Search:lee perry

Though Scratch may have at times seemed crazy, it is worth noting that creative
genius appears so because geniuses see things others do not see and inhabit
realities unseen. As the music on this album reveals, Lee Perry's Black Ark creations
re-arrange the familiar into something new and magical.
Lee spent his early days working with legendary producers Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid,
Joe Gibbs, Clancy Eccles and Prince Buster, and by 1968 he was an independent
producer, naming his studio musicians The Upsetters and scoring instrumental hits
with innovative rhythms that helped forge the new reggae style. In 1970-1971 he
produced what many consider the greatest works by the Wailers; in 1968 one of his
Upsetters productions hit #5 on the UK pop chart and more hits followed. That gave
him the funds to build his own studio and in 1973 the legendary Black Ark was born.
Among the many landmark classics cut at Black Ark are such incisive political
commentaries as Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon," and Junior Murvin's "Police and
Thieves" (covered by the Clash). The Congos' "Heart of the Congos" album is a roots
classic and there are many wonderful obscure singles such as Carlton and the Shoes'
"Better Days." Many dub creations made innovative use of Scratch's sonic wizardry via
echo, phasing, reverb, fanging, wah-wah and various sound effects.
It all came to an end in 1978 as Lee, besieged by extortionists, freeloaders, religious
fanatics and assorted pilgrims, let the studio lapse. And then he set it on fre, some
say due to frustration, others say from mental collapse. He left Jamaica, collaborated
with musicians around the world, toured as a sort of mystic trickster/ shaman and
prospered. But his work at Black Ark will always stand as his ultimate creative
achievement.

“One of the most compelling and complex releases of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s post-Black Ark canon, Mercy is the fruit of a long and complex working process that has yielded exceptional results. Spearheaded by the maverick artist and musical outlier Peter Harris with Fritz Catlin, the drumming co-founder of industrial funk dub act, 23 Skidoo, Mercy’s experimental sonic occupies its own space.” David Katz (People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee “Scratch” Perry).

Dash the Henge are excited to announce the vinyl release of Mercy an innovative record featuring the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and the work of Peter Harris and Fritz Catlin. It will be preceded by vibrant visual representations of key tracks ‘Reggae Poison’, ’Row Fisherman/Whale Song’ and ‘This is Hell’ created by Peter Harris and Llyr Williams. “I always saw Lee as a performance artist rather than a musician in the traditional sense, so this conceptual backing feels like a more accurate setting for his stream of conscious performance art,” Peter Harris explained. “There is an attention to Lee’s history here too, something that elevates the musical collage with the echoes informed by albums like Super Ape where earlier tracks were recorded over again. In ‘Big Fish,’ the lyrics pay homage to Bob Marley’s ‘Small Axe’ and the tune references Perry’s version of ‘Sugar Sugar,’ which he recorded with the Silvertones. Although the structure might seem chaotic, the songs were crafted over a long period of time and the approach was the same as making a painting, where foundations are worked on then painted over and over until it is full wrested.” Nathan Saoudi (founder Dash The Henge/Fat White Family) boils it down. “It’s kind of quintessential outsider music - I can’t explain what they are doing, but they have a why, and that’s enough. That’s why I needed to get involved.”

“A tribute to his mercurial, mischievous spirit and pioneering sonic approach” - Uncut 8/10



“Beautifully revisiting 70s styles, each track rides the kind of killer dub basslines Youth started brandishing with Killing Joke 45 years ago when he and Jah Wobble were the UK's heaviest four-string behemoths, cutting their teeth on the subsonic thunder unleashed by Perry on the earliest dub albums” - Record Collector 5/5



“The late dub king's work with Killing Joke bassist Youth has A-team back-up. Sublime” - Daily Mirror



“Heady flashbacks to the mid-70s Black Ark sound” - Mojo/Top 50 albums of 2024

“A tribute to his mercurial, mischievous spirit and pioneering sonic approach” - Uncut 8/10



“Beautifully revisiting 70s styles, each track rides the kind of killer dub basslines Youth started brandishing with Killing Joke 45 years ago when he and Jah Wobble were the UK's heaviest four-string behemoths, cutting their teeth on the subsonic thunder unleashed by Perry on the earliest dub albums” - Record Collector 5/5



“The late dub king's work with Killing Joke bassist Youth has A-team back-up. Sublime” - Daily Mirror



“Heady flashbacks to the mid-70s Black Ark sound” - Mojo/Top 50 albums of 2024

The record you have in your hands is the sound of dreams fulfilled, dashed, then fulfilled again.

Candy McKenzie, a young singer from North West London, had endured a hard life before she flew to Jamaica in pursuit of a dream that she didn’t fully understand.

Candy McKenzie was a young talent in need of an experienced producer. Who better than Lee Perry, who had created international hits for another raw female talent, Susan Cadogan, not to

mention his brilliant work with Max Romeo, Junior Murvin and the Heptones? All the magic of Perry’s classics are here. Candy sadly passed away in 2003,

and it might appear she was an unfulfilled talent, but she and Lee Perry left us this beautiful hidden gem of an album.

The album is available as a limited numbered edition of 750 copies on orange coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

"Limited edition of 500 copies from the Trojan Records vaults. Lee 'Scratch' Perry with Mad Professor on the mix, featuring the monumental Madman Dubwise version on the B-side—a true 80s classic. Original Trojan label reproduction, a top collectors’ item. Courtesy of Real Rock Records."

Record producer, composer, singer, and pioneer of the dub music genre Lee Scratch Perry passed away in August 2021. His influence over popular music since the 1970s is hugely significant, with artists including Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin and The Orb all enriched by Perry’s legendary touch, innovative studio techniques and production style.

Conceived, written and recorded during the COVID pandemic, ‘King Perry’ was produced by Daniel Boyle, and features guest performances from Greentea Peng, Shaun Ryder, Tricky, Marta, Rose Waite and Fifi Rong. Two tracks were also co-produced with Tricky, who releases Perry’s last recorded performances on his False Idols label.

Over a career spanning six decades, Lee Scratch Perry left the music world with a huge catalogue of albums, productions and appearances that cannot be underestimated. Releases for Island Records, Trojan, Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound, Mad Professor’s Ariwa...the list goes on. It was in 2014 that Perry teamed up with UK producer Daniel Boyle, and from this collaboration came the Grammy nominated album ‘Back At The Controls’ and was followed up five years later with the ‘Black Album’.

The ‘King Perry’ album was born out of a request from Perry that he “wanted to do something new, something different but still with a dub framework”. And so, armed with influences as diverse as synthwave, big beat, drum & bass and electronica, Boyle and Perry traded ideas, beats and lyrics in a project that continued to grow as its various guest performers were added, resulting in a kaleidoscopic and engaging melting pot of rhythms, melodies, and voices. Poignantly, closing track ‘Goodbye’ was Perry’s last ever recorded vocal performance.

Conceived, written and recorded during the COVID pandemic, "King Perry" was produced by Daniel Boyle, and features guest performances from Greentea Peng, Shaun Ryder, Tricky, Marta, Rose Waite and Fifi Rong. Two tracks were also co-produced with Tricky, who releases Perry"s last recorded performances on his False Idols label. Record producer, composer, singer, and pioneer of the dub music genre Lee Scratch Perry passed away in August 2021. His influence over popular music since the 1970s is hugely significant, with artists including Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin and The Orb all enriched by Perry"s legendary touch, innovative studio techniques and production style.

Lee 'Scratch' Perrys posthumes Meisterwerk 'Destiny', das gemeinsam mit Bob Riddim entstand, ist eine transzendente Reise durch das Erbe und die Zukunft des Reggae. Mit Evie Pukupoos gefühlvollen Echos, Kabaka Pyramids revolutionärer Lyrik und Xana Romeos Neo-Roots-Infusion verbindet das Album ikonische Traditionen mit den modernen Sounds und Stimmen des Reggae. Weitere Highlights sind die kollaborative Präsentation der nächsten Reggae-Welle der kommenden Generation mit Blvk H3ro, Leno Banton und Wayne J ('Ring Pon My Finger') sowie eine Hommage an das Dub-Königtum mit Addis Pablos Melodica ('Infinity' (Dub)). 'Destiny' ist ein weiterer Beweis für Perrys unauslöschlichen Einfluss auf die jamaikanische und globale Musiklandschaft.

NEUES ALBUM! "Heaven", ist das letzte, bislang unveröffentlichte Album von Lee 'Scratch' Perry vor seinem Tod im Oktober 2021.
Lee 'Scratch' Perry ist eine der wichtigsten kulturellen ersönlichkeiten des zwanzigsten und einundzwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. Sein Beitrag zur Förderung der jamaikanischen
Musik als Produzent, Arrangeur, Autor und Künstler ist unvergleichlich. Er spielte eine zentrale Rolle bei vielen der wichtigsten Bewegungen in der Entwicklung des Reggae in
den sechziger und siebziger Jahren und war die Inspiration dafür.

The Jamaican dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry had the ability to attract some of the best musicians around to indulge in their fantasies. He knew how to draw the best out of those who wandered by their studios. The 1989 compilation album Open The Gate is a collection of the 12” versions Lee Perry did in the late Black Ark period. For the recordings, he gathered some of the best singers of the island, including Anthony “Sangie” Davis, The Heptones, Leroy Sibbles, The Diamonds, The Congos, Junior Murvin and of course Perry’s studio band The Upsetters amongst others.

The 3LP Open The Gate is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl and includes 3 printed innersleeves.

Jetzt auch als VINYL! 180 Gramm und fettes Artwork. Auf dem Planeten Dub haben Dubblestandart mit mittlerweile zehn Alben bereits einen eigenen Krater hinterlassen. Gegründet Ende der Achtziger unter dem Eindruck von Lee Perrys einzigartigen Black Ark-Produktionen und Adrian Sherwoods radikalen Mixmanövern auf On-U-Sound, hat die bewährte und begehrte Backing Band (Ari Up, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Dillinger, Lilian Allen, Top Cat), um Paul Zasky den jamaikanischen Produktionstechniken ihr eigenes, europäisches Gesicht gegeben: bassbasiert, New Wave-infomiert, mixtechnisch auf dem neusten Stand und versiert im Seiltanz zwischen digitalem Wumms und analoger Wärme, wortlos vermittelnd zwischen Patois und Schmäh. Mit dem elften Album krönen sie ihre Karriere mit einer Serie Aufsehen erregender Kollaborationen (u.a. Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ari Up und Regiemeister David Lynch!) und einer in dieser Saison in Sachen Dichte, Fülle, Tiefe und Schwere ihresgleichen sucht. Aufgenommen wurde in Kingston, der Bronx und im heimatlichen Studio in Wien.

Lee 'Scratch' Perry , der wohl größte jamaikanische
Produzent aller Zeiten, war in den sechziger und siebziger
Jahren maßgeblich an der Umgestaltung des nationalen
Sounds der Insel beteiligt und hat mit seiner einzigartigen
Herangehensweise an das Musikmachen die Musik über
die zuvor wahrgenommenen Grenzen hinausgetrieben.
Anlässlich des ersten Jahrestages seines Todes wird das
Beste aus seinem Schaffen in einer Reihe von Produkten
präsentiert, die alle deutlich machen, warum Perry so
lange eine weithin verehrte Persönlichkeit war.
Das Deluxe-Box-Set umfasst vier Vinyl-LPs und vier CDs
mit seinen bekanntesten und einflussreichsten
Aufnahmen, darunter ein bisher unveröffentlichter Mix von
Junior Murvin s kraftvollem "Police And Thieves", dem
britischen Chart-Hit "Hurt So Good" von Susan Cadogan
und dem Reggae-Klassiker "Return Of Django" von den
Upsetters sowie zahlreiche große jamaikanische Hits.
Das Set enthält ein 50-seitiges, vollständig illustriertes
Buch aus der Feder von Scratchs offiziellem Biographen
David Katz mit einer Reihe von Fotos des berühmten
Fotografen Adrian Boot sowie ein neu gestaltetes,
zweiseitiges Farbposter im Format 24" x 24".
Die 2LP und 2CD Formate konzentrieren sich auf die
bekanntesten Produktionen des legendären Musikers aus
den Sechzigern und Siebzigern, dargeboten von einigen
der Giganten der jamaikanischen Musik, mit ausführlichen
Texten zu dem Mann, dessen Talent und Fantasie den
Reggae zu neuen Höhen der Exzellenz führte

Auf dem Planeten Dub haben Dubblestandart mit mittlerweile zehn Alben bereits einen eigenen Krater hinterlassen. Gegründet Ende der Achtziger unter dem Eindruck von Lee Perrys einzigartigen Black Ark-Produktionen und Adrian Sherwoods radikalen Mixmanövern auf On-U-Sound, hat die bewährte und begehrte Backing Band (Ari Up, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Dillinger, Lilian Allen, Top Cat), um Paul Zasky den jamaikanischen Produktionstechniken ihr eigenes, europäisches Gesicht gegeben: bassbasiert, New Wave-infomiert, mixtechnisch auf dem neusten Stand und versiert im Seiltanz zwischen digitalem Wumms und analoger Wärme, wortlos vermittelnd zwischen Patois und Schmäh. Mit dem elften Album krönen sie ihre Karriere mit einer Serie Aufsehen erregender Kollaborationen (u.a. Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ari Up und Regiemeister David Lynch!) und einer in dieser Saison in Sachen Dichte, Fülle, Tiefe und Schwere ihresgleichen sucht. Aufgenommen wurde in Kingston, der Bronx und im heimatlichen Studio in Wien.

A real Black Ark flavoured recording, even though recorded in London at Ariwa by Mad Professor.

Supernatural finds our hero in a very good mood on a very spooky recording. “I escaped from the mud hut” Classic!!!

Coupled with Psychopath, a recording from the same session, with the same intensity as Supernatural Taken from “Lost Tapes from the 80’s”

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s 2002 album Jamaican E.T. marked his ‘comeback’. The extra-terrestrial is back with some groovy reggae which creates a bridge between dub, roots and hip hop. But in the end it never ventures to far away from the traditional reggae. The album continues in showing his fascination with aliens, drugs and religion. His own voice is often multi-layered and contrasting with each other. In 2003, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. Up until his passing, Perry was active in producing and performing his music.

Jamaican E.T. is available on black vinyl.

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After collaborating on a number of award winning vinyl albums, box sets and singles totalling over 80 songs together. They are back once again with this special, limited edition Vinyl Dub album.
Taking the original multi-track recordings of their co-produced 2016 sell out Roots Album for Max Romeo, ‘Horror Zone’. Lee & Daniel have created a new analogue Dub journey from those multi-tracks.
The original album was recorded live, using vintage Black Ark equipment to recreate Lee’s famous Lo-Fi Drum sound. With veteran Upsetter and Bob Marley and the Wailers musicians –
Glen Da Costa, Vin Gordon and Robbie Lynn, alongside Daniels Rolling Lion All Stars session band.
It has now been Deconstructed and Dub mixed live on Rolling Lion Studios SSL mixing console, using entirely vintage analogue equipment including the same pieces from Lee’s original Black Ark Studio. Driven by the idea to merge Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi. Merging the absolute best in class Analogue equipment available on the planet, with the very best Vintage equipment from the 1950’s-1970’s They have Dubbed these Bass heavy Lo-Fi recordings live, using space, depth and width. Paired with Phasers, Filters and Delays, resulting in a deep meditative, cinematic, psychedelic Dub journey into the stars.
Bought to you on super rare Glow in the Dark Vinyl, with a hand painted cover by Ellen G, the result sees the pair jumping into Lee’s Dub Starship to drive it straight through the Horror Zone!

Adeen Records with another spectacular release. This time, they're offering up a double lp re-release of remixed classics of the imperial Lee "Scratch" Perry 1997dub techno infused album "TECHNOMAJIKAL. With stellar remixes from Camille and DJ Boring giving it an updated futuristic sound while keeping it still techno at heart.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s return to his most spaced-out work, that marks his 2002 comeback album Jamaican E.T. The extra-terrestrial is back with some groovy reggae which creates a bridge between dub, roots and hip hop. But in the end it never ventures to far away from the traditional reggae. The album continues in showing his fascination with aliens, drugs and religion. His own voice is often multi-layered and contrasting with each other. It’s a wonderful record and it shows that even after all those years he was still capable in recording an album which stands out during the time of release.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. Nowadays he’s still performing and recording music.

Jamaican E.T. is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl.

At 83 Years Of Age, Lee Scratch Perry Is Proud To Present To The World His Next Full Length Solo Album (with Dub Versions) , Continuing His Inimitable Roots Reggae Legacy.

Lee's Brief For The Album, Was To Blend The Vintage And The Obscure, During The Sessions Lee Referred To The Sound And 'black' And Wanted Space, Light And Darkness In The Songs And Their Respective Dub Versions.

The Result Sees Lee Having Mixed Up An Analogue Concoction Of Ultra-rare Effects, Sonic Wizardry And Deep Heavy Roots Rhythms.

Over 2017 and 2018, Lee Scratch Perry re united with Producer and Mixer Daniel Boyle, to start work on their second Solo album project for Lee.

Picking up where their last efforts ''Back on the Controls'' left off. Lee wanted to continue the raw analogue sound they had cultivated together over multiple past releases, and take it to the next level with new effects devices to create another sonic signature.

They entered the studio in 2017, to begin to put together ideas for the tracks, which were then taken to RAK studios in London with their ever changing Rolling Lion All Stars session band; to lay down the rhythm versions.

Using strictly vintage analogue equipment, they employed Neuman valve and RCA Ribbon microphones, and RAK's early model vintage API desk to record, the 'sound' for the album was sculpted in these sessions. Vintage, but punchy, which was then blended with Lee's choice of super rare and custom analogue effects. Ursa Major Space Station and Stargate delays and reverbs, old choruses, Plate and spring reverbs, and tape delays were used to create a tight vintage feel but retaining the rawness of the 'Low Fi' roots sound Lee was aiming for.

With the music coming together, the vocal sessions were held in Abbey Road studio 3, again using vintage RCA ribbon mics, over driving their EMI TG console and Fairchild compressors to create a pleasantly distorted Lo Fi vocal sound.

Lee and Daniel then returned to Daniels Rolling Lion Studio, to mix and Dub the album, live, on the mixing console.

'Rolling Lion All Stars' Musicians: Vocals: Lee 'Scratch' Perry Drums: Ed West Bass & Guitar: Hughie Izachaar Keys: Robbie Lynn Additional Keys: Calvin Bennion Percussion: Daniel Boyle Kete Drum: Mathias Liengme Hurdy Gurdy: Brian McCoy Horn Section: Rory Sadler, Robert Landen Melodica: Puraman Backing Vocals :

On A side, electronic music wizards Kompozyt team up with a Dub Legend Lee 'Scratch' Perry to bring you a heavy-hitting and instant bounce-inducing Dub Techno track 'Hidden Force'. Lee Scratch Perry's amazing and charismatic Dub poetry blends superbly with the neat fusion of spacey and subterranean sounds of Kompozyt productions. The single is not to be missed this summer.

On B side, Kompozyt brings you a 7' version of 'Homesick' - Dub and Trip-hop inspired Experimental Electronica with Olgierd Dokalski on the trumpet. Olgierd's incredible performances of real haunting beauty further reinforce the analog, live and improvisational aspect of Kompozyt's music.

Both tracks come from Kompozyt's debut album: 'Synchronicity' - out everywhere now on CD and DL.


Selected Reviews of Kompozyt's Debut Album and the Single

5/5 Decoded Magazine: 'Incredible album 10/10'

4/5 Lars Berhenrot (Deepershades): 'LOVE THIS .. never-ending deepness ..'

5/5 Pierre Ravan: 'Amazing work from the heart'

5/5 Queensradio.org: 'I'll definitely be playing these guys on air'

4/5 Garth Trinidad (KSRW Radio) 'Exquisite score without a film'

5/5 Hoxton FM (London): 'Incredible release!'

4/5 Stereo MCs: 'Nice vibes refreshing'

4/5 Robert Babicz: 'I love dub. in all forms'
5/5 Adam Hannibal (Balanced) : 'Neat fusion of spacey and subterranean sounds. Reminiscent of the Beyond Recs Ambient Dub compilations with some freshness... Well done'
5/5 Al Bradley (3amrecordings): 'This needs full love because it's excellent :) I can really picture myself just letting this play from the first sound to the last & becoming utterly immersed as it flows through! Gorgeous.'
5/5 Bartlomiej Blesznowski- 'One of the best electronic music albums this year'
4/5 Neil Brown (RMFM; Pro Mobile Magazine): 'Some nice tunes to get your head in gear to.'

5/5 Jorn Kirk (DJ Jay Kay) (Faith Sundays): 'very nice album !!! a joy to listen to'

This 3 Track Ep From The Legendary Lee Perry Brings Together New And Unreleased Tracks Recorded At Mad Professor's Ariwa Studio In South London. The Ep Kicks Of With 'this Is The Upsetter', Which Sees Lee Chanting And Philosophising Over A Rollicking Bass, Underpinned By Understated Guitar And Perfectly Placed Hats, And Continues To The Straight Up Dub, 'lion Share Dub'. And On The Flipside Is The Title Track, 'game Of The Throne', With Brass Section And Backing Vocals Belting Out Soul Fire, With Lee Offering His Words To Selassie. Mastered By The Legendary Noel Summerville, Artwork By Henry Dubroot Alderson And G.s-l Studio.

Fortsetzung Der Legendären On-u Sound Compilationreihe Mit Neuen Adrian Sherwood-produktionen, Einzigartigen Mixes Und Unveröffentlichten Tracks Von U.a. Roots Manuva, Lee "scratch" Perry, Coldcut, Gary Lucas (captain Beefheart's Magic Band), Mark Stewart Und Horace Andy. "pay It All Back" Startete 1984, Die Letzte Ausgabe Erschien 1996. Die Tracks Sind Wie Üblich Durch Spezielle Effekte Im Piratensender-style Miteinander Verknüpft. 15 Von 18 Tracks Sind Unveröffentlicht, Ein Track Befindet Sich Exklusiv Auf Den Physischen Formaten, Die Beide Zusätzlich Ein Umfangreiches Booklet Mit Detailierten Illustrationen Und Kommentaren Zum On U Sound-katalog Enthalten.

'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'

'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)

Fully seasoned Italian techno architect Claudio PRC loves Lee "Scratch" Perry and more electronic-leaning deep smiths such as Chain Reaction and Basic Channel who have influenced him over the years and now bring those vibes to the fore. 'Submerged' is immediately horizontal and glacial in pace, with pads that are just and pure and an energy that is impossibly cathartic. The Version on the flip drops in some gentle drums that bring a soft forward momentum. Two lovely excursions.

Some grooves don’t rush to the dancefloor — they crawl there, slow and heavy, like smoke wrapping around a bassline. With Fragments of Reality, The Balek Band sculpt an electronic funk that lives between shadow and light — an end-of-the-world fever dream, a Barjavel-style Ravage where chaos turns nihilistic.

No sequencer grid here — just four musicians sharing the same room, shaping air and tension together: drums locked tight with a slap bass, a guitar dripping with echo and heat, and a one-man orchestra behind his machines, weaving acid lines and synth arpeggios while mixing the band live — drenching it in delay, reverb, and saturation, like a dub producer in a Kingston studio, Lee Scratch Perry or King Tubby conjuring ghosts through smoke.

This isn’t fusion — it’s friction. A living ritual where the TB-303 hums, and machines don’t dominate but converse with the human pulse. Each track feels like a night that refuses to end — that humid in-between where trance slips into languor, and the body starts to think for itself.

The record recalls the cosmic jazz of Alain Mion or Eddy Louiss meeting the fiery energy of West African afrobeat musicians freshly arrived in a smoky Belleville basement in the mid-’80s. When The Balek Band summon ghosts, it’s only to reshape them — bending the past into something futuristic, alive, and strangely refreshing. Both disciplined and delirious, Fragments of Reality feels like a promise at dawn: dark funk for the late hours, slow acid for warm blood.

This EP isn’t nostalgic, though it remembers. It’s a transmission from a parallel past — a moment when jazz players met drum machines and decided never to stop playing. Each note sweats, each rhythm breathes. You can almost see the light cutting through the haze, faces half-awake, half-possessed.

The Balek Band aren’t recreating a moment — they’re keeping it alive.
Flesh and cables. Impulse and patience.
A band, not a loop.
A trip, not a format.

Sixteen killer 70s reggae funk and soul cuts from the likes of John Holt, Lee Perry, Cornel Campbell, The Cimarons, The Chosen Few and more featuring superb reggae takes on songs by artists including The Jackson 5, William DeVaughn, Diana Ross and The Supremes, War, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, The Stylistics and others!

Well-documented is the influence of American black music on Jamaican styles of the 1960s – from the birth of ska music, when The Skatalites ska-ified the jump-up southern USA rhythm and blues music of Rosco Gordon, Louis Jordan and Fats Domino, through to the creation of rocksteady when Jamaican artists like The Techniques, The Paragons, Alton Ellis and The Melodians turned to the slower rhythms and soulful harmonies of groups such as The Impressions and The Drifters for inspiration. 

Less-well established is that in the 1970s Jamaicans didn’t (shock!) stop listening to American black music styles, with many 70s reggae artists as invested in soul, funk and the proto-disco sounds of Philadelphia, as was the case with rhythm and blues in the previous decade. In the 1970s, while Jamaica promoted its own roots reggae styles around the world, powerhouse USA soul labels such as Motown, Philadelphia International and Stax Records were at the same time all popular on the island.
This interaction between American and Jamaican music was not limited to Jamaica. In Britain, first-generation Caribbean-émigré children in the 1960s and early 70s grew up with an equal love of both soul and reggae, which manifested itself in the home-grown arrival of lovers rock in the mid-1970s.
Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Reggae Island Soul’ tells this story of how soul and funk-infused reggae in the 1970s united the sounds of Jamaica, USA and the UK into a highly addictive cultural hybrid of styles.

A four-piece band based in Tokyo.

Initially playing reggae/dub music, the band gradually developed into an innovative fusion of diverse musical influences, such as jazz, soul, psyche pop, new age, and exotica. A sound is based on groove and euphoria, with nostalgic melodies.

They have performed at iconic events in Japan such as Fuji Rock Festival, and also have been looking overseas since they performed in Canada(Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) in 2019. The new EP "Ramble In The Rainbow"(2024) is their first international release on the US label Peoples Potential Unlimited.

The work shows their musical maturity, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Yasuaki Shimizu.

When funk music exploded onto the global pop scene in the late sixties, many of Jamaica's leading music-makers were inspired to incorporate elements of the exciting sound into their work. The result was the fascinating and compelling funky reggae style that proved immensely popular with record buyers on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the early ‘70s.

Pioneers of the sound included such celebrated producers as Lee ’Scratch’ Perry and Lloyd Charmers, whose recordings are heavily represented on both the CD and LP versions of this irresistible collection.

Collected here are some of the finest examples of the funky reggae, performed by some of reggae music’s most accomplished artists, from Ken Boothe and Lee Perry’s Upsetters to British-based acts, Greyhound and The Marvels.

Brixton Heights Records proudly presents the brand new single ‘Am I the Same Man?’, a soulful roots-reggae gem featuring a heavyweight all-star lineup including: Mafia & Fluxy on drum and bass respectively, the Ital Horns on brass, Gussie Clarke on mastering and Gaudi on falsetto vocals + BVs, dub mixing, piano and co-production alongside The Brixton Heights Orchestra.

Drawing inspiration from the timeless instrumental groove ‘Soulful Strut’ by Young-Holt Unlimited, the track channels vintage soul through a deep lovers-rock lens. A fresh and earnest reinterpretation of Barbara Acklin’s 1968 classic ‘Am I the Same Girl?’, this version flips the narrative with an adaptation on the lyrics voiced by none other than Gaudi singing in falsetto, resulting with a smooth, dub-infused love song that combines classic soul and international reggae into a modern masterpiece.
Gaudi is not stranger to falsetto-singing and backing vocals, in fact he has lent his distinctive vocal talent to albums by reggae giants such as Steel Pulse, Horace Andy, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Don Letts, Johnny Clarke, Mad Professor, Hollie Cook, Michael Rose, Creation Rebel, Africa Unite, Awa Fall, African Head Charge, Lion D & Capleton.

Mixed and co-produced by Gaudi at his Metatron Studio in London UK and mastered by Gussie Clarke at Anchor Studios in Kingston Jamaica, ‘Am I the Same Man?’ is more than a cover version, it’s a heartfelt transformation that captures the emotional core of the original song while creating a whole new vibe that speaks to today’s lovers and soul seekers alike.

The B-side presents a meticulously crafted dub version by Gaudi, produced exclusively with analogue equipment and vintage studio hardware. The mix brings forward the intricacies of the original instrumentation and enhances the lyrical elements through spacious delays and warm, analogue textures. Last but not least, in order to maintain the highest level of authenticity and an organic sonic texture, all recordings were done at 432Hz, tuned to resonate naturally.

This single gets together two rare and important tracks from legendary producer Lee “Scratch” Perry with singer Neville Grant.

SICK AND TIRED, the great vocal version of RETURN OF THE DJANGO, was released in 1973 on Downtown (DT.509) whilst
BLACK MAN’S TIME was released in 1972 on the Upsetter label.

These two outstanding tracks are in our opinion the best of Neville Grant’s recordings and among Lee Perry’s very best productions of this era.

As such, they were featured on several top compilations but are both quite rare as singles and highly collectable today…

Before he became better known as Porn Sword Tobacco (PST), Swedish producer Henrik Jonsson released two albums under the name of Stress Assassin. Like his later oeuvre, the tunes are spacious, cinematic and multi-layered, influenced by the likes of Harold Budd and Tangerine Dream, but for this project there is additional guidance from Lee Perry and Moritz von Oswald.

Released on vinyl for the first time, Within the Office of Eye and Ear’s smoked-out ambience and blissful beats are permeated with melodic bass and cinematic space. Found sounds, floating voices and intermittent pops ripple amongst the sweet harmonies, lush atmospheres and pulsating basslines, creating a captivating other-worldly dreamspace.

As Henrik explains: “Made often at night in an attic in Gothenburg, it’s music I did in a world far away from today: the music was, and is, about not running along with a stress-y society soaked in TV, media and materialism, out of touch with the calm beauty this world gives us”

He certainly succeeded as Within the Office of Eye and Ear offers the ultimate stress assassination.

Linval Thompson is one of the great roots vocalists that ruled the dancehalls of Jamaica in the mid 1970’s. His distinctive vocal style and roots lyrics, that spoke of the struggles that faced the Rastas, hit a chord with the people of Jamaica, and provided a string of hits for him in the dancehalls. This in turn, would set a tone that he carried on through his musical career and future production work. Linval Thompson (b.1959, Kingston, Jamaica) was actually raised in Queens, New York. He cut his first record there at the age of 16 ‘No Other Woman’ with future Third World singer Bunny Ruggs. He also cut a couple of tracks for a US producer E Martin ‘’Jah Jah Deh’and ‘Weeping and Wailing’. In 1974 he returned to Jamaica and cut ‘Mama Say’ and a version of D Brown’s ‘Westbound Train’ for producer K Hobson which got Thompson noticed by producer Phil Pratt. Pratt took him to Lee Perry’s Black Ark studio’s where he cut ‘Kung Fu Man’. Thompson’s friendship with fellow singer Johnny Clarke led to a meeting with producer Bunny Lee. His first track cut for Lee was ‘Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks’ and it became a big hit in Jamaica. Bunny Lee was the producer of the moment and Linval added to his long list of hit singles with ‘A Big Big Girl’, ‘Cool Down Your Temper’, ‘Ride On Dreadlocks’ and the title of this compilation ‘Jah Jah Is The Conqueror’. He seemed to hit a musical height working for Bunny Lee (who as he has done with many of his singers) encouraged Linval into production work himself. Which has led to another chapter in Linval’s story. Working with an array of artists including, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne, Barry Brown, Rod Taylor and many more. But it is his singing career that we focus on here and that great period in reggaes history the mid 1970’s where Linval delivered a string of classic hits that we have compiled for you here. Hope you enjoy the set.