Lee "Scratch" Perry
Revolution Hall
09/18/2016 09:00 PM PDT
$22 ADV / $25 DOS
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Supporting Acts: SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM, Alter Echo & E3
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Producer, mixer and Grammy-winning reggae dub artist, Lee “Scratch” Perry has been overturning tradition and confounding conventional wisdom for more than five decades. In the process, the widely acknowledged father of dub reggae became arguably the first creatively driven, "artist-producer" in modern recorded music. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Perry on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Born in Jamaica in 1936, Lee Perry began in the music business in the 1950’s and by the 1960’s became known for his innovative production techniques as well as his eccentric character. His first single "People Funny Boy" in 1968 was notable for its innovative use of sampling as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as "reggae". Concurrent with his own releases with the Upsetters, Perry produced numerous reggae artists at his Black Ark studio, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Heptones, and Max Romeo.
After the demise of the Black Ark, Perry spent time in England and the U.S., performing live and making records with a variety of collaborators including British producers Adrian Sherwood and Neil Fraser AKA Mad Professor, The Clash, and Public Image. These collaborations continue to this day, with Keith Richards, George Clinton, Steve Marshall, Andrew W.K., Dub Is a Weapon, and many others. Lee “Scratch” Perry, now into his sixth decade as a pop-music provocateur, has few peers when it comes to fresh ideas and their implementation. He remains one of the world’s most imaginative sonic architects.
BAND MEMBERS:
Emch (Subatomic Sound System) - live dub mixing, selector, melodica, instigator of the Super Ape anniversary tour & founder of Dub Champions Festival
For over a decade and a half Emch has been the producer, DJ/selector, and musician spearheading NYC's Subatomic Sound System and the Subatomic Sound label. Subatomic Sound System connects the reggae roots of dub and the future of electronic bass music using a unique configurations of live instruments and electronics that five years back led Jamaica's dub pioneer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry to make Subatomic his go-to band for reinventing his Black Ark studio sound. At that same time, Emch founded Dub Champions Festival in NYC with the goal of exposing the legacy and influence of dub through performances and education events by both originators and new school dub revolutionaries. Dub Champions Festival has expanded like wild fire to Europe and across the entire USA creating a chitlin circuit style network of dub artists and promoters across the globe. As evidence of the movement, Lee Scratch Perry & Subatomic Sound System just completed a three week, almost entirely sold out tour as part of the 2015 festival, performing Perry's classic "Super Ape" album for the first time ever live, one of one of the crowning achievements of dub and reggae produced and by Scratch in Jamaica in 1976. Subatomic Sound System has toured throughout North America, Europe, Russia and Asia. In 2007, Emch was recruited by top ranking Viennese live dub band, Dubblestandart, to play guitar and melodica on their Planet Dub tour which led to producing the first dubstep mixes for Perry. Subatomic Sound System productions, remixes, and releases include a wide spectrum of established icons like Lee Perry, David Lynch, Elephant Man, Anthony B, U-Roy, and Ari Up of the Slits as well as next-generation torch bearers and pioneers like Jahdan Blakkamoore, Dubblestandart, Stereotyp, Frikstailers, Dub Gabriel, and many more. The Subatomic Sound label releases on digital and vinyl with the most recent being "NYC-2-Africa-2-Brasil" mixing up dub, dancehall, African and Brasilian percussion; and a new single with Perry called "Black Ark Vampires". Emch also works as a radio host for Brooklyn Radio and KEXP's Radio New York broadcasts, label manager for Kingston-based People’s Records JA, Dubspot music instructor, and event promoter -- essentially at work on every level in NYC and beyond, supporting the legacy of dub and forwarding the global community.
Larry McDonald - percussion
Born in 1937, Larry McDonald has been at the heart of reggae music since it's inception and is legendary for being Jamaica's leading conga player. The Jamaican percussionist played with and features on seminal recordings by the likes of legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh (Legalize It), Lee Scratch Perry, The Skatalites, Ernest Ranglin', Gil Scott Heron, Taj Mahal and the list goes on. His solo project Drum Questra released in 2010 featuring over 20 percussive instruments and a roster of top Jamaican artists including Sly Dunbar, Toots Hibbert and many more.
Screechy Dan - backing vocals
Screechy has had a storied career as a former major label Polygram artist, part of Shaggy & Redd Foxx's crew that popularized dancehall in NYC in the 90s, as well as big collaborations with the likes of Masters at Work and Kenny Dope. He had hit singles and videos on heavy rotation on BET and his latest single "Skylarking" was picked as track of the week on BBC's #1 reggae show with David Rodigan. He also tours with Lee "Scratch" Perry & Subatomic Sound System and has a forthcoming track with Subatomic titled "Bow to the Champion Sound". He's a great crowd motivator too as you can see in this little clip from the Lee Perry tour...
Troy Shaka Simms - saxophone
Brooklyn based saxophonist Troy Shaka Simms has been at the forefront of a resurgence in live improvisational music in NYC that unites the city's diverse history of jazz, hip hop, reggae, latin, middle eastern and gypsy music. He has worked over the years with Subatomic Sound System leading the horn section on Lee "Scratch" Perry tours. His Brooklyn Gypsies band has toured the world since their debut release "Sin Fronteras" last year on Turntables on the Hudson's Wonderwheel recording. Prior to that he founded Mobius Collective a group of musicians and producers that performed since 2000 regularly in both NYC & Puerto Rico, inspired by the continuous ancestral dialogue of the present.
Venue Information
Revolution Hall
1300 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR 97214
http://www.revolutionhallpdx.com/