Brooklyn, Saturday 11/6, 6:30-10PM, final memorial show! October 9-15 & November 6 in the USA, Lee “Scratch” Perry’s NYC based band, Subatomic Sound System, celebrates his life & music with the first in a series of memorial performances across the USA featuring frequent collaborator, Brooklyn based Jamaican singer Screechy Dan, on the mic.
10/9 AUSTIN TX | @ Flamingo
10/10 SAN ANTONIO TX | @ Paper Tiger
10/12 SAN DIEGO CA | @ Music Box
10/13 LOS ANGELES CA | Dub Club @ Echoplex
10/15 MINNEAPOLIS MN | @ Granada Theater
(Click venue names links for tickets)
11/6 BROOKLYN NY | @ Public Records (plus Addis Pablo, Queen Majesty, and special guests) 6:30-10:00pm. Limited capacity. Advance tickets recommended.
A musical memorial for a king, Lee Scratch Perry (1936-2021), will be performed by Scratch’s NYC based band Subatomic Sound System celebrating the monumental life of the legendary Jamaican reggae and dub originator who departed this earth one month ago, a stones’ throw from where he was born. Jamaican health restrictions limited the actual funeral on September 23 to only ten people, not even enough for family, so these shows are organized for all the friends and fans unable to attend. Known to many as the eccentric producer and co-writer of some of Bob Marley’s most famous work (like “Sun is Shining”, “Kaya”, “One Drop”) and many more reggae classics, he is revered across music genres for his inspired music production and boundless creativity which includes being the first to use a sample in a song, the first to record a singer chatting (which was Jamaica’s vocal predecessor to rapping), and the first producer to appear as an artist on an album cover. During the most recent decade, he brought this to the stage with Subatomic Sound System.
New York City’s Subatomic Sound System, will perform with Brookyn based Jamaican singer Screechy Dan on the mic (a legend in his own right), playing music from their acclaimed album with Scratch titled “Super Ape Returns To Conquer” a reimaging of Scratch’s 1976 classic “Super Ape”. Subatomic will also revisit other music from across Scratch’s career featuring the likes of Bob Marley, Max Romeo, and more. The performance will draw on the shows they have been doing around the world with Scratch for the past decade. The night will include a special ceremony and video presentation as well.
While Scratch became famous in the 1970s for his pioneering work in reggae and the invention of the genre of dub, his creativity continued in across many genres of music throughout his life with a long list of collaborators across generations, famous like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, The Clash, The Beastie Boys, and in some cases unknown. Scratch’s work with Subatomic Sound System saw him bridge the gap to a younger generation more geared towards bass music, beginning in 2007 when Subatomic did dubstep remixes of Scratch’s songs with Viennese band Dubblestandart.
With Subatomic, Scratch found a way to finally bring his classic dub sound to the stage while maintaining the improvisation of a live band. Subatomic performs with a hybrid of electronics and live instruments including one of Scratch’s original drummers, the Jamaican conga maestro Larry McDonald from Jamaica. The positive response to this new live show led to Scratch & Subatomic performing at festivals like Coachella in 2013 and a wide variety of electronic music festivals on top of his usual reggae gigs. In the last several years, Scratch & Subatomic struck a delicate balance between the traditional sound of his classic 1970s Black Ark production alternating with subtle additions of electronic elements and deeper bass sounds.
The memorial performances are being organized in cities and in some cases the specific venues and parties where Scratch performed with Subatomic routinely for these dedicated audiences over the past ten years.
[…] Subatomic Sound System + Screechy Dan had a tour scheduled Oct 9-15 in the USA including Austin TX Oct 9, San Antonio TX Oct 10, San Diego CA Oct 12, Los Angeles CA Oct 13 and […]