Culture/Scientist
Scientist Dubs Culture Into A Parallel Universe RAS-3257, (CD & LP)
Interview with ScientistDub Gone Craze--Millennium Style
By
Lady Souljah
Host of Chant
Down Babylon
KALX, Berkeley
T
hirty years after the original dubmaster, Osbourne Ruddock (a.k.a. King Tubby), tweaked out his special sound of the B-side version, many are still in awe. In his four-track studio in Waterhouse, Kingston, King Tubby pioneered the dub remix of drum and bass. Few were there to witness as Tubby's Studio became the top-ranking Sound, but some, like Hopeton Overton Brown (a.k.a. Scientist), remember the origination of the Dub remix.Hopeton Overton Brown began as a child protégé for the legendary Coxsone Dodd of Studio One and King Tubby's. Having received early training on electronics from his father (who was a repair technician), Hopeton was able to utilize this to outdo even his idol, King Tubby. By the time Hopeton was 17, he was one of the most sought-after engineers in Jamaica.
I talked with the Scientist by phone on the past, present, and future of reggae dub.
LS: What is Dub?
HB: Dub is the part of reggae where the engineer manipulates what the musician put on tape to achieve different textures: by adding or taking away the lyrics, moving instruments slightly up or down, adding effects to the instruments and placement of the instruments to get a certain texture.
LS: Whom did Dub originate with?
HB: I can't say for sure but it partially originated from Tubby who developed certain elements of dub like reverb. Back in the day we used 45's and you couldn't have the next side of the record blank; when you put two different records on the same vinyl you’re selling two commodities for the price of one. So, what happened back in the late 60's and early 70's was they used to just put the plain rhythms just as the musician played it.
LS: What is reverb?
HB: For example, if you go into cave and say "YEAH!" you hear a double voice. That's reverb. You have natural reverb vibration, and then you have natural echoes. In this century they have digital reverbs where they simulate that same natural environment and put it into a chip. Back in the day, we used to use the "spring and coil" method, which consists of a transducer that drives a coil, and then you have a receiver on the next end that's picking up the vibration from the coil. You also put a speaker box in one corner of the room and you put a microphone to the farthest corner of the room; that’s another way to achieving reverb.
LS: How did remixing Dub start?
HB: All of that really started from the turntables of various sound systems. People on the sound would take out the bass and then slowly bring it back in, so all you heard was treble while playing the record. Or, they might drop or shake the reverb spring to make the "thunder effect." So dub remix really started from that and since Tubby—like myself—was an electronics engineer and he had a studio, he was able to manipulate the music even further because each instrument had its own track. So, not only could you take out the bass, you could pull up the drums, put in the guitar, and place the effects wherever you wanted to. Therefore, that is how it started. He also had a sound system . . . King Tubby's Hi-Fi.
LS: Who were some well-known artists on Tubby's Sound?
HB: U-Roy was the resident Disc Jockey for whenever Tubby's played.
LS: How has Dub changed?
HB: Back in days when Coxsone was making records, they only had two tracks—like recording a whole orchestra on two tracks. If one person made a mistake, then the whole band had to start over. Coxsone would put all the music on one track and the vocals on the other track. By the late 60's, people started to move to four-track. Since I am an electronic engineer, I got to apply my electronic knowledge to the music. That gave me an edge. That's why Tubby's has such a reputation in the industry: because there aren’t many engineers in the business who are electronic engineers. It's just a hand-full of us who know how to repair the equipment or modify the equipment. Like Jammy—he’s another electronic engineer. Back in the days when I got into the business, it was kind of a vision for me, and when I met Tubby I was a kid. I had a vision of what the music should be. It's been documented that I envisioned having over 100 tracks long before there were 24 tracks. Now in the year 2000, everything I talked about—a lot of it—is becoming a reality.
LS: You are a visionary.
HB: Yeah, like I used to talk about that whole automation system. This was a discussion Tubby and I had way before Neve or SSL even dreamt about automation or moving faders. That's why people started calling me the Scientist.
LS: How does the style of Lee "Scratch" Perry differ from your own?
HB: Scratch is one of the icons in the business. He is one of the people who can take somebody unknown and make them big. Scratch is not a "bandwagon rider," where he has to rely on somebody else to make a hit with the artist before he picks them. His remixes are different from ours; Scratch doesn't have the same edge. Like what Tubby and I have . . . we actually manipulate the equipment to get what we want. He knows music, but as far as the deep electronic side . . .
LS: He's lacking the in and outs?
HB: Yeah, when you have the electronic experience it's like you have x-ray vision for when you push a button; you know exactly what it does.
LS: What about the Mad Professor?
HB: Personally, I like what Neil is doing. I welcome the idea that somebody admires what Tubby and I did enough to try to do the same thing
LS: What impact has reggae music had on mainstream music?
HB: Reggae is the only music that can successfully test any audio equipment. The way that they mix hip-hop and rock-n-roll . . . [it] doesn't have the type of frequency response to really adequately test audio systems. I've worked at some of the best recording studios here in the U.S., and they fail in comparison to the sound you get from studios in Jamaica—like Channel One. Most American studios just can't produce that sound—only the ones with the major European brands like Telefunkin and Tanoys. Only me, Tubby's, or Jammy's have the expertise to modify the existing equipment to reach that certain sound. The industry here in America learned from us big time; they don't want to admit it. I remember Tubby's and I would send records here to America to get mastered . . . and a lot of people didn't want to master it because it would make the cutting heads go crazy, the bass would make the transmitter over-modulate, speakers would start to flapping, especially when Santa Davis played the flying cymbal.
LS: What is the future for reggae Dub?
HB: To bring together a new world order and communicate with the outside elements . . . maybe even little green men (laughing).