Lee Perry

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Lee "Scratch" Perry, Munich, 2016

Lee "Scratch" Perry (actually Rainford Hugh Perry ; born March 20, 1936 in Kendal , Manchester , Jamaica , † August 29, 2021 in Lucea , Jamaica) was a Jamaican music producer and musician . He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the development of reggae and ska and above all as a pioneer of dub and roots reggae in Jamaica and worldwide. In addition to being a musician and DJ, he became known primarily for his eccentric styleAppearance as well as his extremely daring handling of effects and mixer as a music producer. The music journalist Lloyd Bradley wrote of him: "Lee 'Scratch' Perry is the Salvador Dalí of dub."

life and work

Lee "Scratch" Perry, Tel Aviv, 2005
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Budapest, 2007
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Florence, 2009
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Manchester, 2013
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Karlsplatz, Vienna, 2015
Lee "Scratch" Perry with Dubblestandart , Vienna, 2015
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Munich, 2016
Lee "Scratch" Perry, 2019

Lee Perry was the son of a farm worker and a road worker. He left school at 15 and made a living playing dominoes , as a dancer and as a laborer in Negril and Westmoreland until he moved to Kingston in 1959 with the aim of working in the music industry . Here he began as a talent scout in Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's studio . Among other things, he promoted the Maytals there and wrote songs for Delroy Wilson . He also produced himself, including the piece "Chicken Scratch", to which he owes his nickname "Scratch".

From 1967 Perry worked with producers such as Prince Buster or Clancy Eccles and began a cooperation with Joe Gibbs . Here he recorded his first upsetter productions. Working with Gibbs was becoming increasingly disconcerting, and Perry realized he had to go his own way. In 1968 he founded the label Upsetter Records . Also in the studio were Lynford Anderson ("Andy Capp"), his cousin Barry Lambert and an intern - the Upsetters . The first production “Place In The Sun” just covered the costs, but the second recording “People Funny Boy” was already a success. The reggae rhythm was accelerated and enriched with African rhythms. The whole thing was followed by organ sounds borrowed from contemporary spaghetti westerns and spy films.

The success of the single caused a stir among Kingston's musicians, and many went to Perry to work with him. Among them was Aston Barrett ("Family Man"), whom he brought together with the Wailers after Bob Marley had just returned from a trip to the United States. With the Wailers , Perry produced the tracks "My Cup", "Duppy Conqueror", "Keep On Moving", "Mr Brown" and "Small Ax" and the album "Soul Revolution II". The collaboration ended in 1972, but Bob Marley stayed in contact with Perry. Marley later re-recorded songs from his time with Lee Perry, for example Kaya and Sun Is Shining (Version '77) in 1977 . Singles were recorded with Dave Barker , Carl Dawkins and the Silvertones and especially Junior Byles , with whom he achieved great success. The so-called ex-Perry-Ments became more and more daring, the first attempts to compile deejays were made, with which Perry was way ahead of his time. Many creative adventures and friendship with King Tubby took their course.

Perry disliked it more and more to rely on its productions to other recording studios, so he built starting in 1973 his famous Black Ark Studio (dt .: The Black Ark ) on. It was in Kingston's Washington Gardens neighborhood, in the courtyard of his house on Cardiff Crescent, where he lived with his then-wife Pauline "Isha" Morrison and their three children. By 1974 Perry had invested 12,000 Jamaican dollars in visually inconspicuous studio equipment, the true value of which, according to contemporary witnesses, could only be heard. It consisted of a TEAC four-track recorder, a Soundcraft mixer with Exoplex distortion and a selection of smaller devices. The sound was radically different from any other of its time in every way. Perry claimed that he actually only recorded four tracks himself, "I received twenty more from the extraterrestral squad (...)" - "It was only four tracks written on the machine, but I was picking up twenty from the extraterrestral squad (...) ".

The Black Ark Studio became a creative hub for the local music scene, where almost all of Jamaica's well-known musicians could often be found. In 1974 he produced the hit "Black Candle" with Leo Graham and in 1975 the ballad "Talk about it" with the Mighty Diamonds . Bunny Rugs (also known as Bunny Scott / Clarke) from Third World made several solo recordings in the "Ark". Perry mixed vocals by U-Roy , I-Roy , Prince Jazzbo or Dillinger with trombone solos by Vin Gordon and melodic sounds by Augustus Pablo . He constantly distilled new sounds from his constantly growing pool of recordings. For every spontaneous idea he usually had a suitable soundtrack at hand; so he allegedly succeeded in recording songs like “Chase the Devil” (which was later used by The Prodigy in the breakbeat piece “Out of Space”) together with Max Romeo in just twenty minutes.

From 1976 to 1978 Island Records released various Perry albums internationally: "Colombia Colly" with Jah Lion or "War Inna Babylon" with Max Romeo and the Upsetters. In 1976 the albums "Partytime" by the Heptones and " Super Ape " by the Upsetters were recorded at Black Ark . In the same year, Junior Murvin hit the hit " Police & Thieves ". Perry began producing albums under a vast array of names and labels. Thanks to his recordings, he was able to publish modular dubs with changed vocal or instrumental tracks and thus use his material many times and sell it locally on his own account. That soon led to a falling out with Island Records . However, Perry later complained in interviews that he thought he was not paid and that he felt he was being exploited by Island Records .

The situation in the Black Ark Studio became more and more tense, as the Upsetters production "City Too Hot" suggests in its text. In 1979 the studio went up in flames. Lee Perry was in custody for three days on suspicion of arson, but ultimately the real causes were never established.

Perry first went to the USA and worked there with the reggae bands Terrorists and Majestics . In 1983 he began working with Mad Professor and Adrian Sherwood . In 1988 Lee Perry produced the album “Satan Kicked The Bucket” and the accompanying dub LP “Satan's Dub” with Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes from Brooklyn, New York. Finally, Coxsone Dodd brought out various compilations of Studio One productions from the 1960s on which Lee Perry had participated.

In 2011 he released the album "Rise Again", on which he was able to gather many music greats : Bill Laswell and his wife Ejigayehu "GiGi" Shibabaw as well as Sly Dunbar , Bernie Worrell and Aiyb Dieng contributed to the work published on MOD Technologies .

Lee Perry's creativity remained unbroken well into old age. Every year he produced at least one album of his own and continued to perform regularly. His singing contributions were often freely improvised and reflected Perry's very own sense of humor and creativity.

Many later artists were inspired by his work, from Yello to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to The Prodigy .

Private

In the 1970s, Perry lived with his then wife Pauline "Isha" Morrison and their three children in Kingston's Washington Gardens neighborhood on Cardiff Crescent; the marriage was divorced in 1979. In 1989 he met and later married the Swiss Mireille Campbell in a Krishna ceremony that same year . The couple had two children. They lived in Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz for a long time . In the village he was known as the “crazy bird of paradise” who liked to decorate his unusual, creative clothes with CD silver discs. His self-descriptions in interviews were also extremely imaginative, he referred to himself several times as an alien from another world and he lived in cosmic space and was only a visitor here. In 2015, his second own recording studio, the Secret Laboratory , burned down there in Switzerland. Most recently he stayed mainly in his home country Jamaica. In January 2021 he wrote on Instagram that it was too cold in Switzerland and that the “energy” was bad. Due to the corona, he was no longer able to perform internationally. Perry complained about the anti-corona measures there. He needs Jamaica's sunshine, Perry wrote. He died there on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at the age of 85 in a hospital in Lucea.

Awards

Discography

Peter & Paul Lewis: Ethiopian Land, produced by “Scratch” The Upsetter, recorded on The Black Ark

Early productions:

  • 1969 - The Upsetter
  • 1969 - The Return of Django
  • 1970 - Eastwood Rides Again
  • 1970 - Many Moods of The Upsetter
  • 1971 - Africa's Blood
  • 1973 - Blackboard Jungle Dub
  • 1973 - Cloak and Dagger

Black Ark Studio - Productions:

  • 1973 - Double Seven
  • 1975 - Kung Fu Meets the Dragon
  • 1975 - Revolution Dub
  • 1975 - Musical Bones
  • 1975 - Return of Wax
  • 1976 - Super Ape
  • 1978 - Return of the Super Ape
  • 1978 - Roast Fish Collie Weed and Corn Bread

Other productions:

  • 1980 - The Return of Pipecock Jackxon
  • 1982 - Mistic Miracle Star
  • 1984 - History, Mystery, Prophecy
  • 1986 - Battle Of Armagideon (Millionaire Liquidator)
  • 1987 Time Boom X De Devil Dead with Dub Syndicate
  • 1988 - Satan Kicked The Bucket
  • 1989 - Chicken Scratch
  • 1989 - Version Like Rain (Compilation, Re-issues)
  • 1990 - Dub Messenger
  • 1990 - From The Secret Laboratory
  • 1990 - Message From Yard
  • 1990 - Satan's Dub with Bullwackie
  • 1991 - Lord God Muzik
  • 1991 - Soundzs From The Hotline
  • 1992 - The Upsetter and The Beat
  • 1992 - Hare Krishna Perry
  • 1994 - DUB-NET Philosophy ( Fotofon Label)
  • 1994 - Smokin '
  • 1994 - Spiritual Healing
  • 1995 - Scratch The Upsetters Again
  • 1995 - Super Ape Inna Jungle
  • 1996 - Dub Take The Voodoo Out Of Reggae with Mad Professor
  • 1996 - Who Put The Voodoo ′ Pon Reggae with Mad Professor
  • 1996 - Voodooism
  • 1995 - Black Ark Experryments with Mad Professor
  • 1995 - Experryments at the Grass Roots of Dub with Mad Professor
  • 1997 - Megawatt Dub with King Tubby
  • 1997 - Live At Maritime Hall with Mad Professor
  • 1997 - Mystic Warrior with Mad Professor
  • 1997 - Mystic Warrior Dub with Mad Professor
  • 1997 - Technomajikal with Dieter Meier from Yello
  • 1998 - Dub Fire with Mad Professor
  • 1998 - Fire In Dub with Mad Professor
  • 1998 - Techno Party! with Mad Professor
  • 1998 - Produced And Directed By The Upsetter
  • 2000 - On the Wire
  • 2000 - LSP meets Scientist at Black Ark Studio
  • 2001 - Station Underground Report
  • 2001 - Divine Madness Definitely!
  • 2001 - Techno Dub with Mad Professor
  • 2002 - Jamaican ET
  • 2003 - Earthman Skanking
  • 2003 - Alien Starman
  • 2004 - Encore
  • 2004 - Panic in Babylon with White Belly Rats
  • 2006 - Alive, more than ever with White Belly Rats
  • 2007 - The End of an American Dream
  • 2008 - Repentance
  • 2008 - Scratch Came, Scratch Saw, Scratch Conquered
  • 2009 - Return from Planet Dub with dub standard
  • 2010 - Mad Alien Dub
  • 2010 - Revelation
  • 2011 - Rise Again
  • 2012 - Master Piece
  • 2013 - Humanicity
  • 2019 - Rainford

Compilations:

  • 1979 - Scratch On the Wire
  • 1980 - Black Ark In Dub
  • 1989 - Open The Gate
  • 1994 - People Funny Boy
  • 1994 - Upsetter Collection
  • 1995 - Upsetters A Go Go
  • 1996 - Introducing Lee Perry
  • 1996 - Words Of My Mouth (The Producer Series)
  • 1997 - Arkology
  • 1997 - The Upsetter Shop Vol.1: Upsetter In Dub
  • 1998 - Dry Acid
  • 1998 - Black Arkives
  • 1999 - Lost Treasures of The Ark
  • 1999 - Upsetter Shop Vol.2: 1969-1973
  • 1999 - Chapter 2 of Words Vol.2 (The Producer Series)
  • 2000 - Chapter 3 - Live As One (The Producer Series)
  • 2000 - Son of Thunder
  • 2001 - scratch walking
  • 2004 - Dub Triptych
  • 2005 - I Am The Upsetter - The Story Of Lee 'Scratch' Perry - The Golden Years
  • 2007 - The Upsetter Selection - A Lee Perry Jukebox

Different:

  • Cutting Razor Rare Cuts From The Black Ark
  • Presenting dub
  • Guitar Boogie Dub (bogus, it is the album "Carl Harvey meets the Dub Masters Bunny Lee & Prince Jammy - Ecstasy of Mankind")
  • News Flash
  • In Dub Confrontation with King Tubby
  • happy Birthday

documentary

  • 2015: Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise (Director: Volker Schaner)

literature

  • David Katz: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry . Omnibus Press, London 2006, ISBN 978-1-84609-443-9 , pp. 542 .
  • Felix Urban: DELAY. Diabolical game with the time machines. Technology. Music production. Reception . 1st edition. Scientific articles from Tectum Verlag: Medienwissenschaft, No. 37 . Tectum Verlag, Baden-Baden 2020, ISBN 978-3-8288-4395-0 , pp. 276 .

Web links

Commons : Lee Perry  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Ben Beaumont-Thomas: Lee 'Scratch' Perry, visionary master of reggae, dies aged 85 , obituary on theguardian.com of August 29, 2021, accessed August 30, 2021
  2. ↑ On the death of dub musician Lee Perry: "Masters of the musical shock waves" , obituary on deutschlandfunkkultur.de from August 30, 2021, accessed on August 31, 2021
  3. ↑ Lloyd Bradley: Bass Culture - The Triumph of Reggae. (Page 292) Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2006, ISBN 3-85445-209-8 .
  4. ↑ https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/lee-scratch-perry-rise-again/ Lee "Scratch" Perry: Rise Again
  5. ↑ a b Lee 'Scratch' Perry: Tributes paid to the 'true legend' of reggae , obituary of the BBC , published and accessed on August 30, 2021
  6. ↑ On the death of Lee Scratch Perry , obituary on Deutsche Welle /dw.com, published and accessed on August 30, 2021
  7. ^ Reggae icon Lee "Scratch" Perry has died. In: srf.ch. August 30, 2021, accessed August 30, 2021 .
  8. ↑ grammy.com - Past Winners Search . Retrieved February 20, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Perry, Lee
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Perry, Lee Scratch; Perry, Rainford Hugh (real name); Pipecock Jackxon; Doctor Dick; The superape
SHORT DESCRIPTION Jamaican music producer and musician, personality in the development of reggae and dub
BIRTH DATE March 20, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Kendal, Manchester , Jamaica
DATE OF DEATH August 29, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Lucea , Jamaica