop bands often employ synthesizer layers to add atmosphere and lush soundscapes. Influences include slow core, post rock and trip hop.

In a similar way to shoegaze, vocals focus on melody and timbre, rather than lyricism. It is not uncommon for dream pop groups to have multiple vocalists to make good use of harmony and ‘instrumental’ vocals.

Prominent dream pop artists include Warpaint, 2:54, Lanterns of the Lake, Beach House, Cigarettes After Sex, The xx, Bat For Lashes, Low, Chromatics, Spiritualized, Julee Cruise, Broadcast, Zero 7, Phantogram, Yo La Tengo, Cocteau Twins, Dévics, Esben And The Witch, Pure Bathing Culture, School Of Seven Bells, His Name Is Alive, How To Dress Well, Lush, London Grammar and Mazzy Star.

Ambient dub – Ambient dub fuses ambient music with dub electronica. Ambient dub is a chillout fusion of ambient, dub reggae and future dub, featuring the atmosphere of the former and the Jamaican‑style basslines, percussion, and psychedelic production techniques of the latter. The name of the genre was coined by record label Beyond Records with a series of compilation albums of the same name, starting with, ‘Ambient Dub Volume 1: The Big Chill’ (1992). Many of the prominent artists within the genre also perform or mix in elements of dub techno, dubstep or ambient techno, which has led to some confusion over ambient dub’s actual sound. While the lines are indistinct between such electronic genres, ambient dub can genuinely be discerned by its denser atmospheres, a heavier use of reverb and/or delay, and an emphasis on bass akin to traditional dub, as well as reggae rhythms.

Notable ambient dub artists include: The Dub Syndicate, Bill Laswell, Dreadzone, Higher Intelligence Agency, The Orb, Ott, Loop Guru, Transglobal Underground, Jon Hopkins, Jah Wobble, Mad Professor, Burnt Friedman, Deadbeat, The Bug, Solar Quest, Ladytron and Banco de Gaia.

Dark ambient – before we leave, it’s worth a quick mention about dark ambient, a.k.a. ambient industrial. While most ambient music creates a peaceful, welcoming and safe place, dark ambient is intended to disturb. Dark ambient emerged as a post‑industrial counterpoint to the wider ambient landscape. It is characterised by an ominous, brooding, eerie, sinister and overbearingly gloomy atmosphere, often with discordant overtones, dissonant timbres and lengthy drones. Dark ambient often crops up in film scores intended to unsettle the audience and create a sense of disorientation or suspense.

Dark ambient artists include Deathprod, Agalloch, David Lynch, Throbbing Gristle, Angelo Badalamenti, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, William Basinski, Blut Aus Nord, Mortiis, Cabaret Voltaire, Dolorian, NON, Controlled Bleeding, Earth, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sunn O))) and Steven Wilson.

STOP! Enough already! I hear you cry. We are beginning to go down a bit of a proverbial rabbit hole here, so the short list that follows suggests other sub‑genres heavily influenced by ambient and its derivatives. These sub‑genres include black ambient, ritual ambient, space ambient, space music, ambient Americana, ambient house, ambient techno, ambient trance, psybient, psydub, minimalism, modern classical, ambient industrial, tribal ambient, pop ambient, dubstep and turntable music. Phew!


Key ambient+ albums:

As with my previous article on dub reggae, it would be remiss not to mention some of the key albums that have impressed over the years. Here are some predictable and some very unpredictable selections to showcase the vast expanse of electronic ambient music as it is today. As this article has hopefully shown, ambient isn’t a clearly defined pigeon hole with unbreakable rules but rather a constantly changing complex and diverse approach to experimental soundscapes. Hence this ‘top 20’ collection is more like ‘ambient+’ (as I call it; remember, you read it here first!), intended to demonstrate the ecosystem’s multiplicity. Another ‘desert island disc’ compendium to daydream about. Again, it was a difficult decision‑making process with many excellent works that didn’t make this particular cut. These albums are all classified as contemporary, i.e. 1975 to the current day.

  1. Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85‑92 (1993) and Vol. II (1994). Two seminal albums in the ambient genre that feature a mix of electronic and acoustic sounds. It is known for its dreamy, otherworldly soundscapes and has been described as ‘a journey through a strange and beautiful world’.
  2. Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978). Basically, the one that started it all. Essential listening for devotees of the ambient music genre. A starting point for the many great ambient works that followed and an entrée into Eno’s many other ambient works.
  3. Tangerine Dream – Rubycon (1975). Along with its predecessor, ‘Phaedra’ (1974), the pair stand out from the band’s extensive canon. The band had stopped using traditional instruments in its compositions and focused on analogue synthesizers and sequencers. Truly remarkable.
  4. Max Richter – Sleep (2015). Almost 8½ hours of sweet lilting lullaby, a transcendent, cinematic, post‑minimalist ambient album of gentle music intended to be experienced as much as it is to be listened to, awake or asleep (or, interestingly, in between – a phenomenon known as ‘eyelid movies’; what the mind conjures up when one is in the transitional state of near sleep).
  5. GAS – Pop (2000). A comforting, immersive experience and a lesson in how to make electronica sound organic and engrossing. Transcendent and transformative. A lysergic trip for your ears.
  6. Fripp & Eno – Evening Star (1975). Combining the talents of Brian Eno and Crimson King guitarist Robert Fripp. Good to see guitar making a contribution to ambient music.
  7. Four Tet – Rounds (2003). Not really ambient, more IDM and glitch. However, a disarmingly elegant stripped back intimate album. Perhaps, Kieran Hebdan’s landmark album.
  8. Boards Of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children (1998). Focusing on concepts of childhood nostalgia, created by the use of obscure samples and masterly manipulated layers of sound. The album has become rather essential listening along with ‘The Campfire Headphase’ (2005) and ‘Geogaddi (2002).
  9. Bonobo – Black Sands (2010). Lush, sumptuous and beguiling. Not ambient in a true sense but a great example of downtempo electronica from Simon Green. Also worth a listen is, ‘The North Borders’ (2013). Both also have excellent remix albums.
  10. The KLF – Chill Out (1990). A classic ambient album that features a mix of samples and original music. It’s known for its dreamy, atmospheric soundscapes and has been described as ‘a road movie in music form’.
  11. Stars Of The Lid – Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid (2001). An album that features long, slow‑moving pieces that are built around drones and other ambient textures.
  12. Chromatics – Night Drive (2001) – More ambient pop, dream pop and synthwave than pure ambient. Chromatics’ ethereal style was featured by David Lynch in his surreal TV series, ‘Twin Peaks’.
  13. Burial – Untrue (2007). Enigmatic London‑based dubstep artist burst onto the scene with an album that is stark, blurred, eerie, tender and hauntingly evocative. A breath taking and inimitable event.
  14. William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops I‑IV (2002‑2003). Four albums that feature loops of decaying tape recordings. The music is haunting and melancholic, and has been described as ‘a meditation on loss and decay’. Dedicated to the victims of 9/11. Tape music entropy as it happens, captured for posterity.
  15. Tim Hecker – Radio Amor (2003). An album that features a mix of electronic and acoustic sounds, including guitar and piano. It’s known for its dense, layered soundscapes and has been described as ‘a beautiful, immersive experience’.
  16. Banco de Gaia – Last Train To Lhasa (1995). Along with its predecessor, ‘Maya’ (1994), it shows the approach of Toby Marks to progressive ambient electronica. Again, not really ambient but hugely influenced by it.
  17. Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man In Babylon (2000). Along with its remix EP, ‘Babylon Rewound’ (2004) it takes other influences including reggae and dub and brought it into the downtempo chillout world.
  18. The Higher Intelligence Agency – Freefloater (1995). British artist Bobby Bird started off running experimental electronic music nights in Birmingham. Ambient techno meets ambient dub meets ambient. Also worth a listen is, ‘Colourform’ (2010).
  19. Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza & SkyTwoHigh – Imaginary Pathways (2021). The final Internet album by Brazilian musician and producer, Cesar Alexandre before his untimely death due to covid. More dreampunk, ambient techno and downtempo with a hint of vaporwave rather than ambient. Blissful.
  20. The Gentleman Losers – The Gentleman Losers (2006). Finnish brothers that take a mix of ambient, post rock, lo‑fi, dreamlike slowcore and even a hint of Americana and blend it into a strange place where one isn’t certain of what is light and what is dark.
20 Ambient+ Studio Albums

In addition, referring back to ubiquitous compilation albums of the 1990s, one of the most significant events was ‘Ambient Dub Volumes 1‑4’ by various artists (1992‑1995) – A series of ambient dub compilation albums from Beyond Records that announced ambient dub to the world. The last of the four isn’t quite up to the first three but best seen as a whole. Another name check is for the annual ‘Pop Ambient’ compilations (2001‑) curated by Wolfgang Voigt, the man behind Kompakt Records and his nom de guerre GAS (see #5 above).


The future of ambient and ambient‑related music

The legacy of ambient music in all its facets has had a major impact on pretty much everything we listen to, even if we aren’t always aware of it. The question is, where is it going?

Ambient has exhibited somewhat of a resurgence in the early 2020s. Part of this renewed interest may be because of what is called multi‑sensory branding, where media events attempt to evoke memories through stimulation of all the senses. Another reason may be the rediscovery of obscure Japanese ambient music, as well as an interest in previously experimental, niche or underground music now garnering mainstream recognition. Streaming services make accessing unconventional music much easier. In addition, the growth of interest in mindfulness and mental health & wellbeing as a ‘cure’ for stress and anxiety caused by an increasingly frenetic and unpredictable world has reinforced the search for aids to relaxation, introspection and contemplation.

One thing we’ve learnt from this escapade is that ambient and ambient+ (or whatever else you want to call it) has been pushing the boundaries ever since the start of the 20th Century. If nothing else, it will continue to explore the outer limits while influencing the mainstream.

Probably the most significant tool in the future of ambient electronica won’t even involve human beings or actual instruments! AI will make significant inroads into generative music. Ultimately, though, this is likely to be a bit of a creative dead end. The drawback of AI is that it can only learn from what has come before it, it lacks the imagination and inventiveness of the human mind. At some point, AI generated ambient will become stale and derivative and human creativity will, once again be needed to bring spontaneity and unpredictability back to front and centre of music. Go People!

Given the inherent limitations of traditional musical instruments, electronic music may, arguably, have the greatest potential for innovation and creativity. One can only imagine the possibilities yet to be explored.

While many critics view electronica as soulless, cold and inert, it is sure to develop the ability to elicit more organic, fluid emotional responses. Many artists are looking backwards to analogue instruments and production techniques to add warmth and to create beauty out of its inherent imperfections.

Genre developments can only surprise once before they become part of the historical mosaic. One possible future is that ambient reaches a point where it becomes sterile and disposable. One might envisage it derided in the way that elevator muzak has become. Arguably, a proportion of current‑day throwaway popular music is already demonstrating that bleak possibility with anything new ultimately being short‑lived around the periphery before being subsumed into universal, amorphous homogeneity.

How we will be listening to music is another factor. If music becomes more clichéd, contrived and derivative, it will become more and more dismissible, fading into the background environment. However, isn’t that exactly what Erik Satie intentionally started with back in 1917?

For some, like the author, ambient resonates with the psyche on both a subconscious and conscious level. Others, meanwhile, may find the genre melancholic or even highly irritating. Ultimately, like all music preferences, it is partly a deliberate decision and partly predetermined in some obscure way.

Personally, I have confidence that people who appreciate ‘real’ music and have a passion for creating and performing it that will perpetuate this idiosyncratic form of music into a healthy future. Once again, discuss…


Tailpiece

So… there you have it. Another lengthy (apologies) delve into a relatively narrow niche of the wondrous world of music. Back to the real world, sadly. I cannot write about things that I don’t have some sort of fascination with. Having said that, these ambient+ genres are not exclusive listening. However, they can be just the ticket when one feels like some chillaxing, escaping from reality or as an antidote to insomnia.

Why do I dig ambient and electronic ambient+ music? It just resonates with me, It creates a welcoming oasis of contemplative calm away from a crazily intense ‘real’ world and it is somewhere to go that isn’t, well, here. Nothing profound, transcendent or conceited. See you in The Matrix soon.

I have no idea what’s up next, so it will come as much of a surprise to me as it will to you. Thoughts on a postcard please.

Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “If you could literally have the world, what, exactly, would you do with it?”

© 2023 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

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August 2023 ‑ Dub Reggae Revelation

Prelude

It has been far, far too long since I wrote a CRAVE Guitars’ article. At some point, I may (or may not) go into the whys and wherefores behind the near 3‑year hiatus. I may also look into a brief résumé of what has happened to CRAVE Guitars during that period (hint… given Covid lockdowns, the cost‑of‑living crisis, etc., not a massive amount!). I am a bit out of practice.

In the meantime, I thought I would divert my attention a little, away from vintage guitars. The topic of this article is to present a few thoughts on one of my favourite music genres… dub reggae. It has allegedly been summertime in the UK, so I immersed myself in the crucial vibes of dub and that spawned the idea to write, which inspired me to listen to more dub, and write more. And so on. Although not particularly guitar oriented, I believe it is still worthy of exploration. As one might imagine, dub is often overlooked and misunderstood, even though it is a complicated branch of mainstream reggae. I hope that it may be of interest to someone out there and maybe, just maybe, there is something new to learn.

My passion for dub reggae was ignited in the mid‑1970s in a time before CDs when a friend introduced me to a specific vinyl LP, ‘Garvey’s Ghost’ by Burning Spear (1976). This particular studio album is the dub version of the vocal roots reggae album, ‘Marcus Garvey’ (1975), also by Burning Spear. For those not familiar with Burning Spear, Winston Rodney is a Rastafarian roots reggae artist, born in Saint Ann, Jamaica in 1945. As a youngster at the time, I hadn’t heard anything like it before and it made such an impact that it remains my favourite dub album and a reference against which others may be judged. I visited Jamaica back in 2008, although it wasn’t deemed safe for, especially white, tourists to move around freely.

This article looks at what dub reggae is, where it came from, why it became influential, who was involved and when it mattered. Despite some extensive research, I want to stress that this is my personal interpretation of the subject matter and should not be regarded in any way as definitive.

I would dearly like to illustrate the article with more images. However, copyright restrictions and CRAVE Guitars’ zero budget precludes relevant illustration. So… the words will have to suffice as a 1,000th of a picture.

Reggae, roots and dub, as music genres, should be viewed as a fundamental fragment of Jamaica’s fascinating geography, history, demographics, politics, economics, culture and religion.

Right… Time, then, to spark up the chalwa and feel the righteous vibration…


A brief history of Jamaica

It is quite astounding that such a prolific genre of music could arise in – and be sustained by – such a small island in the Caribbean. In order to understand the context into which such unbound creativity emerged, perhaps there is something in Jamaica’s past that may explain it.

Jamaica is the third largest island of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola (a.k.a. Haiti and the Dominican Republic), at 4,244 square miles. It has a tropical climate with hot and humid weather and high annual rainfall. Flora and fauna are also diverse with many species only found on the island, many in the Blue and Crow Mountains National Park. Jamaica lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic Ocean and has experienced significant storm damage on a number of occasions in its past.

Jamaican Beach

Humans have inhabited Jamaica from as early as 4000‑1000 BCE, although there is little known about their ancient society. The main pre‑colonial inhabitants were the Taino who may have originated from South America around 800AD. The indigenous Taino called their home Xaymaca. Most of the Taino people disappeared following the arrival of Europeans, although some may have sought safe sanctuary in the island’s mountainous and forested interior.

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, under the sponsorship of Spain, first sighted the island in 1494 and called it Santiago. Columbus spent a year shipwrecked on the island from 1503 to 1504. Jamaica was not considered strategically important by the Spanish.

Spain ruled Jamaica from 1494 to 1655. The capital was established in what is now known as Spanish Town. The Spanish were the first to introduce African slaves to the island. Over time, the Spaniards changed the name of the island from the native Xaymaca to Jamaica.

In 1655 Britain captured and colonized Jamaica by force and formally gained possession of the island from Spain in 1670.

Following the British takeover, the island’s governor actively offered safe harbour to pirates and buccaneers in Port Royal in south eastern Jamaica in return for defending the town from Spanish attack. Some of these mercenaries and renegades became legal privateers operating in the name of the King of England. The pirates focused on attacking and plundering mainly Spanish ships on the trade route between Spain and Panama. Perhaps the most famous privateer of the 17th Century was Welshman Henry Morgan, who also became a plantation owner and governor of Jamaica. The legendary pirate captain Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was also believed to live in Port Royal c.1700. By the end of the 17th Century, Port Royal was known as a Pirate Utopia and its pervasive corruption, prostitution and lawlessness earned it the nickname of ‘Sodom of the New World’. Even though piracy was outlawed in 1681, it wasn’t until around 1730 that pirate numbers disappeared after action from the British navy. Piracy still occurs in the Caribbean in the present day.

‘The wickedest city on earth’, Port Royal, was destroyed by a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 1692 (when part of the town sank into the sea), by fire in 1703 and by hurricanes in 1712, 1722, 1726 and 1744. It almost seems that the destruction of Port Royal was nothing short of divine retribution, with the hand of God smiting a modern‑day Sodom and Gomorrah. After that onslaught, Port Royal was effectively abandoned.

In the middle of the 17th Century, the Dutch introduced sugarcane to the British West Indies. Sugar rapidly began to replace cotton and tobacco as the main crop.

Britain set about increasing both the European and the African slave population throughout the 18th Century, as the sugar plantation industry spread across Jamaica. Success of the plantation system relied upon exploiting African slaves for labour. Many Jamaicans with slave origins can trace their ancestry back to the West African countries of Ghana and Nigeria. The British government abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and the practice of slavery itself in 1834. Consequently, the island’s plantation system collapsed. Descendants of African slaves who fled the plantations for the interior of the island set up their own communities and are still known today as Jamaican Maroons.

Britain made Jamaica a Crown Colony in 1866 and the capital was moved just 11 miles from Spanish Town to Kingston in 1872. Long‑term strife, through rebellions, resistance, skirmishes, riots and uprisings were commonplace throughout the 19th Century, causing significant social, economic and political unrest. Toward the end of the 19th Century, the demand for sugar waned significantly, creating severe economic decline.

The Jamaican government is based on a parliamentary democracy and the two main parties are the right‑wing JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) and left‑wing PNP (People’s National Party). A long‑standing feud between the two opposing parties has led to considerable political violence since they were formed in 1943.

Following the end of World War II, large‑scale emigration from Jamaica to the UK, USA and Canada occurred during the 1950s and 1960s when the country was still under British rule. Internally, political and racial tensions continued to grow and force change. Jamaica established internal self‑government in 1959 and became an independent island country on 6th August 1962. Jamaican Independence Day is celebrated annually as a national holiday. The independent Jamaica is part of the Commonwealth of Nations with the British monarch as head of state, at least for now. The Jamaican government is seeking further constitutional change from 2025.

Political conflict, economic instability and widespread gang‑related disorder were major issues that plagued Jamaican society during the remainder of the 20th Century and into the 21st. Jamaica experiences high levels of crime and violence, and has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Organised crime and gang violence are rife especially in deprived areas. An intense street culture developed with disaffected, violent and discontented youths often known originally as ‘rude boys’ and latterly, ‘yardies’. The street subculture became widespread, associated with Jamaican ska and rocksteady music, even spreading to the UK as part of the mod and skinhead trends of the 1960s where it became known as boss reggae’.

Reggae artists were sadly not immune from violence and gun crime. Among the artists tragically murdered include Prince Far I (1983), Hugh Mundell (1983), Peter Tosh (1987), Carlton Barrett (1987), King Tubby (1989), Junior Braithwaite (1999), Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes (1999), Lucky Dube (2007) and Winston Riley (2012). Famously, in 1976 seven armed men invaded Bob Marley’s home in Kingston in a failed assassination attempt. Marley was shot in the chest and arm and his wife, Rita Marley, was shot in the head. Both survived the politically motivated attack.

The Jamaican white population decreased drastically during the 19th Century. According to census figures, in 1662, 87% of the population was white while by 2011, it was just 0.16%. This dramatic decline was a result of the end of slavery, the decline of the sugar industry with the abandonment of plantations, and a blending of racial boundaries.

Today, Jamaica currently has a total population of approximately 2.8m, with over 92% being of black African origin. The major religion, by far, is Christianity at over 72% of the population, principally Protestant. The official language is English, while the main spoken language is a creole Jamaican Patois based on English. Jamaica’s national motto is, “Out of Many, One People.”

Over half the Jamaican economy relies on tourism and services, with an estimated 4.3 million foreign tourists visiting Jamaica every year. Sugar remains the main crop grown in Jamaica followed by bananas, cocoa and coffee. Mining, oil refining and manufacturing also make up a proportion of its GDP by sector:

  • Services – 58.22%
  • Industry – 20.93%
  • Agriculture – 8.34%
  • Other – 12.51%

The spiritual context behind reggae

Jamaican Flag

This is where things begin to get interesting. Jamaica is a diverse multi‑ethnic, multi‑cultural and multi‑faith country. However, the distinguishing religion that contributed significantly to the home‑grown music industry of the country, particularly reggae, is Rastafarianism. Below are a few notable individuals and some of the ritual symbolism that have helped to define Rasta from the 1930s to the current day.

Haile Selassie I (1892‑1975) – Haile Selassie was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until his death. Selassie’s pre‑imperial name was Ras Tafari Makonnen. Rastafarians adopted his name and believe in the incarnate divinity of Selassie as the messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on 21st April 1966, attended by approximately 100,000 black Jamaicans and Rastafarians from all over the island. Selassie reportedly respected Rastafarian beliefs even though he was a devout Christian. Selassie died in Ethiopia at the age of 83.

Marcus Garvey (1887‑1940) – Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Garvey was a Jamaican political activist and black nationalist. He was the founder and first President‑General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, commonly known as UNIA from 1914. Garvey was a key influence on the Rastafarian movement from the 1930s. Many Rastas regard Garvey as a prophet, although the reverence was not necessarily reciprocated, as Garvey was a Catholic, not a Rastafarian.

The principal tenet of Garveyism is the ideology of unification and empowerment of African‑descended people and the repatriation of the descendants of enslaved Africans to the African continent.

Garvey was responsible for the establishment of the short‑lived Black Star Line from 1919 to 1922, a shipping company created to facilitate the transportation of goods and Africans throughout the global economy. The company used the Ghanaian Black Star of Africa flag, as a symbol of the ‘Back to Africa’ movement and of anti‑colonialism. The line’s name was a rejection of the competing British White Star Line.

Marcus Garvey and the UNIA were responsible for the Pan‑African flag created in 1920 comprising three horizontal stripes of red, black and green. The colours represent red for the blood that unites all people of Black African ancestry and shed in the name of liberation, black for the colour of the people, and green for the abundant natural wealth of Africa.

Garvey died in London at the age of 52. When Jamaica gained independence in 1962, the new government hailed Garvey as a hero. In 1969, he was posthumously conferred with the Order of the National Hero by the Jamaican government.

Leonard Howell (1898‑1981) – Howell, along with peers Joseph Hibbert and Robert Hinds, was one of the first preachers of the Rastafarian movement. Howell is regarded by many as ‘The First Rasta’, following the coronation of Ethiopian Emperor Hailie Selassie in 1930. Howell died in Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 83.


Rastafarianism – While the predominant religion of Jamaicans in Christianity, Rastafarians make up only 1.1% of the Jamaican population. Rastafarianism is an unstructured religious movement originating in Jamaica in the 1930s and has now become established globally. Rastafarianism takes elements from the Christian Bible and combines them with the ideology of Marcus Garvey and the belief that Haile Selassie was the second advent of the Messiah. Many theologians question the legitimacy of the Rasta doctrine as a true religion in its own right, regarding its philosophy and beliefs as more of a pseudo‑religion.

Rastafarian Dreadlocks

Jah – Jah is a term widely used by Rastafarians as their name for God. Jah is a shortened form of YHWH (Yahweh, Yehovah, or Jehovah), translated as ‘lord’, as used by the ancient Israelites. The word Jah appears literally in the King James Bible (Psalm 68:4), “Extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him”. However, even though Rasta faith draws elements from the scriptures, the Jah of Rastafarians should not be regarded as synonymous with the God of the Christian Bible. The expression of Jah as spoken by Rastafarians is “I and I”, where the first “I” is the Almighty and the second “I” refers to oneself. A goal of Rastafarian meditation is to maintain or raise awareness of the unity of I and I.

Zion – Rastafarians regard Africa as their Promised Land, or ‘Zion’, specifically Ethiopia, due to the reverence held for Emperor Haile Selassie. Zion is another Biblical reference and an idealisation of Jerusalem. Zion may refer to Africa, Ethiopia or Jamaica, as well as an individual’s state of mind. Rastas commonly believe that Black Africans are descended from one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel through the lineage of the Ethiopian royal family. Neutral commentators might suggest that Zion has become a nostalgic, semi‑mythological and metaphorical paradise in the way it is idealised by Marcus Garvey and the Rastafarian movement. Furthermore, it may be argued that Zion is used more as a motivational symbol rather than an objective critical reality.

Babylon – Rastafarianism is strongly Afrocentric and proclaims that the African diaspora is oppressed and suffering in exile within Western society, which they refer to as ‘Babylon’. Rastas compare the exile of African people displaced outside Africa to the imprisonment of the Biblical Israelites in Mesopotamia. A frequent mantra for Rastas is to “chant down Babylon”, advocated by Marcus Garvey as the ultimate goal of Rastafarianism; to overcome oppression, bring an end to suffering, and act as a powerful anthem for social change.

Livity – Livity is seen as the ideal lifestyle for Rastafarians, comprising prayer and meditation, a righteous – often vegetarian – diet (ital), and the same positive love for everything (one love). Livity is about Rastafarians living a natural lifestyle, including a focus on the growth of natural hair and a rejection of alcohol, tobacco and synthetic medicines. Furthermore, the concept of livity incorporates a belief that the energy or life force of Jah exists within, and flows through, all living things (positive vibration). The word irie can mean anything from good, fine and OK to a powerful, pleasing and all‑encompassing quality.

Dreadlocks – While dreadlocks date back as far as 1600‑1500 BCE in Europe, the distinctive hairstyle, often called ‘dreads’, has been adopted by many Rastafarians. Dreadlocks in Rasta tradition are symbolic of the Lion of Judah, inspired by the Nazarites of the Bible and representing male inner strength and courage. The Lion of Judah is depicted at the centre of the Imperial Flag of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Natty Dread is a common term that refers to a Rastafarian with dreadlocks. In addition to the symbolic colours of red, black and green of the Pan‑African flag, the yellow stripe of the imperial flag is said to signify the historical rebellion against colonial rule and those who stole Jamaica’s wealth. The four colours – red, black, green and yellow – are collectively known as the Rasta colours. Since the 1970s, dreadlocks have become a popular fashion statement of choice worldwide, even among non‑Rastafarians.

Ganja – Marijuana/cannabis is colloquially referred to as ganja, callie weed, kaya and the herb. For many, although not all, Rastafarians, smoking of ganja is considered a sacrament and a key component of their belief system. Rastas contend that the use of ganja is promoted in the Bible, literally in Exodus, Psalms, Isiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. For instance, in the Book of Exodus, God gave Moses instructions to build the tabernacle (the Tent of the Congregation that was the portable earthly dwelling of Yahweh), “Then the Lord said to Moses, take the following fine spices, 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus [cannabis], 500 shekels of cassia – all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin of olive oil”. NB. One shekel equates to approximately 13g. For Rastas, the use of ganja is believed to have healing properties, is used an incense to ward off bad spirits, promotes peace and love, and provides introspection or meditation that enables them to discover their internal divinity. Ganja is smoked either in the form of a hand‑rolled spliff (joint) or through a ‘wisdom’ chalice or chalwa, a smoking pipe, also referred to as a kutchie. Ritual use of ganja is often used in communal meetings called ‘groundings’ or ‘groundations’ (depending on size) with ganja traditionally circulated in an anti‑clockwise direction. Rastas have long advocated for the legalisation of cannabis in those parts of the world where possession and use are illegal. Use of ganja became widely associated with Jamaican reggae music when performed by Rastafarians, especially during the 1970s.

Jamaican Ganja

Reggae music variants and timeline

Mento – Mento is a Jamaican acoustic folk music that melds West African and European influences into a distinct style. Calypso music, which emerged from Trinidad and Tobago far to the south east of Jamaica, had tended to become a generic term for West Indian music. However, while mento is similar to calypso, it should not be confused with it. Jamaican mento was particularly popular in the 1940s and 1950s and is closely associated with Jamaican rhythm & blues (R&B). A mento band generally used acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums and a rhumba box used for basslines. Mento lyrics were a commentary on Jamaican social life and issues experienced by Jamaican citizens. Mento is still played today, mainly for tourist entertainment. Mento is important because it is regarded as a necessary precursor of ska, rocksteady and, ultimately, reggae, roots and dub.

Notable mento artists included Louise Bennett, Count Lasher, Lord Flea and, most famously, Harry Belafonte, an American star born in Jamaica.

Nyabinghi – Nyabinghi is one of the oldest and most traditional ‘orders’ of Rastafarianism. For instance, on 23 July each year, a Nyabinghi groundation is held to celebrate the birth of Emperor Haile Selassie I. In musical terms, Nyabinghi comprises African inspired drumming rhythms, often accompanied by chanting in a sacred art and form of worship that can last for days. Nyabinghi is essentially a pre‑reggae Rasta musical form that heavily influenced ska, rocksteady, reggae, roots and dub that followed it. There are three types of Nyabinghi drums, thunder, funde and repeater.

Notable Nyabinghi artists included Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari, Bongo Herman and Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus.

Ska – Ska is a lively and energetic popular dance music and is seen as the forerunner of reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento, calypso, American jazz and rhythm & blues. Early ska from the first half of the 1960s was also known as bluebeat. The word ‘ska’ first appeared in a 1964 news article, despite the genre having been around since the late 1950s. The term ska is possibly a contraction of ‘skavoovie’, a greeting used by musician Cluett Johnson. Alternatively, ‘ska’ was used by Jamaican musician and producer Byron Lee to differentiate ska from mento.

Jamaican ska music is characterised by a 4/4 rhythm with drum accent on the 3rd beat of the bar and a guitar chop on the 2nd and 4th beats, known as an upstroke or ‘skank’. Skanking is also an indigenous dance style that accompanied ska music. One of the earliest ska tracks was, ‘Easy Snappin’’ by Theo Beckford (recorded in 1956 and released in 1959), made popular by producer Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd and his Downbeat Sound System. ‘My Boy Lollipop’ (1964) by Millie Small is widely regarded as the first international ska hit single.

Special mention should be made of Laurel Aitken, a Cuban/Jamaican singer, often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Ska’. A legacy of ska, known as boss reggae, became very popular in the UK, as the skinhead trend cottoned on to high energy ska through their association with Jamaican youths in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Ska has had roughly three incarnations; original Jamaican ska from the late 1950s and early 1960s, British 2‑Tone in the post‑punk late 1970s and the so‑called ska revival of the 1980s and 1990s.

Notable ska artists include Desmond Dekker, The Skatalites, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, Lorenzo ‘Laurel’ Aitken, The Melodians, Toots & the Maytals, Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff, Derrick Morgan, Ernest Ranglin and The Pioneers.

In the UK, notable ska artists include The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, The Beat, The Selecter, Judge Dread and Spunge.

Rocksteady – Rocksteady was a short‑lived but crucial musical link between ska and reggae. Rocksteady was essentially a slower tempo form of ska and was popular as a dance genre. It emerged around 1966 and was popular for only 2 years until 1968 when reggae became the predominant genre. The term rocksteady came from a song by Alton Ellis called, ‘Rocksteady’ (1967). Producer Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd continued to be a key character in rocksteady. Rocksteady was influenced by American soul, resulting in a focus on romance and love songs, which became known as ‘lovers rock’, a mainstream reggae sub‑genre in its own right. Rocksteady was also influential in the evolution of radio friendly pop reggae and Euro reggae.

Notable rocksteady artists included The Paragons, The Heptones, The Gaylads, Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe, Phyllis Dillon, The Wailers, Jackie Mittoo, The Ethiopians, Tommy McCook, The Melodians and Hopeton Lewis.

Reggae – Rocksteady rapidly evolved into what we now know as mainstream reggae from around 1968. The word reggae first appeared on a single by Toots and the Maytals, ‘Do the Reggay’ (1968). It was around that time that Jamaican studio technology began to be upgraded and the role of producers and sound engineers became increasingly important. Reggae arrangements typically comprise vocals, drums/percussion, bass, guitar(s), keyboards and horns. Reggae bands tended to have fewer musicians, horns became less prominent, bass players tended to become more experimental, aided by the slower tempo that began with rocksteady.

Reggae retained the same 4/4 time signature as its predecessors, although its component parts now became more stylized. The drum pattern, usually snare and bass drum, retains its emphasis on the 3rd beat of the bar. As there is no accent on the 1st beat, it is ‘dropped’, hence what is called reggae’s ‘one drop’ rhythm. In addition, the slower ‘rockers’ rhythm uses a bass drum on every eighth note, while the even slower ‘steppas’ rhythm uses a bass drum on every quarter beat. Reggae also retains the guitar or keyboard staccato ‘skank’ on the offbeat 2nd and 4th beats. Reggae introduced the offbeat double‑skank, enabled by the slower, more laid back tempos of reggae rhythms. The rhythm part often uses melodic, syncopated basslines.

An important element of reggae and dub was the ‘version’. B‑sides of rocksteady and reggae singles were often instrumental with greater emphasis on drums and bass, and little or no vocals. Guitar and keyboards, as lead instruments, were ‘dubbed’ in and out of the mix with little studio manipulation.

The Jamaican sound system culture (effectively nightclubs) made great use of these ‘versions’ as a basis for a live artist or MC to talk, chant or rap over the rocksteady backing tracks. The practice became known as deejaying or toasting. Probably, the most famous deejay of the era was U‑Roy who used rhythms made by producer Osbourne Ruddock (a.k.a. King Tubby) as a backing for his distinctive ad‑libbed vocals. To keep things simple and cheap, many ‘riddim’ tracks, as they were known, were used over and over. The person choosing the music and operating the turntables for sound systems was called the ‘selector’, rather than a DJ. Many observers have suggested that American rap and hip hop had its roots in Jamaican deejay/toasting from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

At the same time, the Rastafarian movement became increasingly popular and Rasta traditions became a key, if not core, part of reggae culture. Rastafarian artists’ influence led to reggae lyrics that gave greater prominence to black consciousness, politics and protest. In turn, reggae, to a lesser or greater extent, became a vehicle for Rastafarian messages and provided a platform for Rastafarian visibility. Ironically, while Rastas saw Babylon as the oppressor, they actively used Babylon to spread their Afrocentric gospels.

While ska and rocksteady were popular, reggae became a mainstream global phenomenon in the first part of the 1970s, helped largely by Jamaican reggae’s iconic ambassador, Bob Marley. Marley has sold more reggae records than any other artist in history. ‘Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ (1984) is the biggest‑selling reggae album of all‑time with over 28 million copies sold since its release. There is so much written about the legend that is Robert Nesta Marley (1945‑1981) that I won’t retell his story here. Suffice it to say that no‑one from Jamaica has had the impact that Marley had through his music, his image and his Rastafarian beliefs

Bob Marley

Another key factor in the globalisation of reggae music was the Jamaican crime film, ‘The Harder They Come’ (1972), starring reggae star Jimmy Cliff. The soundtrack to the film became commercially successful in many countries outside the Caribbean, greatly raising awareness of reggae on the international stage.

The extraordinary success of Jamaican reggae helped to sustain international demand for pop reggae and lovers rock for radio playlists and singles charts. The phenomenal popularity of reggae, including commercial songs produced by non‑Jamaican artists for non‑Jamaican audiences, boomed particularly in the USA and UK. This cross‑pollination and fusion with other musical genres led to the vastly increased diversity of reggae styles, while its heritage still remained instantly recognisable.

Reggae was also influential in the British punk rock/post‑punk/new wave era including works by artists such as The Clash, the Ruts, The Police, Jah Wobble, Don Letts, Blondie and The Slits.

Notable reggae artists across its hugely diverse catalogue include (in no particular order) Bob Marley & The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Culture, Black Uhuru, Israel Vibration, The Itals, Dennis Brown, Horace Andy, Sly & Robbie, U‑Roy, Jacob Miller/Inner Circle, John Holt, Third World, Don Carlos, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Alcapone, Sugar Minott, Beres Hammond, Junior Reid, Maxi Priest, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Aswad, Dillinger, I‑Roy, Trinity, Junior Murvin, Marcia Griffiths, Althea & Donna, Big Youth, Junior Byles, Susan Cadogan, Dr Alimantado, Clint Eastwood & General Saint, Matumbi, Eddy Grant, Jah Cure, Lone Ranger, The Maytones, Musical Youth, Dawn Penn, Ranking Dread, Ranking Joe, Garnett Silk, Twinkle Brothers, The Upsetters, The Wailing Souls, The Hippy Boys, I Wayne, Mikey Dread, Morgan Heritage, Tapper Zukie, Boris Gardiner, Lucky Dube, and UB40.

Notable reggae producers include Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs, Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee, Harry J, King Tubby and Dandy Livingstone.

Notable international reggae record labels responsible for bringing the genre to the global masses include Island Records, Greensleeves, Virgin Frontline, Trojan Records, Jamaican Recordings and VP Records.

Roots Reggae – The lines between reggae and roots are blurred. Perhaps it is better to see them as ends of a continuum with artists leaning more to one end or the other, rather than being discrete or derivative. Roots evolved at the same time as reggae in the late 1960s. Many reggae artists attracted by commercial success, fame and international recognition also crossed over into roots with its more serious and authentic style and vice versa. The likes of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were prime examples of reggae artists tapping into the ‘vibration’ of Rastafarian black pride and African roots.

The visit of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966 led directly to a growth of the Rasta movement and the idea of black liberation and the spiritual connection to God (Jah). Rastafarian transcendent themes and the unrest of Jamaican political violence were integral to roots, engendering it with a more ‘gritty’, socially conscious and down‑to‑earth style than its more popular, more acceptable, and marketable counterpart. Even the word, roots, referred to the origins – roots – of West African slave descendants. The hard‑hitting messages of roots were seen as revolutionary, fuelling urban conflict and resistance in Jamaica. Roots became particularly popular in the UK and Africa. Roots, like mainstream reggae, was overtaken in popularity by dancehall by the early 1980s.

Notable roots reggae artists include Burning Spear, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Misty in Roots, Steel Pulse, The Congos, Linval Thompson, Prince Far I, Bunny Wailer, Max Romeo, The Mighty Diamonds, The Abyssinians, The Gladiators, Luciano, Johnny Clarke, Keith Hudson, Prince Lincoln Thompson, Alpha Blondy, Junior Murvin, Winston Holness, Michael Prophet, Hugh Mundell, The Revolutionaries, Morwell Unlimited, Roots Radics, Pablo Moses, Cornell Campbell, The In Crowd, Bushman and Yabby You.

Dub reggae – At last… getting to the root (sic!) of this article. The sublime (and occasionally ridiculous) dub reggae.

Dub reggae is quite difficult to define and is perhaps best described by the sum of its parts. Essentially dub comprises the remixing of existing recordings, at least that’s how it began. Producers and sound engineers extensively manipulated the original track by (usually) removing the main vocal content, resulting in largely instrumental arrangements. Studio effects such as reverb and echo are used widely on pretty much all but the earliest dub recordings. The drum and bass parts – providing the ‘riddim’ – are the heavy driving centrepiece of dub tracks. On top of the sparse rhythm base, lead instruments, vocal extracts and/or other, often seemingly random, sounds are dubbed in and out of the mix. These basic components give dub a very distinctive and recognisable sound. Dub tracks mixed on the then new analogue multi‑track recording desks made isolating different musical elements far simpler and creating multi‑layered arrangements much easier. Modern dub is usually composed as dub from scratch.

The word dub derived from early film soundtracks of the 1920s and the copying – doubling – of a sound recording from one medium to another. Jamaican dub emerged in the late 1960s, roughly at the same time as reggae and roots. The purely accidental omission of the vocal track for a ‘version’ of The Paragons hit, ‘On The Beach’ (1967) by sound engineer Byron Smith proved highly popular and extremely fortuitous, as it basically spawned a genre. After that simple error, instrumental ‘versions’ of reggae songs were ‘dubbed’ onto acetate discs. Over time, dub came to describe the method used to create the distinctive style as much as the music itself. The term ‘dubwise’, coined by ace rhythm duo Sly & Robbie, has come to mean using a strong drum‑led bassline in dub.

Studio sound engineers and producers treated the mixing desk as an experimental instrument in its own right and essential to the creation of the dub sound. Some studio staff attracted an almost legendary reputation, well beyond that of the musicians actually providing the music. Producers such as Osbourne Ruddock (King Tubby), Lee “Scratch” Perry, Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson were the pioneers of what we now know as dub, with many apprentices such as Scientist following in their footsteps. The authentic sound of dub has been attributed to the use of analogue recording studios of the 1970s when there were no digital effects or tracking. While many artists release both vocal and instrumental dub ‘versions’, some are associated more with dub. Some key figures, like Lee Perry and Augustus Pablo, were both artists and producers.

A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10” diameter, traditionally used by studios after mixing and prior to mastering. However, dubplates were pioneered by producer King Tubby for reggae sound systems as a way to distribute and play exclusive music. Special one‑off ‘versions’ would be cut for crews from different sound systems to compete head‑to‑head in what was called a sound clash. These unique discs were known as ‘dubplate specials’ and attracted high demand. The aim of a reggae sound clash is to go song‑on‑song (“dub fi dub”) and beat or ‘kill’ their opposition. The sound clash craze spread to London in the 1970s with the likes of Jah Shaka’s Mighty Jah Shaka Sound System being one of the first. The British film drama, ‘Babylon’ (1980) focused on London, urban Brixton’s sound systems and its sound clash culture.

Then there is the extended 12” Reggae Discomix. These have nothing to do with mirror balls or Travolta‑esque dance moves. A Reggae Discomix is the original, usually roots, vocal track immediately followed by a dub version, mixed together in heavy style. For some, the Discomix provides the best of both worlds.

As dub crept up on Jamaican audiences, there has been much debate over who released the first dub album, especially as local administrative record‑keeping was not seen as important at the time. Rather than try to credit any specific release it is, perhaps, better just to celebrate the quality of the early dub albums.

The pre‑dub release of ‘The Undertaker’ by Derrick Harriott and the Crystallites (1970), engineered by Errol Thompson was one of the first instrumental rocksteady albums. Another proto‑dub album was Bob Marley & The Wailers’ instrumental rhythm ‘Soul Revolution 2’ (1971), also called, ‘Upsetter Revelusion Rhythm’, produced by Lee Perry.

Competing for the first legitimate dub album were, ‘Blackboard Jungle Dub’ / ‘Upsetters 14 Dub Black Board Jungle’ (released 1973) mixed in stereo by King Tubby and Lee Perry. A further contender for first dub album was ‘Java Java Java Java’ (recorded c.1972, released 1973) by Impact All Stars featuring melodica maestro, Augustus Pablo and produced by Errol Thompson. ‘Aquarius Dub’ by Herman Chin Loy (recorded c.1971‑1973, released c.1975) with a stripped back, largely instrumental sound without much studio trickery was also one of the first. All of these recordings were seminal and proved highly influential. Certainly worth checking out, if nothing else.

The mid‑1970s was the peak creative period for dub and, just like reggae and roots, dub gave way to dancehall in the early 1980s. Over time, dub has developed its own style that extended way beyond its original traditional roots influences, many in the sub‑genre underground. Dub, has endured and has seen a resurgence in the 21st Century, not only in its original form but in many contemporary forms as well. Dub’s influence has spread far and wide over the years, and not just in reggae.

Some notable dub reggae artists and producers include King Tubby, Prince/King Jammy, Scientist, Niney The Observer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Upsetters, Herman Chin Loy, Dennis Bovell/Blackbeard, The Aggrovators, Augustus Clarke, Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee, Alpha & Omega, Gaudi, Mad Professor, Augustus Pablo, Sly & Robbie, Linval Thompson, Roots Radics, Alborosie, Errol Brown, Joe Gibbs, Yabby You, Ossie Hibbert, Dub Syndicate, Soul Syndicate and Errol ‘E.T.’ Thompson.

Notable Jamaican sound systems include King Tubby’s Hometown Hi‑Fi, Winston Blake’s Mighty Merritone, Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Downbeat, Duke Reid’s The Trojan, Noel ‘Papa Jaro’ Harper’s Killamanjaro (intentionally misspelled) and Tom Wong’s Tom The Great Sebastian.

Dancehall – Dancehall is a departure from traditional reggae both in style, content and production. Faster riddims were often constructed digitally and vocals were once again rapped. Dancehall evolved as a product of political turbulence, economic uncertainty and extensive social change in Jamaican communities during the early 1980s.

While reggae has never really fallen out of fashion, its mainstream reach had become ever more diluted and its popularity declined in the early 1980s. Another factor was the death of Bob Marley in 1981. This tragic event seemed to symbolise the ‘end of reggae’ as we know it. Thirdly, studio recording technology in Jamaica was transitioning from the old analogue desks to more modern digital equipment, thereby changing the intrinsic sound and techniques of recordings from rough‑and‑ready to slick, clean and sharp. Electronic instruments were also increasingly digital. Lyrics tended to be about partying, dancing, violence and sexuality, rather than the now‑outdated Rasta messages of social injustice, suffering and oppression.

All these factors, among others, led to the emergence of dancehall. Initially, dancehall music was not widely played on radio and was seen by many Jamaicans as the people’s music of the 1980s and 1990s. The legacy of dancehall is helped by the growth of digital reggae since the 1980s. Producer Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell and his Xterminator record label was a key factor in establishing dancehall’s longevity.

Notable dancehall artists include Eek‑A‑Mouse, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Yellowman, Barrington Levy, Sean Paul, Cocoa Tea, Prince Jazzbo, Shabba Ranks, Tenor Saw, Sizzla, Anthony Johnson, Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin and General Echo.

Ragga – Ragga, a contraction and bastardisation of ‘ragamuffin’, used as a pejorative term by white colonists, became associated with scruffy and unkempt Jamaican ghetto dwellers. Jamaican youths appropriated the insult with the intentionally misspelled Raggamuffin music or, more commonly, Ragga in the early‑mid 1980s. Ragga emerged in Jamaica during the 1980s as a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music fused with hip hop and digital electronica. With its ‘gangsta’ leanings, some ragga is much closer to hip hop than reggae. Ragga has its origins in the late 1960s and, like deejaying/toasting before it, is distinguished by a DJ that improvises lyrics over a sampled or electronic backing track. Like dancehall, the musical style is quite different from reggae.

One of the earliest ragga tracks was, ‘Under Mi Sleng Teng’ (1985) by Wayne Smith, produced by King Jammy. Ragga is often seen by many as synonymous with dancehall and therefore has a lower profile despite its rich history. Ragga heavily influenced early jungle and dubstep music.

Notable ragga artists include Chaka Demus & Pliers, Shaggy, The Bug, Frankie Paul, Ini Kamoze, Capleton, Wayne Smith and Bounty Killer.

Soca – Soca, a.k.a. Soul of Calypso, is a music genre that emerged in the 1970s as a result of Trinidadian Lord Shorty, the ‘Father of Soca’, who attempted to revive the spirit of untainted calypso music, which had declined in popularity compared to the rise of reggae. While soca is not reggae, it fuses calypso with African and East Indian influences, as well as elements of Jamaican reggae. Jamaican ska artists, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires also dipped their toes into the warm waters of soca.

Reggaeton – Another, arguably derivative, form of reggae developed in the 1980s in Panama, called reggaeton. Central American ‘big reggae’, or reggae grande, evolved from dancehall and combines reggae tropes with American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music, with vocals sung or rapped, often in Spanish. Puerto Rican, Daddy Yankee is probably the best known reggaeton artist.

There are various other reggae sub‑genres not mentioned above, such as kumina, Niyabinghi, and reggae fusion, along with derivatives such as ska jazz and ska punk. No radical new sub‑genres have really appeared since the 1980s, perhaps suggesting a degree of creative stagnation. Reggae does, however, continue to produce new artists, including Ziggy Marley, Protoje and Chezidek.


The legacy of dub reggae

Jamaica’s musical legacy is massively disproportionate to its humble genesis. Dub reggae’s influence has grown over the years and continues to exert its presence, not only on reggae and its sub‑genres but also across many other music genres including dub poetry, hip hop, punk, dubstep, big beat, jungle, grime, trip hop, drum & bass, techno, ambient dub, future dub, UK garage, dubtronica, psydub, electro‑dub, post‑disco, EDM/IDM, rock and pop. It is fair to say that dub’s fingerprint is pervasive in modern music to some extent or other. Such diversions were orchestrated by alternative artists such as Adrian Sherwood, Jah Wobble, The Orb and Sound Iration.

(Dub) reggae’s geographical reach has also spread globally with artists from many countries getting involved with the dub bonanza, including Slamonella Dub, The Black Seeds and L.A.B. (New Zealand), Rebelution (Austria), Soul Revivers, Alpha Steppa, Steel Pulse, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Pato Banton, Aswad, Oku Onuora, Creation Rebel, Dennis Bovell/Blackbeard, Winston Edwards, Dreadzone, Hollie Cook, Dubkasm, Zion Train and Alpha & Omega (UK), Alborosie and Gaudi (Italy), Bush Chemists and Dubmatix (Canada), Dubblestandart (Austria), Brain Damage and Manudigital (France), 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, Groundation and Easy Star All‑Stars (USA), Ace Of Base (Sweden), Alpha Blondy, Colbert Mukwevho, Ismael Isaac and Lucky Dube (Africa), and Pressure Drop (Australia).

The current and future of reggae

The second decade of the 21st Century has seen a renewed interest in reggae roots and dub in its many variants. Contemporary reggae, particularly with a heavy use of electronica, is often described as ‘digital reggae’ because of the type of instruments and recording methods used in modern studio production. Purists say that digital reggae lacks the raw emotion and earthy authenticity of analogue reggae, roots and dub. Techniques that were simply not possible in the past are now commonplace and the requirement for traditional brick‑and‑mortar studio space has reduced significantly with the widespread use of home recording. Cynics might suggest that ease of digital production has distorted established tropes to become clichéd or caricatures of the original; detached or at least dislocated from its Caribbean ghetto background. Perhaps it is better to celebrate success and accept the status quo as an ‘and’, rather than an ‘either or’.

By the late 2000s, dancehall reggae from the privileged districts of uptown Kingston and without connection to the generally disadvantaged areas of downtown Kingston, perhaps unsurprisingly, became known as uptown reggae, including artists like Sean Paul, Alex Marley and Marcus I.

The so‑called reggae revival is a trend that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, even if it doesn’t regain the multinational dominance it had in reggae’s ‘golden era’ from 1968 to 1983. While its pedigree lies in the unique tapestry of Jamaican life, location and history, reggae and dub are now a global phenomenon, safe in the hands of enthusiasts keeping the traditions and influences alive and well. More importantly, opportunities for involvement in dub are available to all.

While Rastafarianism is reportedly in favour of gender equality, female artists have been woefully underrepresented in reggae generally and particularly in dub. In addition, several dancehall and ragga artists have been accused of homophobia, including targeted song lyrics, aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. Hopefully, these intolerant and prejudicial characteristics will be overcome in time.


Some great reggae and dub recording studios

The concentration of outstanding studio capacity into one small city (with a population of less than 2 million people) is truly extraordinary. The key studios, some famous and others less well known, are listed below in alphabetical order. These studios are all based in Kingston, Jamaica – the spiritual home of reggae – unless stated otherwise:

  • Aquarius – founded by Herman Chin Loy in the early 1970s
  • Ariwa – founded by Mad Professor in London, UK in 1979
  • Big Ship – founded by Freddie McGregor in 1995
  • Black Ark – founded by Lee “Scratch” Perry in 1973
  • Black Scorpio – founded by Maurice ‘Jack Scorpio’ Johnson in the early 1970s
  • Channel One – founded by Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Hoo Kim in 1973
  • Digital B – founded by Bobby Digital Dixon in 1988
  • Dynamic Sounds – founded by Byron Lee in 1963
  • Federal – founded by Ken Khouri in 1961
  • Harry J – founded by Harry J in 1972
  • Hitmaker Studio – founded by Donovan Bennett in 2002
  • Jammy’s – founded by Prince/King Jammy in 1985
  • Joe Gibbs – founded by Joe Gibbs in 1975
  • King Tubbys – founded by Osbourne Ruddock in 1971
  • Music Works – founded by Augustus ‘Gussie’ Clarke in 1988
  • Penthouse – founded by Donovan Germain in 1987
  • Randy’s – founded by Vincent ‘Randy’ Chin in 1962
  • Studio One – founded by Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd in 1963
  • Treasure Isle – founded by Duke Reid in 1964
  • Tuff Gong – founded by Bob Marley in 1977
  • Wackie’s – founded by Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes in New York, USA in 1973
  • Xterminator – founded by Philip Fatis Burrell in 1988

Some great dub reggae recordings

It would be remiss of me, after all of that exposition for me not to reveal my preferences for some dub reggae albums. This is purely subjective and based on my own personal favourites, rather than any form of recommendation. This is, hopefully obviously, only be the tip of an enormous iceberg. There are innumerable possibilities from which to choose and picking a top 20 was a tough job, albeit with perhaps a fairly predictable outcome. Apologies to all those I might have overlooked in making this, my ideal ‘desert island disc’ compendium.

  1. Burning Spear – Garvey’s Ghost (1976)
  2. Scientist – Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires (1981)
  3. The Upsetters – Super Ape (1976)
  4. Agustus Pablo – King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1977)
  5. King Tubby – Dub From The Roots (1974)
  6. The Upsetters – Blackboard Jungle Dub / 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle (1973)
  7. Herman Chin Loy – Aquarius Dub (1975)
  8. Linton Kwesi Johnson – LKJ In Dub (1980)
  9. The Aggrovators – Dubbing At King Tubby’s (2016)
  10. Niney The Observer – Sledge Hammer Dub In The Street Of Jamaica (1977)
  11. Gaudi – Dub, Sweat And Tears (2004)
  12. Gregory Isaacs – Slum In Dub (1978)
  13. Horace Andy – In The Light / In The Light Dub (1995)
  14. Yabby U – King Tubby’s Prophesy Of Dub (1976)
  15. Keith Hudson – Pick A Dub (1974)
  16. Mad Professor – Dub Me Crazy!! (1982)
  17. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Heavy Rain (2019)
  18. Johnny Clarke – Dread A Dub (2012)
  19. Prince Far I & The Arabs – Dub To Africa (1979)
  20. Dennis Brown – Dubbing At King Tubby’s (2016)
Top 20 Dub Reggae Album Covers

For dub newbies, exploring the list above would, I believe, serve as an excellent introduction to the genre. I certainly wish such an informative list had been around for me in my early days of dub epiphany. A righteous way to bring this digest to a conclusion, I think.


Tailpiece

There you have it, my return to writing (welcome or not) via a brief guide to mento, ska, reggae, roots, dub, dancehall and ragga. I hope you found something herein to enjoy.

As to THE crunch question of WHY such creativity exploded in the way that it did, when it did, in such a small island community in the West Indies, the answer frustratingly still eludes me. Serendipity? Chance? Coincidence? The quest continues.

One thing is certain, support for, and influence of, reggae’s diverse ecosystem is as healthy today as it has been for several decades, making it truly universal and multi‑generational. I believe that reggae can continue to be a positive force for change. One Love. Irie.

Finally… my appreciation for reggae isn’t just my personal passion. In November 2018, the ‘reggae music of Jamaica’ was added to the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The award was in recognition of reggae’s “contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice, resistance, love and humanity underscores the dynamics of the element as being at once cerebral, socio‑political, sensual and spiritual.” Nuff said (and much more succinctly!!!).

This article may be the start of exploration into other genres for which I have a passion. Let’s see how this one goes first.

Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Perfection isn’t good enough”

© 2023 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

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April 2017 – How Much Music Theory Do You Need To Play Guitar?

posted in: Observations, Opinion | 0

While CRAVE Guitars’ relocation hullabaloo is taking place in the background, here’s a guitar‑related topic which made me think a bit (again).

Recent articles have thrown up what I think are some interesting questions that have then triggered further thoughts. There have been topics around guitar motivations, personal preferences, diverse musical choices and inspirational guitarists that have produced standout musical experiences. Then there was the recent topic about the science and social psychology of music and why/how it affects us in the way it does. These tomes have explored why we may be drawn towards things we consciously or unconsciously like? This article is a bit different although, in some ways, it is also a logical extension of some of those preceding threads. So… to what extent do guitarists need formal musical training?

This particular topic was triggered by a well-worn bit of clichéd guitar humour, “This is called sheet music. You can show it to a lead guitarist to make them stop playing” (see above). Very funny – ha-ha! However, as is my wont, this got me thinking. The joke is, sadly, poignant and I can personally relate to it. There has been a long-running debate as to whether guitarists must learn music theory and whether it enhances or detracts from their ability to enjoy playing or to be a successful working musician. So in the interests of being provocative, I thought I’d throw my tuppence-worth in. The language of music, in my naïve way of thinking, should be liberating, not inhibiting. If anyone has an effective antidote to the following, I would be keen for a prescription and to take my medicine.

The beauty of learning to play the guitar is that, unlike many other instrumental disciplines, proficiency in theoretical musical concepts is not a prerequisite or a necessity (thankfully!). An analogy may be that one does not need to be a linguistic expert in order to deliver grammatically appropriate prose (but it helps). For instance, in order to have fun on our favourite instrument, do you need to memorise and regurgitate the notes that make up the obscure jazz chord, F#7b10b13 (it does exist, honest) or trot out the notes in Lydian Augmented scale in Bb without working it out? NB. I can’t! (NB. for info, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G, A, Bb). However, I accede to the principle that a basic understanding of where all the notes are and how they generally relate to each other is probably helpful.

A newbie can pick up a modest guitar and, within a relatively short space of time, standard tuning and a few simple chords gain reasonable access to a very diverse range of modern music. Think how many great tunes over the past 50 years have been based around the open A, C, D, E and G major chords. A bit more work gives you B and F, and therefore access to many major and minor barre chords all the way up the neck. Diatonic ‘power chords’ are easy to learn and 7th (both major and minor) variations expand things substantially.

Basic rhythm can be picked up by moving between these chords. Applying these fundamentals to, for example, 12-bar blues based around the I, IV and V chord pattern is a relatively straightforward starter-for-ten. Start with 4/4 tempo and take it from there, perhaps adding a bit of ‘swing’ or ‘boogie’ to make it more interesting. Some guitarists spend their entire lives perfecting their craft around these elementary concepts without ever needing to make life complicated. As the legendary American folk singer/songwriter and guitarist, Woody Guthrie said, Anyone who used more than three chords is just showing off”. One could argue that, if it was good enough for him (and everyone who followed in his footsteps)…

Playing strong rhythm guitar is an essential skill in its own right and some guitarists never need to exhibit flashy pyrotechnical displays of digital dexterity to ply their trade. Don’t underestimate the skills of solid accompaniment to musical structure. Without it, there would be no ‘groove’. Sometimes, less really is more.

Learning scales is a bit more involved but the common pentatonic scale (major and minor) again covers a lot of ground without having to understand all the intervening notes. Add in a few ‘blue’ notes and, all of a sudden, you’re a guitar prodigy with aspirations to be the next Jimi Hendrix! This immediate accessibility can also prove to be a drawback, as many guitarists will then ‘hit the wall’ that prevents them from progressing. This is where the complexity of chords, scales and keys can get both intimidating and exciting, depending on your proclivity for the medium and your learning style. Sadly for me, the bait of genuine understanding is disappointingly just beyond my meagre grasp.

First confession – I really, really struggle with music theory. I have tried very hard, honestly I have. I am not stupid but attempting, as I have done on many occasions since I picked up my first guitar as a teenager, to learn the complex language of music has proved to be an insurmountable barrier. I don’t know why, either, which is irritating – perhaps it’s just the way my sad brain works. It gets to the point that I either glaze over and switch off, or I become so frustrated that it alienates me from the one thing that I enjoy doing, which is actually playing music (albeit badly). Either way, I end up giving up (again) and repeated failures simply reinforce the fallibility. It has now got to the point that I don’t even bother trying.

The poor man’s equivalent of notation is ‘guitar tab’, which attempts to provide a half‑way house for those that fear to tread the path and ‘5-bar gate’ of genuine manuscript. This should help, you’d think. However, it has now got to the point that attempting to wade through guitar tab isn’t worth the effort if I can’t nail it quickly. As I get older, my attention span reduces, compounded with the feeling that there is something better to do than struggle. Reading magazines doesn’t help, as the descriptive narrative uses all-or-nothing jargon that often loses me before I start. The Internet is often unreliable and contradictory to the point of increasing confusion, rather than diminishing it. Videos don’t help, as one can’t stop and ask questions, seek clarification or go off at tangents to explore interesting dead ends.

Second confession – I also lack natural musical talent. I don’t have the intrinsic feel and ear for music that many people seem to have without even trying. Many guitarists have incredible instinctive ability that they don’t seem to have to work hard to learn the mechanics. Some incredible guitarists have both the talent and theoretical ability and that, to me, is just not fair. I have genuine admiration for such talented, knowledgeable people and I can respect the hard work they must have put in to achieve it. So… why doesn’t it work for me?

Ultimately that old adage of ‘life is too short’ prevails and I get back to playing within my limitations. I am not afraid of hard work, as long as it serves some sort of positive outcome and in some way adds value to the investment in time and energy. When something becomes a chore with no guarantee that it will make me a better guitar player, then it becomes an obstacle in its own right. I know I’m missing out but the concepts cannot seem to penetrate my intellect and ignite an epiphany. I wish I could read music and memorize the theory but I think I must accept that I just can’t. Admitting defeat is an anathema to me, so I just can’t win. This is where egotistical narcissism and delusional hubris meets crippling self-doubt and pervasive inadequacy. Ouch!

I hasten to add that this is not a position borne out of snobbishness, defiance or indolence. I would dearly like to be able to demonstrate consummate musical skills. However, it just isn’t worth inflicting a masochistic doctrine disproportionate to the perceived derived gratification.

Third confession – I am self-taught and that imposes many petty constraints, perhaps the most obvious being that it has allowed me to pick and choose what one learns (including the inevitable bad habits) and what one doesn’t. I haven’t been formally educated in the guitar, whether it be by some form of passive learning (which generally falls into the ‘can’t be arsed’ category), or interactively with either peers or a seasoned guitar teacher. While I know that I must surely benefit from the latter, I have an ingrained irrational prejudice with this as well. Even if a teacher knows a lot more than I do, particularly regarding theory, I have the feeling that they are just another frustrated guitar wannabee that never made it and the most they could ever teach me would be to be as unsuccessful as they are (i.e. those who can’t… teach). I acknowledge this is a blatant fallacy but it is a practical issue for me, especially if I’m giving up good time and money to invest in my personal learning. There are numerous excellent tutors out there who could probably inspire me but they are geographically and economically beyond my reach. Perhaps when I ‘retire’, it may provide an opportunity to take lessons and improve my knowledge and experience. However, I must accept that it is too little too late to become the guitar god that I deceived myself into believing I could become in my early teens.

I used to play in bands and playing with others is stretching and challenging, both positively and negatively. Being naturally inclined to misanthropy, finding that person or group of people that have the mutually beneficial ‘fit’ is typically difficult. The depressing result is that I currently play in splendid isolation, which is far from ideal, but at least it avoids the inevitable social compromises of ‘playing well with others’. Again, I recognise that my behaviour is self-indulgent, self-limiting and unproductive. Maybe I should set myself a target to play in a band again, just to prove to myself that I can still do it. Then what?

The outcome is that I am caught in that horrible trap where, despite my best efforts, I am neither technically proficient nor naturally talented. It is frustrating that I have known the basics for decades but cannot seem to progress sufficiently to acquire genuine expertise in my chosen instrument. However, I enjoy playing even though, like most guitarists, I regularly get stuck in a rut. Where do I go from here and how do I improve significantly? Ideally, I would like someone to help inspire even a moment of greatness from my admittedly rather mundane approach towards guitar music, I would be keen to explore what may be possible. I realise that this requires some form of direct call-to-action on my part to make it happen; it won’t magically fall into my lap. If I don’t do something, I guess I’ll end up noodling my life away without ever feeling fulfilled, without realising any latent potential, and therefore impeding any possible mastery of the instrument. Unrequited aspiration strikes again.

Another issue for me is my mercurial musical tastes. I pity any guitar tutor who tries to adapt to my predilection at any one time. Like my musical listening tastes, one minute I want to experiment with blues and the next moment, it’s metal, then funk, then reggae, then rock, then jazz, folk, prog, rock ‘n’ roll, fusion, psychedelic, indie, ambient, pop, country, etc. It’s a bit ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. You get the idea. I do draw the line at learning classical guitar though – there are just too many prescribed ‘rules’ involved (another fallacy and one that I just can’t be bothered to controvert!).

One of the other things that guitar is great at is the ease with which it can adopt alternative tunings (try and do that with a piano!). As you might guess, I struggle with chords and scales in ‘standard’ 6-string EADGBE tuning. My poor little brain shudders at the likelihood of having to internalise chord inversions and scale modes for multiple tunings. Never mind adding in physical differences associated with, for instance, 7 (or more) strings, baritones, tenors, harps, banjos, ukuleles, etc. As A.A. Milne wrote about Winnie-the-Pooh, “I am a bear of very little brain…”.

Thankfully, we guitarists also aren’t constrained by 12 fixed notes like many other instruments. Frets help precision most of the time, especially with chords. In addition, we can also bend notes and add vibrato (again, try that with a piano!). This can be taken even further by using a bottleneck or slide. While there are few fretless guitars (Vigier being the most obvious proponent), we’ve had fretless basses since well before the advent of the electric bass guitar. Many of these characteristics make the guitar one of the most expressive and flexible of musical instruments in existence.

While theory is good at articulating tempo, it isn’t very good at describing timbre and tone let alone touch and feel, which are the Holy Grail for many guitarists. The guitarist’s eternal quest for ‘tone’, i.e. the sound we construct in our heads, as opposed to what we hear when the sound comes out of a speaker at the end of the signal chain, is perhaps a topic for another time.

I hinted at the start of this article that theory can inhibit creativity and innovation as it can tend to constrain ones mental ability to experiment outside the fixed tenets. A lot of ground breaking guitar music over the last half century has been created by people without enough theoretical knowledge about what’s ‘right’, which enabled them to break the rules and come up with something new, which then becomes incorporated into the ever‑expanding ‘norm’ over time. The counter argument is that musicians cannot really escape the confines of ignorance without understanding what rules they might be seeking to break, and then providing them with the appropriate tools with which to break them. The more (or less) you know, the better equipped you are for challenging the boundaries. I remain agnostic on this particular subject, principally because I am not informed enough to comment objectively.

I also hinted at the relationship between theory and ‘success’. Arguably, the best, most prolific and longstanding credible guitarists have a workmanlike mix of theory and talent. As an example, session musicians in particular would struggle without being able to sight‑read sheet music and rapidly adapt their playing style to suit the context. Without having to think about what they are ‘reading’, experienced professional musicians can be liberated to add something of themselves to the mix. This playing beyond the conscious is the basis of Zen guitar, a quasi-religious state of being. Equally, classical guitarists really need to be able to stick closely to what the original composer intended (i.e. no improvisational freedom), so rudimental theory is essential. To many singer/songwriters though, just creating something that ‘sounds right’ is more important than comprehending which notes make it so and why. I tend to fall into the latter category, appreciating some combinations of notes without fitting them into some predetermined harmonic or melodic framework. I know it sounds good but not necessarily why it should do so.

A number of songwriting ‘manuals’ I’ve seen over the years often instruct readers about uniform song structure. While I agree that experience of the past should provide indicators as to what works and what doesn’t, sticking to a formula-driven structural solution to songwriting can produce music that can be anodyne and sterile. I guess that a conformist approach is helpful to begin with but rigid adherence to the rubrics may ultimately result in stagnation. Think what would happen if every song followed the same unbending pattern with little variation. The accepted wisdom is sound, as long as it provides for (and encourages) an antithetical approach as well. Creative rebellion can be a healthy reaction to standardisation and convention. Musically and culturally, it’s called rock ‘n’ roll! When Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One’ (1953 film) was asked, what are you rebelling against?” he replied sublimely with, ‘whadda you got?”.

The mathematics of music can be fascinating, suggesting that music taps into something quite fundamental about the laws determining how our physical universe works. Musical appreciation may be the result not just of stylistic considerations and the prevailing cultural context but also by things beyond our comprehension. Perhaps this explains why many religious faiths use music to enhance the spiritual connection between the physical plane and the heavens. Since the days of Plato in ancient Greece, the theory of music has been built on fundamental scientific principles. They also understood that the mathematical framework of musical theory provides a basis for human expression through music. Why do humans experience the unique compulsive need to create and perform music at all? That’s another question altogether. “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato (c.428-348BCE)

Scientifically, the sound that we hear and our brains interpret is simply the result of vibrating air molecules and frequency is simply the rate at which those air molecules vibrate. The character of the instruments we hear is essentially the type of waveform created by those vibrations.

Getting technical for a moment, human hearing realistically only works in the range 20Hz‑20MHz and often less, especially as we age (losing about 1KHz per decade of our lives). A standard-tuned electric guitar has a fundamental frequency range of only around 80Hz-1200Hz (excluding harmonics – see below) – around 4 octaves. NB. an increase of 1 octave doubles the frequency. In comparison, a bass guitar covers approximately 60Hz-1000Hz and the human voice generally ranges between c.80Hz-260Hz (both genders). Drums range roughly between 60Hz-2KHz and cymbals between 8KHz-16KHz. As a consequence, we humans fit all our music within this limited audio spectrum.

Most musical tempos range between 40 beats per minute (BPM) technically described as Largo, up to 200BPM, called Presto. Blues and rock vary between about 80BPM and 120 BPM (Andante to Allegretto). Dance music varies between 120-160BPM (Allegro to Molto Allegro). There are, of course, many, many exceptions to these very rough indicators. It is amazing what we can create within these boundaries.

Pitch, rhythm and tempo are also essentially based on mathematical principles and resonate (sic!) unconsciously with something visceral and primitive in our physical makeup. Scientists have often referred to mathematics as music for the intellect. Perhaps the key relationship between science, mathematics and music could be a subject for another time (I need to do some more research first!).

In conclusion, and to answer the question posed at the beginning of this article, you don’t need any formal training to start playing guitar and to get plenty of enjoyment from it. A modicum of conceptual knowledge can certainly help to get more from the playing experience and can open up all sorts of musical possibilities. Extensive theoretical understanding is certainly not a bad thing and can provide opportunities that otherwise might be closed to the purely practical musician. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual and what they feel they need to know to get what they want out of playing the world’s most popular instrument. Music, like life, isn’t an all-or-nothing, one-size-fits-all state. To end on a profound (and pretentious) note, knowledge is a continuum and we are all somewhere along the path between ignorance at one extreme and enlightenment at the other. I wouldn’t assume that everyone aspires to the latter, but, speaking personally, I would like to be a bit nearer to it than I am at the moment.

On that note, all things considered, I’m off to plink my planks again, albeit amateurishly and in blissful ignorance. It is my catharsis for the soul and partial therapy for the world’s many ailments. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars ‘Music Quote of the Month’: “Twelve little notes. So many combinations. Not enough time.”

© 2017 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

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