Lee Scratch Perry
REGGAE Wed, Dec 7, 8:00 pm
The King of Jamaica enters the Compound Grill!
Working under many names —as well as in many capacities: disc jockey, producer, record businessman, songwriter, singer —Lee Perry has been a guiding force in the development of reggae. In addition to his own trailblazing music, Lee Perry has produced hits for the Wailers, Junior Byles, Max Romeo, the...
[read more] Lee Scratch Perry
REGGAE Wed, Dec 7, 8:00 pm
The King of Jamaica enters the Compound Grill!
Working under many names —as well as in many capacities: disc jockey, producer, record businessman, songwriter, singer —Lee Perry has been a guiding force in the development of reggae. In addition to his own trailblazing music, Lee Perry has produced hits for the Wailers, Junior Byles, Max Romeo, the Heptones, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Murvin, and the Clash. Known for his bizarre behavior and stream-of-consciousness interviews, Lee Perry often dons costumes and headdresses made of found objects such as feathers, toys, playing cards, and coins.
His musical output became more eccentric and experimental, though it remained highly respected by critics. He lived in Amsterdam in the mid-'80s, and then in London. In 1990 Perry moved to Switzerland, only occasionally returning to Jamaica, where he eventually abandoned plans to rebuild his historic Black Ark Studio. In 1997 Perry's public profile rose with the release of Arkology, a three-disc anthology. That same year the Beastie Boys invited him to appear at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York (where he appeared in a football helmet covered with small mirrors), followed by an extensive U.S. tour with sometime collaborator Neal "the Mad Professor" Fraser. By now he was acknowledged as a key influence on '90s trip-hop and electronic dance music. In 2000 he released the recently completed On the Wire —an album begun a decade earlier, before Perry disappeared to Switzerland with the tapes —to more critical acclaim.
