Clive Jeffrey brings the recording studio to the stage
Since his introduction to recording studios in the early 1970s, Clive Jeffrey has been obsessed with dub, the sonic offshoot of reggae that thrived during that decade.
Also known as Dubking, he gives insight into that genre at the Reggae Garden Cultural Center which takes place on February 27 at Golden Spring main road.
The engineer plans to present the dynamics of dub in similar fashion to pioneers like Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock and Lee “Scratch” Perry.
“I’m going to do live mixes on stage through a manipulation of tracks. It’s really bringing the recording studio to the stage,” Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey’s love for dub production grew while working as an engineer with King Tubby, producer Bunny Lee, and artistes such as Yabby You and The Congos.
That appreciation grew while he lived in Japan for 12 years. He was engineer for live events at several venues throughout the country like the Hot Pocket club in Tokyo.
While giving a ‘class’ on dub production is priority on Friday, Jeffrey wants to get young people as excited about the sound as he was the first time he heard it.
“I want a new generation to know where dub is coming from. People like Tubby and Scratch weren’t instrumentalists, but they were like instruments just the way they went about making music,” he said.
The Reggae Garden Cultural Festival will also showcase roots singer Micah Shamaiah, as well as emerging acts T’Jean, Zhayna, Jah Vezl, Zaudib and Ahpuku.
— Howard Campbell