Lee Perry aka Scratch, The Upsetter, The Super Ape, Pipecock Jackson and on .... Genius, Madman, Visionary, Lunatic, Shaman? Probably guilty of all as charged.
Rise Again The title should speak for itself. A clear and direct collaborative projection that transforms pop music production into an art form all it's own.
Like an ageless tribe of Lazarus, Lee “Scratch” Perry just keeps coming back. This time out, the Upsetter celebrates his 75th year on planet Earth with the release of Rise Again—a crucial set of eleven all-new songs, mixed and produced by Bill Laswell and featuring vocals by TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, Ethiopian chanteuse Gigi Shibabaw and Jamaican toaster Hawk(man).
Rise Again is not just another echo-drenched, bass-heavy, psychedelic dub release, that Perry helped invent back in the early ’70s, but this record goes deeper into the Rasta mysticism (and you thought it was just about smoking herb) that provides the key to understanding Scratch’s trip. This is, after all, the same innovator who literally realigned the career paths of Bob Marley, The Clash and The Rolling Stones, so it only makes sense for him to continue pushing forward. Even more fitting that he should take the leap with Laswell, whose resumé as a radical-minded producer speaks for itself(but we’ll mention it anyhow); his studio forays with Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Public Image Ltd, Iggy Pop, Yellowman, Sly & Robbie and Matisyahu (to name just a few)—as well as his late ’90s dub remixes of the Marley/Wailers and Miles Davis catalogs—still reverberate today like a vintage Echoplex.
But don’t take our word for it ...
“Fusing Eccentric spiritual vision with Rastafarian psychedelia, surreal experimental pop, powerful protest music and rock solid dub reggae with African overtones. A world of hidden connections revealing multinational conspiracy theories, old testament prophecies, Rastafarian poetry & incantations of the Jamaican folk witchcraft known as Obeah. Topped off with hermetic language games and comic book metaphysics.” — Bill Laswell • Hell's Kitchen, NYC
Recorded at Orange Music Sound System, West Orange, New Jersey
Engineered by Robert Musso
Assistant engineer: James Dellatacoma
Produced and arranged by Bill Laswell with Josh Werner
Executive Producer: Giacomo Bruzzo
Package Design by John Brown @ Cloud Chamber
M.O.D. Technologies: John Brown
M.O.D. Japan: Yoko Yamabe M.O.D.
Technical Support: Dave Pak
M.O.D. Digital Support: Dave Brunelle (Silently Watching)
Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtle Tone Studio, New York
This record has such a magical flow to it, it seems to capture so directly the ups and downs of life, the joy of music and dance, and it's just so damn catchy and fun to listen to as well. Giles
I was delighted to find Cuneiform's weekly deal to be an album by Stephan Thelen's band Sonar from Switzerland. This album is very much in keeping with Cuneiform's mission to provide adventurous music: Tritonic harmonies, poly- and isorhythms, hell, yeah! And most important, listening to this adventurous stuff is a great delight :-) Carsten Pieper
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