#any amendments or objections to what i've stated here are more than welcome. i'm not trained in musical theory‚ i just like Sounds

[priafey]

people are always so surprised when i list reggae as one of the two genres that had the most influence on goth music (the other being post-punk). Despite "Bela Lugosi's Dead" being the clearest and most well-known example of reggae's influence on this genre, this is the song i usually show them as an example, because the influence here is subtle enough that you can miss it, if you don't know what to look for:

[from 1986]

listen closely to the drum, especially after 0:40. you can hear the counterpoint (i think that's the right word in english? in spanish i know it as 'tumbao') that sets the rhythm for the whole song. it's a call-and-response kind of percussion (subtly syncopated), where two distinct parts seem to play off each other (by cutting each other off) to construct and maintain it. put simply, it kind of sounds like two 'halves' of a drum are in conversation. but they act as one.

listening to any Jamaican dub song (like this piece from 1976) makes it clear where goth music drew inspiration from in its beginnings. the deep, rich bass, the counterpoint of the drums, the slow tempo, the broody, melancholic sound of it. most or all of these elements from dub carried over to reggae, and were subsequently taken and infused into post-punk, new wave, gothic rock, darkwave, etc etc.

just listen to this (starting from the 2:50 mark)...

[from 1984]

...and the leap from the Jamaican dub song linked above to this one by The Danse Society suddenly doesn't seem so huge.

here's a different song from much later, where the influence from reggae is undeniable just from listening to the first few seconds:

[from 1991]

and a much more recent song:

[from 2023]

here the drum machine and the guitar take center stage, and have a more on-beat, unbroken sound, but you can still make out the bass being "in conversation" with itself in the background (same with the hazy synth that starts in at 0:27).

(i should note this sort of inter-dependent call-and-response is not unique to dub or reggae, or even to the West African music that serves as their foundation (though some would argue the expression of it through percussive instruments is). it can also be found in South Indian ragas (or ragaams) and Tuvan throat singing, for instance.)