The Magic Of Lee 'Scratch' Perry
It's hard to believe that Lee "Scratch" Perry, the mixing-board maestro who brought reggae into rootsy shape and developed the "dub" production techniques that have become today's stock digital presets, is no longer with us. Perry died not far from where he was born in northwestern Jamaica, resettling there in January after four decades abroad. His music echoes on. Prolific and active into his eighty-fifth year on Earth and sixth decade in the music business, Perry leaves a massive legacy in the form of a seemingly bottomless archive — much of it stellar, some of it interstellar — and a resounding influence spanning reggae, rock, hip-hop, dubstep and remix culture writ large. At the dawn of the multitrack era, Perry reimagined what a mix could be – timbrally, formally, metaphysically – knitting together the past and the future, tradition and tricknology, and imbuing his most inspired music (and there's a lot of it) with eternal currency.
Perry departs us at a moment of critical consensus about his importance. Although highly regarded during a stunning run from the late '60s to late '70s, a dark turn around 1980 sent Perry into exile and detoured his creative trajectory. Since the mid-'90s, however, Perry gathered laurels and enjoyed some victory laps around the bases (or bass bins) as an elder statesman – one with
