Eds note: The Stranger is republishing this interview Trent Moorman conducted with the late reggae legend, Lee Scratch Perry, in honor of Perry’s death on Sunday. The interview originally ran on Sept. 2, 2015, and it’s one of the best things we’ve ever published. – Rich
You don’t simply interview reggae originator Lee “Scratch” Perry. You lob a question into the air and then step back and absorb the rhyming, ripened modules of thought he bounces back your way. The man tutored Bob Marley, for Christ’s sake. He also invented dub. Conversing with him is like standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, or shining a flashlight on Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer. Only from a distance can you begin to take in the scope of his work.
Throughout the 70-some albums to his credit, the 79-year-old Perry has explored many anomalous producing techniques. He’s doused tape with blood, urine, and whiskey to bring out the fidelity of the spirits within the recorded sounds. He’s buried microphones under a palm tree and banged the tree as a kick drum. He also allegedly defecated on the ground of his hallowed Black Ark Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and molded the feces into a network of symbols. Then he burned the studio to the ground because he was angry that people were bootlegging his music.
Since 1980, he’s been making solo albums as a vocalist with different backing bands in Kingston, New York, London, and elsewhere. The album he released last year, Back on the Controls, received a Grammy nomination. Perry spoke from his home in Switzerland. He was jovial and almost earthen. His laugh radiates warmth like a brick oven.
