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Ambient dub is a genre of music that by its very definition combines elements of both ambient and dub music styles. The name originated from the Beyond record label for it's compilation series of the same name - Ambient Dub. The first Ambient Dub compilation on Beyond records was released in 1992 titled, Ambient Dub - The Big Chill, and included early ambient dub pioneers Higher Intelligence agency, Banco Da Gaia and Original Rockers. The recording also features liner notes by Lewis Carroll and gives respects to Coltrane, Ornette, Terry Riley, Bootsy Collins and others.
The album itself did not carry much of a classic dub sound and was largely ignored by people who had a taste for tradional Jamaican dub music such as Augustus Pablo or Sly and Robbie. What the album did manage to do though was draw on a new section of the listening public. Those who wanted a bit of a dub feel but over a wider range of the sonic spectrum. These listeners were open to accept eastern instrumental influences and the CD gained a popular foothold in the early rave/chillout scene that had grown out of the 60s and 70s hippy ethos. This CD was backed up by another three "Ambient Dub" releases in the series over the next few years.
From those early days it has since been generalized by artists, critics, and listeners alike to refer to any kind of rhythmic, usually beat-oriented ambient using the tastes, textures, and techniques of Jamaican dub-style production (e.g. reverb, emphasis on bass and percussion, heavy use of effects). Although the term has fallen out of favor due to the fevered intermingling of styles characteristic of post-rave electronica, it remains useful in demarcating the denser, more electronic applications of dub from the more hip-hop derived styles of downtempo, atmospheric beat music.
Early ambient dub artists include the Orb, Higher Intelligence Agency, Sub Dub, Techno Animal, Automaton,Bill Laswell and Solar Quest. In recent years the ambient dub genre has seen an influx of new acts applying a bit of a psychedelic hue to the music.This has lead to further genre formation with styles such as psydub. These new groups include acts such as Ott,Sounds from The Ground, Bluetech, Stress Assassin, DJ Zen, Dymons, Gaudi, Ooze, Salmonela Dub and Pitch Black.
