Disco Dub
Disco · 1976 · 105 to 120 BPM · also known as Dub Disco, Disco Mix
Disco dub is the instrumental B-side of New York disco, the point where the sound engineer becomes the artist. Working under the direct influence of Jamaican dub, Walter Gibbons and later Larry Levan and Francois K stretched tracks out, cut the vocals, drowned the brass in echo and let the rhythm section breathe on its own. It marks the birth of the remix as a work in its own right, and it established the working method that all dance music since has followed: mute, reveal, extend, repeat. The mixing console itself becomes the lead instrument, turning a finished song into raw material for a new, extended journey.
6 reference tracks
- Double Exposure: Ten Percent (1976)
- First Choice: Let No Man Put Asunder (1983)
- Instant Funk: I Got My Mind Made Up (1978)
- Loleatta Holloway: Love Sensation (1980)
- Taana Gardner: Heartbeat (1981)
- Khruangbin: Time (You and I) (2020)
At a glance
- Tempo: 105 to 120 BPM
- First appeared: 1976
- Machines: Console de mixage, Roland RE-201 Space Echo, Écho à bande, Réverbération à plaque
- The sound: Console de mixage comme instrument, Echo à bande Roland Space Echo, Maxi 45 tours
- Labels: Salsoul Records, West End Records, Prelude
- Key artists: Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, François Kevorkian, Tee Scott
Producing Disco Dub
Disco dub keeps the tempo of the song it reworks, generally 110 to 125 BPM as played by the original band, setting the project to the multitrack's tempo and using warp mode to lock played drums to the grid without stiffening them. Its rhythm is not new but the existing disco groove stripped bare, with silences the engineer carves out live at the console: time becomes elastic through echo rather than tempo. Start from a multitrack, or fake one from separate drum, conga, tambourine and bass tracks, then work by muting and revealing, congas alone, then the kick, then the hats, sending the snare into a tape echo on select hits. The original bass becomes the through-line, brought forward and compressed. The Roland RE-201 Space Echo and a plate reverb turning brass into distant pads are the real instruments here.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Disco Dub?
Disco dub is the instrumental B-side of New York disco, the point where the sound engineer becomes the artist. Working under the direct influence of Jamaican dub, Walter Gibbons and later Larry Levan and Francois K stretched tracks out, cut the vocals, drowned the brass in echo and let the rhythm…
What tempo is Disco Dub played at?
Between 105 and 120 BPM.
Who are the key Disco Dub artists?
Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, François Kevorkian, Tee Scott.
