Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE

58. Dub the Right Way by King Tubby & Soul Syndicate

  BEEN IN a dub-reggae wormhole all week, which is no bad thing at all. 

Reading King Tubby's biography by Thibault Erengardt was hard wearing as much of it could've been succinctly labeled 'credits are still a contested field.' And condensed onto a solitary line.

Quite why you'd proceed with a biography when everyone who was anyone has told you to jog on is a mystery. That said, without Tubby's studio in 18 Dromilly Avenue and his sonic architecture, a lot of these egotists now arguing or demanding royalties would sound second rate.

Blood and Fire records were second only to Steve Yates in satisfying my mid-90s dub-reggae cravings and revisiting the highlights of their impressive catalogue whilst keeping one eye on the tennis has been a blast. Yabby U's and the Scientist comps are particularly noteworthy, but this tune has had the most repeat plays. 

That the Scientist is claiming it as his own whilst rubbishing the Blood and Fire imprint is symptomatic of the contested field I alluded to earlier. That I can hear a bit of him in this tune is also problematizing, as it actually gives some weight to his claim. 

With hindsight, Betram Brown's Freedom Sounds label could barely afford a semi-retired Tubby but did release some sublime roots. Roots by acts like the Soul Syndicate who Tubby's studio unquestionably turned inside out by teasing Rod Taylor's sweet voice in an out of their deeply hypnotic mix to reinvent them as dub practitioners par excellence. 

In the mid-90s, Tubby was the main selling angle and everyone seemed happy being affiliated with him, but nowadays his assistants are rightly lauded in their own right, so have more to gain than lose by setting the record straight. Or lying. 

Whatever, I'm just thankful that dub-reggae was created as it properly chills me out. Amen.