Ambient dub emerged in the early 1990s as a hypnotic fusion of dub reggae's studio techniques and ambient music's atmospheric expansiveness. Pioneered by producers who recognized the kinship between dub's spacious echo chambers and ambient's textural immersion, the genre transplants reggae's signature bass weight, reverb-drenched delays, and mixing board manipulations into vast, meditative soundscapes. The rhythm remains present but moves to the periphery—dubwise beats become gentle pulses rather than commands, creating a floating sensation where time stretches and bass frequencies resonate through the body like distant thunder.
What distinguishes ambient dub from its parent genres is this precise balance: it retains dub's physical presence and studio wizardry while shedding reggae's urgency, and it grounds ambient's ethereal drift with tactile low-end and rhythmic anchors that prevent total dissolution. Unlike conventional electronic music's forward momentum or downtempo's beat-focused structure, ambient dub exists in a liminal zone—too structured for pure ambient meditation, too spacious for the dancefloor, cultivating instead a state of active relaxation where heavily processed instrumentation, field recordings, and synthetic textures spiral through cavernous delays.
This is music for deep listening and altered states, where The Orb's cosmic humor meets dub's roots mysticism, and producers like Ott craft psychedelic journeys that feel simultaneously ancient and futuristic. It rewards patience with revelatory moments when a bass drop emerges from silence or a dubbed-out echo pattern suddenly reveals hidden melodic architecture.
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List updated:
| #54 | ByThe Orb | Released:1990-11 | |||
| #76 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:1993-11 | |||
| #22 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:1994-05 | |||
| #41 | ByScorn | Released:1994-07-01 | |||
| #18 | BySpacetime Continuum | Released:1994-09-23 | |||
| #42 | ByAnother Fine Day | Released:1994 | ambient dubdub techno | ||
| #68 | ByLucky People Center | Released:1995-01-01 | |||
| #19 | BySeefeel | Released:1995-03-20 | |||
| #39 | ByTechno Animal | Released:1995-06-20 | |||
| #73 | ByWoob | Released:1995-09-21 | |||
| #32 | BySounds from the Ground | Released:1995-10-30 | |||
| #94 | ByChildren Of Dub | Released:1995-10-31 | |||
| #52 | ByMakyo | Released:1995 | |||
| #82 | ByControlled Bleeding | Released:1995 | |||
| #35 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:1996-08-07 | |||
| #3 | ByBjörk | Released:1996-10-28 | ambient dub | ||
| #7 | ByThievery Corporation | Released:1997-06-07 | |||
| #62 | ByPan•American | Released:1997 | |||
| #96 | ByAstralasia | Released:1998-07-21 | |||
| #15 | ByPole | Released:1998-07-27 | |||
| #28 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:1998-07 | |||
| #88 | ByVarious Artists | Released:1998-10-15 | ambient dubdub | ||
| #80 | ByEkstasis | Released:1998-10-20 | |||
| #87 | BySuns Of Arqa | Released:1999-01-01 | |||
| #55 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:1999-06-11 | |||
| #4 | ByVladislav Delay | Released:2000-02-18 | |||
| #16 | ByVladislav Delay | Released:2000-03-03 | |||
| #10 | ByArovane | Released:2000-06-01 | |||
| #13 | ByPole | Released:2000-06-20 | |||
| #61 | ByFluxion | Released:2000-10-03 | |||
| #34 | ByJan Jelinek | Released:2000-11-03 | |||
| #31 | ByDub Trees | Released:2000-11-13 | |||
| #20 | ByPan Sonic | Released:2001-01-19 | |||
| #84 | ByFrank Bretschneider | Released:2001-06-24 | |||
| #33 | ByYagya | Released:2002-02-05 | |||
| #65 | ByStress Assassin | Released:2002-02-11 | |||
| #48 | ByBlamstrain | Released:2002-04-08 | |||
| #9 | ByFujiya & Miyagi | Released:2002-08-26 | ambient dub | ||
| #85 | ByThe Future Sound of London | Released:2002 | ambient dub | ||
| #67 | ByMuslimgauze | Released:2003-06-16 | |||
| #46 | ByRhythm & Sound | Released:2003-09-29 | |||
| #69 | ByPitch Black | Released:2005-08-01 | ambient dubdub | ||
| #56 | ByJah Wobble | Released:2005-09-12 | |||
| #81 | ByPete Namlook & Gaudi | Released:2006-01-23 | dubambient dub | ||
| #14 | ByKuba | Released:2006-06-24 | |||
| #66 | BySlackbaba | Released:2006-06 | ambient dubdub | ||
| #29 | ByThe Orb | Released:2007-08-27 | |||
| #26 | ByPitch Black | Released:2007-10-15 | |||
| #17 | ByKuba | Released:2007-11 | ambient dub | ||
| #6 | ByOtt | Released:2008-01-25 | |||
| #36 | ByEat Static | Released:2008-06-24 | |||
| #59 | BySounds from the Ground | Released:2008-10-14 | |||
| #43 | ByPan Electric & Ishq | Released:2008-11-07 | ambient dubambient | ||
| #49 | ByVarious Artists | Released:2008 | |||
| #37 | ByYagya | Released:2009-01-21 | |||
| #97 | ByDubdiver | Released:2009-05-22 | |||
| #23 | ByWorriedaboutsatan | Released:2009-05-25 | |||
| #27 | ByMarconi Union | Released:2009-07-27 | ambient dubambient techno | ||
| #91 | ByFennesz | Released:2010-03-25 | |||
| #24 | ByDeepChord presents Echospace | Released:2010-06-21 | |||
| #11 | ByDesolate | Released:2011-01-17 | |||
| #1 | ByHoly Other | Released:2011-06-06 | |||
| #93 | ByDemdike Stare | Released:2011-11-09 | ambient dubdark ambient | ||
| #12 | ByHoly Other | Released:2012-08-28 | |||
| #44 | ByDeadbeat | Released:2012-09-10 | |||
| #50 | ByBvdub | Released:2013-01 | |||
| #8 | ByThe Haxan Cloak | Released:2013-04-15 | |||
| #75 | ByDocetism | Released:2013-04-21 | ambient dubdub techno | ||
| #2 | ByForest Swords | Released:2013-08-26 | |||
| #45 | ByBluetech | Released:2013-09 | |||
| #71 | ByPale Sketcher | Released:2013-11-01 | ambient dubelectronic | ||
| #95 | ByDean Blunt | Released:2014-04-30 | |||
| #83 | ByHTRK | Released:2014 | ambient dubminimal wave | ||
| #5 | ByOtt | Released:2015-09-14 | |||
| #63 | ByKing Midas Sound & Fennesz | Released:2015-09-15 | ambient dub | ||
| #86 | ByThe Orb | Released:2016-04-16 | |||
| #21 | ByForest Swords | Released:2016-05-10 | |||
| #78 | ByFACECHAIN | Released:2018-01-28 | |||
| #98 | BySabaSaba | Released:2018-05-18 | |||
| #25 | ByESP | Released:2018-12-03 | |||
| #64 | ByMeat Beat Manifesto | Released:2019-05-10 | |||
| #60 | ByPatricia Taxxon | Released:2019-07-24 | |||
| #99 | ByMarco Kleebauer | Released:2019-10-18 | |||
| #89 | ByKP Transmission | Released:2020-02-25 | ambient dubillbient | ||
| #92 | ByMarco Kleebauer | Released:2020-03-27 | |||
| #38 | ByCousin | Released:2020-03-31 | ambient dubdub | ||
| #90 | ByMartin Nonstatic | Released:2020-05-20 | ambient dubpsybient | ||
| #77 | BySkee Mask | Released:2021-05-07 | |||
| #51 | ByNaked Flames | Released:2021-05-15 | |||
| #79 | BySignificant Other | Released:2021-09-23 | |||
| #30 | ByCivilistjävel! | Released:2021-11-01 | |||
| #100 | ByGods Of Something | Released:2021-11-22 | |||
| #58 | Bymu tate | Released:2022-01-24 | |||
| #40 | ByRoméo Poirier | Released:2022-10-01 | |||
| #74 | ByUnknown Mobile | Released:2022-11-04 | ambient dubnew age | ||
| #72 | ByCrimeBoys | Released:2023-01-11 | |||
| #47 | ByVoices from the Lake | Released:2023-04-17 | |||
| #70 | ByPanda Rosa | Released:2024-02-06 | |||
| #57 | Bynug | Released:2024-04-05 | |||
| #53 | ByHoly Tongue | Released:2024-08-23 |