{{Short description|Music genre}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Psydub | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Psychedelic trance|psybient|ambient|ambient house|dub|trip hop|psychedelia}} | cultural_origins = Early 1990s, London, United Kingdom | instruments = {{hlist|Drums|tabla|drum machine|sequencer|acoustic guitar|sampler|electric guitar|sitar|bass guitar|synthesizer|keyboard}} }} '''Psydub''' (not to be confused with dub) is a fusion genre of electronic music that has roots in psychedelic trance, ambient and dub music.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |last=St John |first=Graham |title=The Vibe of the Exiles: Aliens, Afropsychedelia and Psyculture |journal=Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture |volume=5 |issue=2 |year=2013 |pages=56–87 |doi=10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.04|doi-access=free }}</ref> Incorporated dub elements are melodic basslines, deep reggae roots and producing techniques like dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works. An incorporated ambient element is an emphasis on tone and atmosphere.
Incorporated psytrance elements are low-bass frequencies and hypnotic melodies<ref name=PsyBook2010>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_ctCgAAQBAJ&q=full-on&pg=PA116|first=Graham |last=St John|title=The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance| publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Studies in Ethnomusicology | isbn=978-1-136-94434-5|year=2010}}</ref> and the use of samples. Those samples mostly contain references to psychedelic drugs, cannabis, parapsychology, extraterrestrial life, existentialism, out of body experiences, dreams, physics, biology, electronics, time travel, spirituality and similar mysterious or unconventional topics. Psydub is also highly influenced by the music of India.
==History==
The pioneers of the genre were mostly interested in the combination between ambient music and dub. The Orb can be seen as one of the first producers to combine the two genres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/O/orb.php/ |title= The Orb|website=ambientmusicguide.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405201557/http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/O/orb.php |archive-date=2016-04-05 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Prendergast |first=Mark |title=The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby – The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |year=2003}}</ref> Several tracks on their first album "The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld", released in 1991, already sound a lot like contemporary Psydub. Psydub developed further by the influence of Psytrance. Psytrance producers have always had a keen interest in all kinds of music and a few of them have produced tracks that have big Dub influences.<ref name="auto"/> Most notably is the song "Vapour Rumours", released in 1996 and produced by the band Shpongle, consisting of Simon Posford a.k.a. Hallucinogen and Raja Ram and the album "Earthbound" by Gaudi,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/everlasting-selected-and-mixed-by-gaudi-mw0002510772|title = Everlasting - selected and mixed by Gaudi - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|website = AllMusic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://psyreviews.net/2007/03/various-sub-signals-interchill/|website= Psyreviews |title=Various – Sub Signals (Interchill) |date=March 14, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150324164207/http://psyreviews.net/2007/03/various-sub-signals-interchill/ |archive-date= 2015-03-24 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com/album/youth-gaudi-2063-a-dub-odyssey|title=Youth & Gaudi - 2063: A dub odyssey by Youth, Gaudi|date=6 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orbmag.com/music/orb-podcast-022-gaudi/|title=Orb Podcast 022: Gaudi|date=24 June 2018 |website=orbmag.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://psyreviews.net/2007/06/ashtech-walkin-target-interchill/|website= Psyreviews |title=Ashtech – Walkin' Target (Interchill) |date=June 14, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210208190101/http://psyreviews.net/2007/06/ashtech-walkin-target-interchill/ |archive-date= 2021-02-08 }}</ref> produced in 1994 and released on triple vinyl in 1998 by Bustin' Loose Recordings,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/earthbound-mw0001173689|title = Earthbound - Gaudi | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|website = AllMusic}}</ref> who were two of the first acts to produce psybient music.<ref name="auto"/> A good example of the combination between psytrance and dub is the album ''In Dub'', a collection of Hallucinogen tracks remixed by the record producer Ott, which was released in October 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/35044-hallucinogen-in-dub/|title=Hallucinogen - In Dub|date=October 18, 2002|website=Psynews.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://psyreviews.net/2006/05/ott-interview-october-2002-hallucinogen-in-dub/ |website= Psyreviews |title=Ott Interview – October 2002 (Hallucinogen In Dub) |date=May 3, 2006|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210214234052/http://psyreviews.net/2006/05/ott-interview-october-2002-hallucinogen-in-dub/ |archive-date= 2021-02-14 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Ambient music-footer}} {{Trance music-footer}} {{Psychedelic music}} {{Reggae}} Category:Dub music Category:Psychedelic music Category:Ambient music Category:Electronic music genres