THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Record producer, composer, singer, and dub pioneer 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 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, 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 U.K. producer Boyle, and from this collaboration came the Grammy-nominated album Back At The Controls, followed up five years later with the Black Album.
King Perry was born out of a request from Perry, who “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 recorded vocal performance.”
