Lovers rock was already something of a dub, or even a double dub—a copy of a copy that revealed new resonances. Dreamed up in the 1970s and ’80s by Caribbean immigrants living in London, lovers rock riffed sweetly on the Jamaican imports of the day while harkening back to reggae’s own primary source: soul music from the U.S. When Guyana-born producer Neil “Mad Professor” Fraser opened his South London studio, Ariwa Sounds, in 1979, reggae record production was firmly oriented around the kind of studio wizardry that exulted in denaturing the musical materials at hand, including the most dulcet serenades. A lifelong tinkerer, Fraser put together his own gear, style, and cohort in London, and in the years since, Ariwa released over 300 records and remixes. For Mad Professor, lovers rock, or any kind of reggae, always implies a dub producer’s audibly hands-on approach, ear for arrangement, and kaleidoscopic flourishes.