The first use of dubplates is commonly attributed to
sound engineer King Tubby and
reggae sound systems such as
Lloyd Coxsone and
Killamanjaro. Special and one-off versions would be cut to
acetate for competing in a
sound clash, utilising vocals specially recorded to namecheck the sound system. As such, these would become known as "dubplate specials" often remarking on the prowess of the sound system playing it, in a bid to win the clash. In the UK, the earliest place to cut reggae dubplates would also be one of the most unlikely. John Hassell and his wife ran a recording studio from their suburban house in
Barnes, South West
London, but would become key to
British sound systems and artists such as
Dennis Bovell. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Music House in
North London and JTS Studio in
East London would become the two most prominent "cutting houses". Whilst acetates have been used in the
music industry for many years, especially in
dance music, dubplates would become a particularly important part of the
jungle/
drum and bass scene throughout the 1990s. This would be followed through its descendants
UK garage,
grime and
dubstep, and cutting houses such as Transition. New music would regularly be composed and recorded onto
DAT tape in order for it to be cut onto dubplate, often so that it could be played that weekend (or even that night). Despite the shift to DJing on digital mediums such as
CDJs and
DJ controllers, dubplates continue to be used for playing exclusive music and have also gained a specialist market in recent years. == Etymology ==