What is “versioning” in dub music?

September 24, 2025 by Dahrk Vision in Dub:

Versioning is the art of reworking reggae tracks into new instrumental or dub mixes. This article explores how Jamaican producers pioneered versioning, its role in dub’s birth, and its influence on global remix culture.

Introduction

One of the most powerful innovations in Jamaican music is the practice of versioning. Long before hip-hop sampling or EDM remixes, Jamaican producers in the late 1960s began creating multiple “versions” of the same track. These versions — often instrumental or dub mixes — allowed sound system DJs to improvise lyrics, producers to experiment with effects, and audiences to experience familiar songs in new forms.

The question “What is versioning in dub music?” touches the foundation of dub itself. Without versioning, dub could not exist. By stripping vocals, reworking basslines, and layering effects, engineers like King Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry transformed versions into a new genre — dub (Bradley, 2000).

This article explores the origins of versioning, its technical processes, cultural significance, and its lasting impact on global music.

The Origins of Versioning

Jamaican B-Sides

By the late 1960s, Jamaican singles were typically released on 45rpm records. The A-side contained the vocal song; the B-side often featured an instrumental version (Veal, 2007).

Studio One and Early Versions

Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One began releasing instrumentals, realizing that audiences and DJs wanted stripped-down tracks for dances.

Sound System Culture

Versioning was fueled by Jamaica’s competitive sound system scene. Exclusive instrumental versions allowed DJs (toasters) to perform live over tracks, keeping crowds engaged (Hebdige, 1987).

The Role of Versioning in Dub

Stripping Vocals

Engineers muted vocal channels, leaving only bass, drums, and instruments. This skeletal form became the foundation for dub mixes.

Adding Effects

Versioning opened space for experimentation. Dub engineers layered echo, reverb, and filters, transforming versions into immersive soundscapes (White, 2016).

Multiple Versions of the Same Track

A single riddim could yield countless versions:

Vocal song.
Instrumental version.
Dub mix.
DJ “toasted” version.

This multiplicity became central to Jamaican musical culture.

Techniques of Versioning

Dropouts

Engineers muted instruments while keeping riddim intact.

Vocal Fragments

Snippets of original vocals left in for texture.

Live Mixing

Each version was performed live on the mixing desk, making no two versions identical.

Riddim Recycling

Classic riddims like Stalag and Real Rock were versioned hundreds of times across decades (Manuel & Bilby, 2016).

Case Studies

Take One – The Techniques (1968)

Often cited as one of the first versions — stripped-down instrumental precursor to dub (Bradley, 2000).

Pick a Dub – Keith Hudson (1974)

An album entirely built on versions, showing dub’s early expansion.

King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (1974)

Perhaps the most famous version. Tubby transformed Jacob Miller’s vocal track into dub’s anthem.

Cultural Significance of Versioning

Collective Creativity

Versioning undermined the idea of a song as a fixed product. Instead, songs became living frameworks for endless reinterpretation (Hebdige, 1987).

Space for Toasters

Instrumental versions gave rise to DJ culture. Toasters like U-Roy and Big Youth built careers improvising over versions — a direct precursor to rap (Bradley, 2000).

Resistance to Western Models

Western pop emphasized originality and ownership. Jamaican versioning emphasized community, reuse, and reinterpretation — a challenge to capitalist models of music.

Dub’s Emergence

Dub itself is versioning taken further: from stripped instrumentals to radical reconstructions filled with effects, silences, and reverb (Veal, 2007).

Global Legacy of Versioning

Hip-Hop

Sampling culture mirrors versioning: beats reused, reinterpreted, and revoiced. DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant, brought the versioning ethos into Bronx block parties.

Electronic Dance Music

House and techno thrive on remixes and alternate versions, a legacy of dub versioning.

Pop Music

Today, remixes, extended mixes, and alternate takes are industry standards — practices pioneered in Jamaica.

Scholarly Perspectives

Bradley (2000): Versioning laid groundwork for dub and DJ culture.
Hebdige (1987): Emphasizes versioning as cultural resistance through repetition.
Veal (2007): Notes versioning as the laboratory from which dub was born.
Hope (2006): Links versioning to dancehall’s competitive sound system ethos.
White (2016): Highlights Tubby’s role in transforming simple versions into dub masterpieces.

Conclusion

Versioning is the process of reworking tracks into new forms, whether as instrumentals, stripped-down mixes, or dub reconstructions. In dub, versioning became an art of fragmentation and reinvention, turning riddims into canvases for endless creativity.

Culturally, versioning reflects Jamaica’s collective, cyclical approach to music — a system where songs are never finished, only transformed. Globally, versioning’s influence lives on in hip-hop sampling, EDM remixes, and pop production.

Dub taught the world that every song has infinite versions, and every version is an opportunity for new expression.

References

Bradley, L. (2000). Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King. Penguin.
Hebdige, D. (1987). Cut ’n’ Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music. Routledge.
Hope, D. P. (2006). Inna di Dancehall: Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica. University of the West Indies Press.
Manuel, P., & Bilby, K. (2016). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae (3rd ed.). Temple University Press.
Veal, M. E. (2007). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press.
White, G. (2016). King Tubby’s studio and the invention of dub. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 28(3), 335–350.