Dub Revolution: Jamaica’s Sonic Innovators and the Birth of Remix Culture with David Katz
Monday 12 October 2026
Explore the Jamaican innovators who transformed recorded music as David Katz discusses Dub Revolution with Lloyd Bradley, author of Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King.
Emerging from Kingston’s underground music scene in the early 1970s, dub opened up new possibilities for what could happen at the mixing desk. Producers including King Tubby, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Prince Jammy and Scientist reshaped recordings into inventive new musical forms.
As dub travelled through the Jamaican diaspora, its influence developed in different cities and communities. Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes expanded the sound in New York, while Dennis Bovell, Mad Professor and Adrian Sherwood created their own distinctive work in London.
Drawing on first-hand testimony from many of the genre’s leading creative figures, Katz’s book traces the development of dub and the people whose experiments helped establish it as an influential musical art form.
This Black History Month conversation at Brixton Library explores Jamaican creativity, the movement of music across borders and a sound that continues to fascinate successive generations.