King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown - an appreciation
An early pioneer of the Jamaican sound system culture and a studio engineer par excellence, Osbourne Ruddock - widely known and revered as King Tubby - was in his time without equal when it came to the manipulation of sonic elements.
An early pioneer of the Jamaican sound system culture and a studio engineer par excellence, Osbourne Ruddock - widely known and revered as King Tubby - was in his time without equal when it came to the manipulation of sonic elements.
Tubby worked in the Caribbean island's burgeoning dub scene as both a disc cutter and producer, as well as repairing faulty radio and studio equipment; he had a superb understanding of electronics.
In 1976 he collaborated with Augustus Pablo, a gifted musician and producer who played the melodica, organ, guitar and keyboard, among other instruments. Together they released the seminal dub LP King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown.
Tubby brought effects such as echo and reverb into the mix, and the flat sounds of the past were catapulted into the future - giving birth to the concept of the remix, as well as the way sampled sounds are incorporated into electronic music today. Lyrics were relegated to mere hooks and snippets, and in came a sharper focus on the individual sounds of each track rather than the song as a whole.
Everything felt heavier, earthier and more grounded - less flighty and ethereal. The bass and the drums were also accentuated, along with the rest of the percussion, and the result was an album that made the entire body shake.