Lee “Scratch” Perry: Arkology
Island, 1997
Dub is one of the most influential genres of the twentieth century, and Lee “Scratch” Perry is one of its most famous practitioners. Dub is a style of Jamaican dancehall known for its heavy basslines and echoey studio-effects. Lee Perry’s Arkology, a three-CD boxed set from Island Records, is a good introduction. A huge booklet included with the collection paints a portrait of a man whose life is the stuff of legend. There are plenty of photos of Perry and his famous Black Ark studio. The music, however, speaks for itself. The CDs provide the proper context by including the original versions of songs which Perry made into dubs. Sometimes this can be a bit repetitive, so I suggest random play or some creative CD deck programming. It’s easy for listeners not familiar with Jamaican music (like me) to overlook the full extent of Perry’s innovation, which includes the early use of sampling and echoey studio effects. Most of these tracks were recorded between 1976 and 1979, but Perry was ahead of his time. Despite his limited studio equipment, Perry was a “dub adventurer.”
