Vibration Station: an immersive dub workshop featuring live mixing, sound system history, and the connecting power of bass.
Vibration Station is a live exploration of dub - the bass-driven studio practice that reshaped modern dance music and sound system culture.
Led by producer and Gentleman’s Dub Club founder Toby Davies, the workshop traces dub back to 1960s and 70s Jamaica, where sound systems turned streets and community halls into powerful spaces of gathering. In areas marked by economic hardship and political tension, these events offered expression, identity and collective release. The session draws connections between those early dances and the energy of UK rave culture and today’s global club scene.
Central to the workshop is live performance. Using the mixing desk as an instrument, Toby will build and reshape tracks in real time, dropping instruments in and out, extending echoes, and shifting the weight of the low end. Participants will hear how space, repetition and low frequencies became defining features of dub, laying foundations for remix culture, rap and much of contemporary electronic music.
The session also includes moments of guided listening, inviting participants to notice the physical impact of bass and how shared sound changes the atmosphere of a room. Movement is welcome but never required.
As a Nordoff & Robbins trainee music therapist, Toby brings a subtle therapeutic perspective to the workshop, exploring how rhythm and collective listening can create connection. Repetition, pulse and shared attention can shape the atmosphere of a room, influencing how people relate to one another without the need for words. The session considers how bass frequencies are not only heard but felt, and how gathering around sound can foster a sense of presence and collective energy.
Open to music lovers, producers, dancers and the dub-curious alike, Vibration Station offers a chance to experience sound system culture from the inside.
About Toby:
Toby Davies is a producer, songwriter and mix engineer. He is the founder, Musical Director and bass player of Gentleman’s Dub Club, and has worked in the studio with artists including Amy Winehouse, Jorja Smith, Maverick Sabre, Sinéad Harnett and George the Poet. Alongside his work in contemporary music, Toby is currently training as a Nordoff & Robbins music therapist
About PsychArt:
PsychArt is a volunteer-led collective and annual conference exploring the role of the arts in mental health. Our work is rooted in creating spaces for reflection, contemplation, creativity, understanding, and healing; bringing together clinicians, artists, and wider communities through shared experience.
Run by a committee of trainee psychiatrists and therapists who are also artists, musicians, and creative practitioners, PsychArt’s events are open to anyone with an interest in attending.
In the lead-up to our June 2026 conference, we are curating a series of evening workshops inspired by the theme Altered States, extending the spirit and conversations of the conference into more intimate, embodied, and exploratory settings.
Contact: If you have any questions regarding this session, please email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk
Venue: The Mulberry Hall at St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road — E2 9PL
Access: If you have any access needs of which we should be aware, please get in touch with us on 020 8980 2092 or email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk so we can arrange this for you. We are happy to provide a free PA/Carer ticket for anyone with access needs.
Date: Tuesday 31st March
Time: 7-9pm
Tickets:
Pay Less (covers some of our costs) – I am a student, unemployed, on benefits or financially stressed - £15
Standard (covers most of our costs) – I am employed, have some expendable income, and manage to meet my basic needs - £20
Pay it Forward (covers all of our costs and supports our work at SMH) – I am employed or have enough savings to comfortably meet my basic needs - £25