In addition to pioneering the reggae dub production style, Lee “Scratch” Perry was also a master collaborator. Working with everyone from Keith Richards to Beastie Boys, Perry’s far-reaching influence brought forth a steady and diverse flock of admirers clamoring to work with him. Perry passed away last month at the age of 85, but he still has one more collaboration left on the shelf.
Released on Thursday, “Holy Dub” is the second single off Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide To The Universe, a new collaborative LP between Perry and Vancouver experimental drone metal band New Age Doom, out on November 5th via We Are Busy Bodies. The band provides an expansive backbeat for the song, allowing Perry to come in and speak the wisdom that made him a musical sage for nearly half a century.
“As is our practice for remote recording, we sent Lee a long, evolving backing track with plenty of breathing room, along with minimal guidance, simply asking him to ‘speak or sing about any philosophical or transcendental theme,” the band said. “The resulting sermon – equal parts blessing and warning – is straight up ‘Scratch.’ As his long-time friend Lady Nigel Butterfly puts it: ‘Really, that’s how you’d get the best out of Lee – just allow him to remain one-thousand-and-one percent undiluted, because he brings it with a raw intensity every moment of every day… he’s a 24/7 Truth Bomb… give him a little space and genius will happen!”
Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide To The Universe also features guest contributions from Cola Wars (aka Gregory MacDonald of Sloan), saxophonist Donny McCaslin (David Bowie’s Blackstar), jazz trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, Dahm Majuri Cipolla (MONO), The Passenger on synthesizers, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Dahle (Limblifter).
“Our intention with this collaboration was to give Lee the freedom to express his ideas fully and deeply, and to build our musical offering around his voice,” the band added “He more than delivered, and we are incredibly fortunate that he graced us with such a loving and powerful message, as may be heard in the resulting album, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Guide to the Universe. We hope it will inspire and delight listeners the same way it did for us.”
Watch the music video for “Holy Dub”, featuring unseen concert footage of Perry, via the player below and click here to pre-order Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide to the Universe. Scroll down to see a full tracklist and album artwork.
New Age Doom, Lee “Scratch” Perry – “Holy Dub”
[Video: New Age Doom]
[H/T Brooklyn Vegan]
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