So what exactly is dub, we hear you ask? Well, basically, dub's an instrumental form of reggae which often has a strong experimental slant. Legendary Jamaican sound engineer King Tubby is credited with having invented dub in the late 60s. It was Tubby who came up with the idea of salvaging instrumental versions of reggae tracks and revamping them with a variety of special effects (such as echoes and reverbs). In fact, thanks to Tubby, for the first time in music history the recording studio became an instrument in its own right!

Meanwhile thousands of miles away from Kingston, Pierre Schaeffer - the king of "musique concrète" - was busy conducting his own sound experiments in his studio in France, playing with special sound effects similar to those invented by Tubby. Schaeffer and Tubby's work coincided with a veritable revolution in the recording studio as sound engineers unveiled new possibilities on the decks, experimenting with sampling, collages and remixes. (In fact, in many ways these 60s sound pioneers were the precursor of today's techno whizz kids).

While never really exploding into the musical mainstream, dub plugged away on the underground, attracting a firm following of fans and adepts. One of the next important figures in the history of dub was Bob Marley's friend, Bill Laswell - better known as "Bassmaster" - who spent years mixing dub rhythms with everything from Celtic folk sounds to Japanese and Moroccan music. Laswell's work confirmed the universal appeal of this new music coming out of Jamaica (which, it should be remembered, in terms of square kilometres is actually not much bigger than a French region!)

French Dub Touch

Pioneered by the likes of Tubby, Schaeffer and Laswell, dub gradually emerged from the ghetto and enjoyed increasing popularity. And now, thanks to the dance scene, dub is exploding onto the musical mainstream with a vengeance. Young producers and mixmasters experimenting with electronica and "ambient" sounds have picked up on dub's abstract, introspective side and started mixing it into their own productions. One of the best examples of this new dub fusion to date is the UK group Massive Attack's second album Protection (which was totally remixed by Mad Professor and released as No Protection, reminding today's kids where their musical roots lie!)

Meanwhile, over the Channel, as the French house scene grew up in Paris French dub blossomed further afield. A wave of young groups emerged from the provinces and a thriving dub community soon developed in Lyons, spearheaded by groups such as Le peuple de l'herbe and High Tone.
Le Peuple de l'herbe, who have just released their debut album Triple Zéro on their own label Supadope, have successfully integrated dub rhythms into their sound. But as the group's spokesperson, DJ Pee, explains, dub is just one of the album's multiple ingredients. "I like to hope that today there are enough people out there ready to listen to an album which shifts between dub, jungle and house, Pee says, "These days things aren't strictly divided into musical categories - people listen to things across the board and that's a good thing! I think one of Le Peuple de l'herbe's greatest strengths is the use we make of French samples. I've had enough of this inferiority complex thing with the English. I want my mates to be able to understand the message in our music - and, quite honestly, the fact that we use samples in French gives us a bit of a special touch! "

Interestingly enough, Lyons has never been a fertile breeding-ground for French music. In fact, let's face it, apart from Starshooter and Kent, no well-known French band has ever emerged from Lyons! But today the city has become a hotbed of musical activity. "As there wasn't much going on down here, it was about time we took things in hand!" laughs DJ Spee, "When the indie punk scene bit the dust, all that was left in alternative record stores was ska, reggae and dub. And people gradually got into the idea of playing this kind of music themselves, adopting the "do it yourself" spirit of the punk days. But we weren't into the idea of singers singing crappy lyrics out of tune like they did in the punk days, so we came up with the idea of replacing singers with excerpts sampled from films and songs."

High Tone followed the same musical route as Le Peuple de l'herbe, admitting that "We came to dub through the raw energy of punk and reggae rather than electronica. In fact, we've only just started using electro touches in our work now!" Those who are surprised by High Tone's punk/reggae background should perhaps remember that UK punk band The Clash also dabbled in dub on their album Sandinista and that the legendary Bob Marley himself once sang Punky-reggae party! The link between reggae and punk is perhaps not so surprising when you consider that both sounds came out of the ghetto, stirring up revolution and anti-establishment feeling. While punks leapt around roaring about anarchy, reggae fans lapped up the lyrics of "Shoota Babylon"!

Today's French dub scene appears to be a somewhat quieter affair. There are no calls for all-out anarchy or social revolution - groups preach a message of tolerance, respect and dub solidarity instead. "Right now", according to High Tone, "the French dub scene is very much united." But the group sound a note of caution, adding: "Let's just hope it stays that way when the hits start coming!"

Babylon By Bus

And start coming they will, if only because the French dub scene is fired by such remarkable energy and originality. "Each group has its own distinctive sound," explains High Tone's frontman, "but we've all got one thing in common - and that's playing live! Whereas UK dub is cooked up Jamaican-style with sound engineers standing round behind banks of machines, we do it live. That means it's more exciting for us and the audience. It's more fun to come and watch us on stage than some guy fiddling around with rhythm boxes and special effects!"

High Tone's policy of playing live means the group have already built up a solid fanbase in Europe. "We went to Prague a few weeks back," explains an enthusiastic High Tone, "and we were given an absolutely extraordinary welcome. What's more, when you visit one country in Eastern Europe you get to know them all. It's like a giant spider's web - countries like Hungary, Poland and Romania are all woven together! Our main goal in 2001 is to link up with the independent distribution company PIAS and release our new album, Opus Incertum, across Europe."

As for fellow Lyons dub stars, Le Peuple de l'herbe, they're due to release a new EP featuring tracks from Triple Zéro remixed by Rich (from UK band The Freestylers) and Grenoble house-masters Phunky Data in September. With electro stars currently stuck in a groove recycling old disco hits, it looks like the future of the French Touch lies in dub - a music invented some 30 years ago but still going strong thanks to its extraordinary capacity for innovation and fusion!

Willy Richert

Recommended Dub Listening:
Le Peuple de l'herbe Triple zéro (Supadope/PIAS)
High Tone Opus incertum (PIAS)
French Dub Connection Vol. 1 et 2 (released on the German label Echo Beach)
Zenzile (Crash Records)
Richard H.Kirk/Dance music pour le 21ème siècle (Touch): (Ex-Cabaret Voltaire star invents minimalist dub with deep bass).