Media raves for last Lee “Scratch” Perry album dub companion coming in Dec

More media raves for last Lee “Scratch” Perry album dub companion coming in Dec

December 6th 2019 sees the release of Lee Perry’s Heavy Rain, the dub companion to the critically-acclaimed Rainford album which came out in June 2019. I’m including some more highlights of the coverage for Rainford.

On Heavy Rain, the Upsetter and co-producer Adrian Sherwood have produced a radical bass heavy re-version of the original tapes with a host of guest musicians including Brian Eno and Vin Gordon. I’m hoping you’ll consider covering this via interview or album review. You should have already received the music but if not let me know and I’ll gladly send.

“People: repent ” intones Lee “Scratch” Perry to begin what might be his gazillionth LP, Rainford – and his signature spacey West Indian storefront-preacher steez feels perfectly-suited to a cultural moment defined both by widespread institutional criminality and high-grade legal weed. As a founding father of dub reggae and arguably its greatest first-gen practitioner, Perry is by definition an architect of modern pop, rock, r&b, EDM and hip-hop sonics. His most legendary productions date to the ’70s, and remain timeless: the Congos’ Heart of the Congos, Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves, Max Romeo’s War Ina Babylon, the early Wailers / Bob Marley recordings collected on sets like African Herbsman, and Perry’s own deep-space dub journeys, including Super Ape­ and Blackboard Jungle.But the artist caught a second wind in the ’80s with help from Adrian Sherwood, an English producer and dub scholar whose On-U Sound label semi-famously built bridges between the reggae diaspora and the post-punk scene. The two men reunite on Rainford, an LP Sherwood’s likened to Rick Rubin’s work with latter-day Johnny Cash. The comparison’s imprecise but spiritually on point – an artist nearing the end of his career gets a reboot from a fan-producer who not only respects their legacy, but reasserts and recontextualizes it for a new generation.The production is credited to both men, with Perry also providing lyrics and vibe. Some tracks feel like freestyles, with Biblical allusions that veer into babbling chants, snarls and shrieks. Sherwood’s signature sound is crisper and brighter than vintage Perry; the grooves here are mostly taut, whirlpooling gradually, with dub pyrotechnics largely reined in; see “House of Angels,” an understated fireworks display of echo, reverb and disappearing/reappearing rhythms. On the other hand, there’s the hallucinatory “African Starship,” whose woozy groove recalls Perry’s work with the Congos, and “Makoomba Rock,” an unhinged jam where Perry alternately cries like a baby, bleats like a goat, and whines “I want my mommy” as heraldic horns and tape-machine chaos swirls around him.But the standout tracks aim for soulfulness rather than face melt or couch-lock. “Let it Rain” is draped in choral vocals and a plaintive cello. With its ghostly melodica and horns, “Children of the Light” conjures golden-age Augustus Pablo. And the set is capped by “Autobiography of The Upsetter,” a seven-minute memoir by Perry that begins with nursery rhyme free-associations, then proceeds with reflections on birthparents Henry and Lillian (“My Father was a Freemason, my Mother was an Eto Queen, they share a dream…”), his work with the Wailers (“Bob Marley come to me saying ‘my cup is overflow … and I don’t know what to do. Can you help Mister Perry?’ Yes I can”). He reprises his oft-repeated indictment of Island Records’ chief Chris Blackwell (“in Nassau drinking chicken blood, in a rum glass…”), along with the tale of burning down his own Black Ark recording studio. “People thought I was crazy,” he chants – and of course, they did, and maybe still do.But as many have pointed out, Perry’s persona fits into a long tradition of tricksters and trickster narratives. And his influence on modern music just grows, despite the fact that he coined his dub approaches a half-century ago, long before digital gear simplified the process. As Perry, 83, testifies near the end: “Me have me skin black but I’m not crazy . . . I am a black angel.” Let’s hope he doesn’t fly off too soon.Will Hermes/RollingStone.com 5/31

Riddled with reissues, collaborations, bootlegs, remixes, and of course dubs, the Upsetter’s catalogue is beyond comprehension. Post 2011, when he turned 75, Wikipedia lists 13 albums while omitting more titles than I’m mad enough to compare-and-contrast from Spotify’s offerings; upsetter.net credits 30 undated albums to “Lee Perry” and 12 more to “Lee Perry &”; etc. But if you care about the greatest of the dubmasters, this project, overseen for the 84-year-old by great white dubmaster Adrian Sherwood, is an album that holds together. Is there a single track as head-turning as, to name a few personal faves, “I Am a Psychiatrist,” “Messy Appartment,” or “Poop Song”? Definitely the “Autobiography of the Upsetter” finale, possibly the “Cricket on the Moon” opener, but in the end it doesn’t matter, because all nine tracks achieve both solidity and differentiation-sound good without sounding too much like any of the others. Take a wild guess and thank Sherwood, whose 1983 African Head Charge release Drastic Season has won my ears and heart as I’ve done my due diligence. I’ll never know where this album stands or sprawls in Perry’s oeuvre, But I do know that it will now replace 2004’s Panic in Babylon as my go-to Upsetter. A MINUS Robert Christgau/Vice.com 5/31

Rainford may be dub avatar Lee “Scratch” Perry’s most cohesive and coherent work, a duskily intimate album filled with lilting melodies and shadowy nuance. Those aren’t compliments you usually hear about the 83-year-old dub reggae pioneer. Always an experimentalist, Perry was a manic eccentric who burned down his Black Ark Studio in a fit of pique and who has been called a shaman as often as he has been called a genius.Provided with a bottom end that’s dense and crisp, and an ambiance both foreboding and open – frequent collaborator and producer Sherwood’s specialties – Perry finds delectable melody all over the place. Though the blaxploitative “Cricket on the Moon,” the science-fiction-funky “African Starship,” and the haunting, up-tempo “Let It Rain” are sonically engaging, hypnotic tunes like “House of Angels” and “Run Evil Spirit” find Perry the lyricist looking at and to God’s higher powers, alternately with anger and adoration. Contradiction, you say? From Lee “Scratch” Perry, you’d expect nothing less. – A.D. Amorosi/Philadelphia Inquirer 5/30

Lee “Scratch” Perry is the living embodiment of the notion that history would, on the whole, prefer its musical heroes to stop making music. If Perry had packed it in toward the end of the 1970s, leaving his 1977 collaboration with the Clash on “Complete Control” as his parting gift, he would be enshrined in legend as the man who helped invent dub reggae, pioneered the idea of the studio as instrument, and recorded Bob Marley. And he is remembered for all that. But as Perry continued to pump out the tunes-he has more than 50 albums to his name since 1980-he gradually mutated into a cartoonish character best known for his Delphic proclamations and penchant for wearing mirrors. Fans today come to him for his classic recordings and eccentric persona, but not so much his recent catalog.In this, Perry resembles a pre-American Recordings Johnny Cash, another artist whose continued output in the 1980s did little good for his reputation. And if Rainford, Perry’s new album, isn’t quite the Cash-esque late-period renaissance that producer Adrian Sherwoodhas compared it to, it is at least somewhere in the same ballpark, thanks to the album’s sympathetic contemporary production and personal appeal.You can best hear this newfound clarity on album standout “Autobiography of the Upsetter.” While recent Perry tracks, like Orbcollaboration “Ball of Fire,” could be a lot of fun, you’d be hard-pressed to divine what his rambling vocal lines were actually about. On “Autobiography of the Upsetter,” Perry plays things relatively straight, narrating his life story from childhood in 1930s Jamaica to his burgeoning musical career, only occasionally veering into the kind of free-associative babble that litters his more recent work. Perry’s vocal may not be particularly melodic, but there is something profoundly moving about hearing a musical legend who often seems at odds with the modern world relate tales of Bob Marley and his mythical Black Ark studio in a tone of guttural gravitas, while backing vocals lilt around him in a tender embrace.Rainford is helped along by the instinctive production of longtime Perry collaborator and British dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood, whose work here balances classic reggae tropes-off-beat guitar chops, cavernous bass lines, and one-drop drums-with modern production touches and idiosyncratic effects, doing much of the melodic lifting along the way. “Cricket on the Moon” combines classic reggae lurch with an occasional digital stutter; “Let It Rain” offsets a dancehall beat with a string section that is slurred yet elegant; and “Makumba Rock” introduces Brazilian instrumentation to a rolling bassline.For all Sherwood’s musical nous, though, the strength of the album is in collaboration, with Perry’s iconic vocal tone-a mixture of phlegmy rasp, biblical command, and childish wonder-giving life to Sherwood’s lolloping grooves, much as Johnny Cash’s funereal baritone anchored Rick Rubin’s minimalist production on American Recordings. The brilliance of “African Starship” lies in the interplay between the song’s rusting metallic skank and Perry’s sky-gazing humanity, while Perry’s melodic vocal is not enough to rescue the rather drab production on “Run Evil Spirit,” a song that outstays its welcome two minutes in…. Rainford marks a welcome return for an artist who for far too long had been rendered all but invisible behind his abstruse wit, esoteric demeanor, and all those mirrors.Ben Cardew/Pitchfork.com 5/31

For a while now, the annual Lee “Scratch” Perry album has seemed like a chore for everybody involved. The good bits usually came courtesy of Adrian Sherwood, the progressive dub reggae producer of four decades’ standing and a friend and collaborator of Perry’s for three of those. On Rainford, he brings a sense of control and confidence, providing the perfect environment for Perry to remind us why he was so special in the first place.Sherwood’s sounds, samples and musical ideas inhabit the sharp end of today’s technology, but the techniques are straight out of the golden age of dub and templates cut by, among others, Perry himself. These soundscapes happily sit alongside old-school jungle and dubstep but still feel as comfy as an old pair of shoes, modernising Perry but not minimising his efficacy.One of Sherwood’s big strengths is that he has always seen the whole spectrum of reggae sub-styles: here he varies what’s on offer, meaning that Perry’s tunes come across as sprightly as his trains of thought: Let It Rain’s string section; the restrained 21st-century roots Children of the Light; Makumba Rock’s dubstep stylings; African Starship, wreathed in Wareika Hills’ ganja smoke. Most importantly, Sherwood never forgets his duty of care to the audience – to make them groove, not just stand back in amazement at how bonkers the whole thing is.What puts Rainford so far above recent outings is how disciplined it is. Sherwood isn’t scared, in classically democratic dub style, to make Perry’s vocals one more part of the mix, not the obvious star of the show. It allows for the expected stream-of-consciousness and apparently random subject-matter to holistically merge with the production, softening what can grate over an entire album. Most significantly, it means Perry’s well-trodden themes of vampirism, capitalism, Catholicism (“I kick the Pope in his arse”), judgment, retribution and his multiple identities all put in appearances, but in these circumstances forsake the same old disembodied ranting for dub-wise logic. This remarkable return to form has Lee Perry making sense, relatively speaking. Lloyd Bradley/The Guardian.com 5/31

As well as highlighting the deft musicianship of the original backing band on the Rainford sessions (which include core On-U luminaries from Creation Rebel, Tackhead and Dub Syndicate) these re-works also invite some further players into the cosmic mix. Brian Eno makes an unexpected right channel entry into “Here Come The Warm Dreads”, a heavily processed sound system overhaul of Rainford highlight “Makumba Rock”, cheekily re-titled as a nod to Eno’s own debut solo album. This completes a circle started in 1981 with African Head Charge’s My Life In A Hole In The Ground similarly referencing the contemporary collaboration between Eno and David Byrne, and their “vision of a psychedelic Africa”.  Elsewhere, legendary trombonist Vin Gordon (one of the hornsmen on Bob Marley & The Wailers Exodus amongst many other classic sides) lends his distinctively woozy blowing to tracks such as “Rattling Bones And Crowns” (a late-night flipside to “Kill Them Dreams Money Worshippers”) and “Crickets In Moonlight” (“Cricket In The Moon” refracted through some beautifully louche late summer heat haze lens). The likeliest contender to a title track, “Heavy Rainford” strips back the narrative from “Autobiography Of The Upsetter” to ride the rhythm with all sorts of mixing desk tricks, anchored by the killer “I Am The Upsetter” hook from LSK.  It’s important to note that it’s not all Rainford re-works though: “Dreams Come True” and “Above And Beyond” are Scratch and Sherwood originals, heard here for the first time and equally strong material for this purple patch in the career of an unstoppable Jamaican maverick and true musical pioneer.

More about Lee “Scratch” Perry

He began making music in the late 50s for Clement Coxsone Dodd’s label. Following a stint at Joe Gibbs’s Amalgamated Records, Perry formed his own imprint, Upsetter, in 1968. In the early 1960s, Lee’s mixing board experiments resulted in the creation of dub. He is synonymous with his innovative production techniques and renowned for his studio band The Upsetters. He was instrumental in launching the career of Bob Marley, producing many of the pre-Island Records Wailers sides, and working with him sporadically throughout his entire career, including 1977’s “Punky Reggae Party”, the same year that Perry worked on a session with the Clash for their “Compete Control” single.  In 1973, Perry built Black Ark studios, where he produced records for iconic musicians like Junior Byles, Junior Murvin, The Heptones, Susan Cadogan, The Congos and Max Romeo. Perry has recorded with Keith Richards, The Beastie Boys, George Clinton, David Lynch, Andrew WK, Moby, Ari Up of The Slits, Bill Laswell, Tunde Adebimpe (TV On The Radio), Sly Dunbar, Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt, Mad Professor and porn star Sasha Grey. In 2003 he won the best reggae album Grammy for Jamaican E.T.  Lee’s song Enter the Dragon was sampled by Panda Bear from Animal Collective. He was then selected by A.C. to perform at All Tomorrow’s Parties, which the band curated in 2011. Rolling Stone Magazine featured Perry in their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Although 82 years old, Lee is fit, sprightly and plays live on a regular basis to rapt audiences around the world. He divides his time between Jamaica and Switzerland.

More about Adrian Sherwood

“Someone once described me as just a fan who’d got his hands on a mixing desk, They were probably trying to be nasty, but I took it as a compliment – that’s exactly what I am!” For over 40 years now, forward-thinking sound scientist and mixologist Adrian Sherwood has been dubbing it up, keeping the faith when others have fallen away and blowing minds and speakers alike. Producer, remixer, and proprietor of the British dub collective/record label On-U Sound,  Adrian Sherwood has long been regarded as one of the most innovative and influential artists in contemporary dance and modern reggae music. His talent for creating musical space, suspense, sensations and textures have enabled him to pioneer a distinctive fusion of dub, rock, reggae and dance that challenges tradition not only in roots circles, but also in the pop world at large. “I’d rather try and create a niche amongst like-minded people, and create our own little market place be that 5, 50 or 500,000 sales and also be true to our principles of making things, and to your own spirit that you put into the work.” Born in 1958, Sherwood first surfaced during the mid ’70s and formed On-U Sound in 1981. While the On-U Sound crew’s original focus was on live performances, the emphasis soon switched to making records and Sherwood began mixing and matching lineups, resulting in new acts including New Age Steppers, African Head Charge, Mark Stewart & Maffia, and Doctor Pablo & the Dub Syndicate. All of these early records, according to Rock: The Rough Guide were “phenomenal, generally bass-heavy with outlandish dubbing from Sherwood, who worked the mixing desk as an instrument in itself.” Long influential and innovative on the UK reggae scene, Sherwood’s distinctive production style soon began attracting interest from acts outside of the dub community and by the early-’80s Sherwood was among the most visible producers and remixers around, working on tracks for artists as varied as Depeche Mode, Primal Scream, Einsturzende Neubaten, Simply Red, the Woodentops, and Ministry. He became increasingly involved in industrial music as the decade wore on, producing tracks for Cabaret Voltaire, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, and Nine Inch Nails, and although On-U Sound continued to reflect its leader’s eclectic tastes, the label remained a top reggae outlet. In 2003 he launched his solo artist career with Never Trust a Hippy, which was followed in 2006 by Becoming a Cliché. Both were released by On-U in conjunction with the Real World label. Still one of the most sought-after producers in the contemporary music industry, Adrian Sherwood and his progressive style and interest in developing new ideas continue to propel On-U Sound’s ongoing success. In 2012 he issued his third solo album Survival & Resistance, and began an ongoing collaboration with Bristol-based dubstep don Pinch. This brought two different generations of bass together and in 2015 the pair released their debut album Late Night Endless. Behind the mixing desk he has been working with the likes of Roots Manuva, Clinic and Nisennenmondai; and delivered remixes of Congo Natty, Peaking Lights and Django Django. His production and remix works has also begun to be anthologised by On-U Sound with the critically acclaimed Sherwood At The Controls series.  “Music is lovely because it stimulates people, superficial music doesn’t. If you make something that you put your heart and soul into and really try to push it so it leaps out the speakers at you, and if there’s a good feel to it, then you’ve achieved something.”