LEE PERRY REWIND KATCHAFIRE WORLD a REGGAE MAXI PRIEST HOUSE of SHEM DUBTONIC KRU Bonus TRAX KEIDA DUB ARCHITECT JAH BOUKS IZA REBEL IBA MAHR THIRD WORLD TYDAL FEAT
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ISSUE #6 JUN 2014 T R A X ROOTS / ROCK / REGGAE / RESPECT featuring LEE PERRY REWIND KATCHAFIRE WORLD A REGGAE MAXI PRIEST HOUSE OF SHEM DUBTONIC KRU bonus TRAX KEIDA DUB ARCHITECT JAH BOUKS IZA REBEL IBA MAHR THIRD WORLD TYDAL FEAT. CAPLETON LIZ TAILOR Good Hearted People THE DROP IRIEMAG.COM ISSUE #6 / JUNE 2014 “The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” - Bob Marley Nicholas “Nico” Da Silva Founder/Publisher IRIEMAG.COM Celebrate 4/20 everyday! Lee “Scratch” Perry Katchafire Maxi Priest House of Shem Repent And Dub Irie Easy To love Let It Be Dubtonic Kru Keida Jah Bouks IZA Rebel Tonight ft. Chantelle Ernandez Stand for Something Going Home You Make Me Wonder Iba Mahr Tydal Liz Tailor The Drop Diamond Sox Somewhere in Africa Dreams to Reality Waiting For JAM LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY IRIEMAG.COM FEATURED TRACK REPENT AND DUB Intro FOLLOW Lee Scratch Perry Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry, 20 March 1936, Kendal, Jamaica) is a musician and producer that has been influential in the development and acceptance of reggae and dub music across the globe. Lee’s timeless and classic recordings can be heard the world over, but his most striking and visionary productions came from the era when Lee ran the Black Ark studio. Built in 1973 and located on the grounds of his home in Washington Gardens, a suburb of Kingston Jamaica, the Black Ark became a Mecca for the Rasta community and some of reggae’s most important musicians. Here Lee produced many timeless classics that still impact reggae dances worldwide. Lee created his famous signature sound by the clever use of a few key pieces of studio equipment, namely the Roland Space Echo tape delay, the Grampian reverb, and the infamous Mu-tron Bi-Phase, alongside an analogue mixing desk, reel-to-reel tape machines and a heavy amount of ganja smoke and rum. This set-up allowed Lee to really push the boundaries of his productions, pushing his musicians and this equipment to their limits, steering him ever further into the smoky realm of dub. The result was truly pioneering, with the songs, rhythms, and dubplates all layered with his signature phasing and delay, backed by the power of the Upsetters rhythm section. Thus, the legacy of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the Upsetter, was immortalised. WEBSITE Following the contentious closing of the Black Ark studio in 1979, and its eventual burning in 1983, lee-perry.com we fast-forward over three decades to the present day, where Lee has been working in London’s “Rolling Lion Studio’’ with UK producer Daniel Boyle on a brand new album project, Back On The Controls. For the project, Daniel and Lee amassed original vintage pieces of equipment from Lee’s IRIEMAG.COM production heyday and a few vintage extras, fill- vocals over the heavy, hard-hitting roots reggae ing the studio with Grampian and Fisher reverbs, rhythms, which were recorded and produced by a multitude of tape delays, the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, Daniel, Lee and the ‘Rolling Lion All Stars’ rhythm reel-to-reel tape machines, old compressors, section. The result is a fantastic collection of valve amplifiers, vintage filters, and a large songs where Lee’s voice floats between political- analogue mixing desk. ly conscious and personal lyrics, to acting as an FOLLOW instrument layer in itself. With it all topped off Lee Scratch Perry The plan was to create a fresh sound that refer- with deep, heavyweight, Black Ark-styled enced the Black Ark, something new but familiar, dub versions, dripping with Lee’s phasers, with raw, vintage ‘Scratch style’ recording tech- reverbs and delays. niques. Acoustic panelling was taken down from the studio walls, old mics were thrown up against The final step of the project could only go in Featured Single battered guitar amps, limited eq was used, and one direction: being released to the world on all imperfections have been left in the record- Lee’s own Upsetter label. With artwork and ings. This is rough round the edges, ‘Yard’-style photography from acclaimed UK reggae music, but sticking to Lee’s original signal chain photographer and designer Nick Caro (who and ethereal production techniques, to record, documented the writing and studio sessions saturate, distort, and ultimately dub a brand new with Lee and Daniel over the creative period) Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry production. and pressed on heavyweight 180gm vinyl double gatefold LP, double CD and digital download, we Lee and Daniel set about recording the new present a collection of raw, deep, root rhythms Back On The Controls 2014 album with Lee concretely involved in the and dubs, which sees Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry firmly tracking, mixing and dubbing sessions, during Back On The Controls. which, he was firmly back on the controls, laying down bongos and percussive shakers, hitting the effects units, and the mixing desk, buttons and knobs, as well as adding his trademark IRIEMAG.COM The Upsetter, Lee “Scratch” Perry, back on the controls at Rolling Lion Studio. IRIEMAG.COM DANIEL BOYLE GBR The Interview IRIE. Tell us a little about Daniel Boyle and Rolling Lion Studio. I began my music career as an engineer in a commercial studio, engineering and producing all music from Rock and Punk to Opera. I did this for many years, but had always been a Roots fan at heart. Running First Light sound system with friends on the weekends I began building the Rolling Lion Studio. I have been collecting vintage equipment used by the old time reggae greats, such as King Tubbys Spacexpander Fisher Valve reverb, used for that classic splashing sound, and Lee Perry’s Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, the same unit that made Scratch’s phasing sound. Alongside many outboard units, I recently chose to replace my 70’s desk with a more modern board. I purchased a Toft ATB 24 Track desk, designed and made by Malcolm Toft who designed the British Trident desks in the 70’s WEBSITE and 80’s. This warm sounding desk was a good choice for the project, and reggae music in general! This soundcloud.com/ combination has served me well, enabling me to produce warm, thick sounding roots music with all the rolling-lion-studio vintage effects. Recently, I’ve been working with artists like Max Romeo, Winston macanuff, in JA, and the Uk crew when in London. Working on a sound that is organic and real. My vision is simple.. I like old time roots music, so that’s what I produce. IRIEMAG.COM IRIE. How did you and Lee Perry hook up to work on Back on the Controls? I have been a major fan of Perry since I was young. Burning Spear educated me in the ways of Rastafari through his music, and Scratch educated me in the art of Roots music, dubbing, experi- menting, mixing. I had been listening to his music for many many years and he is the one responsible for me getting behind a mixing desk and beginning to produce. If I had not heard Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, FOLLOW I would not be making music today. Daniel Boyle Adrian Sherwood hooked me up with a link a few years ago, and I popped him a mail but didn’t hear back. I had re-built my studio and began collecting all the equipment Scratch used to have, and as a result began making riddims that were rather Upsetter like! Scratch has a magical habit of appearing at the right time, and I received a mail out of the blue one day in 2011. He had decided he was keen to do a song together and we linked. He came to the studio for a whole day and we did a few songs with him on the mike, the song ‘Repent’ from the album was done in this session. We had an awesome time, lots of bass, effects and smoke in the studio. Scratch left the UK the next day and I thought that would be that last time we worked together, as I was so lucky for it to happen in the first place. I received another mail a few weeks later from Scratch. He loved the set-up, the sound and the vibes at the Rolling Lion Studio and asked me if I could produce a new album with THAT sound that we had created on Repent. Kind of a Black Ark feel with a modern touch. Of course I agreed! IRIE. We’ve learned that Back on the Controls started as a successful Kickstarter campaign. Can you share with us your crowdfunding experience? It’s intense! Plus it’s a hussle, asking people for money is a difficult thing in any guise, but through crowdfunding you can engage a community and meet many likeminded people. If they all help a tiny IRIEMAG.COM bit, it mounts up and makes a project! I have made some great new friends an contacts through all the communication needed. And both Scratch and I were overwhelmed by the support and interest in our project! I would recommend it to anyone who has an idea! IRIE. Irie loves the vintage feel behind Back on the Controls. Explain your vision behind this epic project? It’s IRIE!! FOLLOW Daniel Boyle I’ve been a fan of proper production always. Music made with the hands not with the forefinger…. I don’t really deal too much with pure digital music. My productions are simply what I want to hear. I don’t produce for anyone else when its my own personal projects, so have no restrictions and do what I want to hear and what I think sounds nice.