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Psydub (not to be confused with ambient dub) is a fusion genre of electronic music that has its roots in psychedelic trance, ambient and dub music. Incorporated dub elements are melodic basslines, deep reggae roots and producing techniques like dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works. An incorporated ambient element is an emphasis on tone and atmosphere. Incorporated psytrance elements are low-bass frequencies and hypnotic melodies and the use of samples. Those samples mostly contain references to drugs, parapsychology, extraterrestrial life, existentialism, out of body experiences, dreams, science, time travel, spirituality and similar mysterious or unconventional topics. Psydub is also highly influenced by the music of India.

History

The pioneers of the genre were mostly interested in the combination between ambient music and dub. The Orb can be seen as one of the first producers to combine the two genres. Several tracks on their first album "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", released in 1991, already sound a lot like contemporary Psydub. Psydub developed further by the influence of Psytrance. Psytrance producers have always had a keen interest in all kinds of music and a few of them have produced tracks that have big Dub influences. Most notably is the song "Vapour Rumours", released in 1996 and produced by the band Shpongle, consisting of Simon Posford a.k.a. Hallucinogen and Raja Ram and the album "Earthbound" by Gaudi, produced in 1994 and released on triple vinyl in 1998 by Bustin' Loose Recordings, who were two of the first acts to produce psybient music. A good example of the combination between psytrance and dub is the album In Dub, a collection of Hallucinogen tracks remixed by the record producer Ott, which was released in October 2002.

References

1. ^ St John, Graham (2013). "The Vibe of the Exiles: Aliens, Afropsychedelia and Psyculture". Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture. 5 (2): 56–87. doi:10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.04.
2. St John, Graham (2010). The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance. Routledge Studies in Ethnomusicology. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-94434-5.
3. "The Orb". ambientmusicguide.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05.
4. Prendergast, Mark (2003). The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
5. "The Orb – The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
6. "Various - Infinite Excursions - Softer Psychedelic Sounds (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
7. "Everlasting - selected and mixed by Gaudi - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
8. "Various – Sub Signals (Interchill)". Psyreviews. March 14, 2007. Archived from the original on 2015-03-24.
9. "YOUTH & GAUDI - 2063: A dub odyssey by Youth, Gaudi". 6 December 2016.
10. "Orb Podcast 022: Gaudi". orbmag.com. 24 June 2018.
11. "Ashtech – Walkin' Target (Interchill)". Psyreviews. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08.
12. "Earthbound - Gaudi | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
13. "Hallucinogen - In Dub (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
14. "Hallucinogen - In Dub". Psynews.org. October 18, 2002.
15. "Ott Interview – October 2002 (Hallucinogen In Dub)". Psyreviews. May 3, 2006. Archived from the original on 2021-02-14.

• Dub music
• Psychedelic music
• Ambient music
• Electronic music genres