Lee Scratch Perry

Club Soda

May 13, 2016

To call Lee Scratch Perry unpredictable would be a colossal understatement. The famed Jamaican producer is without a doubt one of the most influential figures in modern music, essentially creating the dub sound, and helming legendary sessions with the likes of Bob Marley and The Clash. Perry operates on a whole other plane of existence from us mere mortals; he famously burnt down his own Black Ark studio for its supposed bad vibes, and his speech is peppered with manic bursts of scripture, conspiracy theories, and enough flat-out weird observances that he is often referred to as the Salvador Dali of music.

Suffice it to say, no one could predict how this show would go off. Teamed with New York’s Subatomic Sound System, the night promised a performance of Perry’s 1976 classic LP, Super Ape, in full, and we were thankfully awarded much more than that in a generous two-hour show.

At 80 years old, Perry is uncannily vibrant, asking the audience to jump and shake with him throughout the night. As a live proposition, he doesn’t really have much to do; the majority of his classic records feature other vocalists, so in the live setting he essentially has free reign, delivering non-stop stream of conscious rants that offer an insight into his complicated mind. “I am not a man! I am a fish!” he declared early on in the set, and it would be hard to argue that point.

Below you can check out photos from the night, courtesy of Jason Hughes. Stay tuned for our interview with Scratch in the coming days.

Lee Scratch Perry with Subatomic Sound System