Book cover of Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae

Book description

When Jamaican recording engineers Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Errol Thompson, and Lee "Scratch" Perry began crafting "dub" music in the early 1970s, they were initiating a musical revolution that continues to have worldwide influence. Dub is a sub-genre of Jamaican reggae that flourished during reggae's "golden age" of the late…


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Dub as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Veal’s book changed the way that I thought about writing about music. The detailed analysis and academic approach made me realize that it was possible to write about the music that I love in a professional way. 

After reding this book I applied for graduate school with the distinct goal of publishing on Jamaican music. I read this book and fell back in love with ethnographic research and the music that I was playing. It also inspired me to write and produce a song related to all of the greats of the genre.

A must-read. 

If you love Dub...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Dub?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 55 books like Dub.

Browse books like Dub

Book cover of People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry
Book cover of Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King
Book cover of Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems, Performance Techniques, and Ways of Knowing

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Dub, you might also like...

Book cover of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence

Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds,

The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.

Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

5 book lists we think you will like!