LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY IS THE DUB ORGANIZER

LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY’S DUB ALBUM LEGACY LIVES ON

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the world’s first dub album, “Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Is The Dub Organizer,” NYC’s Subatomic Sound System and Scratch’s dedicated touring band for over ten years, brings back the classic vibes of Scratch’s 1973 Black Ark studio from Jamaica, reimagined for the 21st century.

The album is packed with deep sub-bass and drums that lay the foundation for phased horns, vocals, and percussion to swim in murky tape echoes. Scratch’s steady collaborators recorded the album with Emch and Lee Perry in Jamaica at the New Ark and New York City’s Subatomic Sound while working on their critically acclaimed 2017 “Super Ape Returns to Conquer” album.

Scratch’s style and composition define his legacy as a pioneer of dub, reggae, studio production, and musical experimentation. He was the first to ever record chatting on a recording. Screechy Dan, born in Kingston and raised in Brooklyn, delivers the chatting to hail up Scratch in the original Jamaican party style of the era. Scratch, in turn, lets the world know he is the dub inventor and innovator, not Tubby or Jammy, a final diss tune from beyond to set the record straight.

The release of “Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Is The Dub Organizer” coincides with a memorial set for Scratch on 4/20 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre by Subatomic Sound System & Screechy Dan with special guest Mykal Rose of Black Uhuru plus The Marley Brothers & Steel Pulse.

The iconic cover photo for Lee “Scratch” Perry and Subatomic Sound System’s upcoming album was styled and shot by the renowned photographer, Hassan Hajjaj. This was taken after the band’s last full performance at Sole DXB, where they featured Emch on the dub mix, Troy Shaka Simms on saxophone, and the legendary Larry McDonald on congas and percussion, who also appear on the album. Larry McDonald has been working with Scratch since the early 1970s and has lent his unique and memorable style to Scratch’s earliest Jamaican dub recordings.

While Scratch’s work has mostly been as a vocalist since the burning down of his Black Ark studio in the 1980s, this track showcases the trifecta of talents that made him famous: as a genius producer, writer, and performer. For a decade, this song was the opening track of most Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System concerts, including the 2018 Blackboard Jungle 45th anniversary tour. A dub mix of the song was also used as the soundtrack for the Elder Statesmen’s 2021 fall collection collaboration with Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Sole DXB 2019 festival announcement video.

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