Shaun Ryder teams up Lee Scratch Perry on their new ‘Green Banana’ single. Taken from the forthcoming album ‘King Perry’, which is released on Tricky’s False Idols label (and who co-produced four of the album tracks), the single comes backed with a remix by the Bristolian duo Dubkasm. The album represents the final studio album written, produced, and recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Daniel Boyle in the months before Lee’s passing and concludes an almost endless discography to his name.
The 12-track album sees Perry recording with an eclectic line-up of artists including Bristol’s Tricky, South-London’s GreenTea Peng and the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, each representing a creative alliance that brings their own fvocal and production qualities.
Prolifically active to the age of 85 with six decades in the music business, Perry’s idiosyncratic vision left a deep legacy and an influence spanning reggae, rock, hip-hop and dubstep. Once described by Keith Richards as “the Salvador Dalí of music” he opened new depths in Jamaican music. Possibly known for his youthful and hallmark chaotic dress sense, he originally earned his “Scratch” nickname from an early recording, The Chicken Scratch, in 1965.
The creative quality of relentless experimentation combined with a guiding philosophy led Perry to collaborate with UK producer Daniel Boyle who replicated the analogue specifications found at the original Black Ark studios. The decade-long association began with the Grammy-nominated 2014 album ‘Back On The Controls’, released on the revived Upsetter label, and continued with various productions through to 2019 with the ‘Black’ Album, so called because the location for the recording was Abbey Road’s Studio 2 – where the Beatles recorded the ‘White’ Album back in 1968.
‘King Perry’ captures the musician in Perry; joyful, intuitive, and always colourful, alongside guest talent sculpting musical textures through the manipulation of sonic space and rhythmic echoes and will be released on 2 February.
Lee Scratch Perry ft. Shaun Ryder ‘Green Banana’ (incl. Dubkasm Remix) is out now.
© justaweemusicblog.com