Lee
‘Scratch’ Perry & Iguana – Vibes EP (Iguana Vibez)
DL
Out Now
Legendary
reggae/dub producer release a new EP.
There can be few living artists
that are well respected by fans and fellow musicians alike as Lee ‘Scratch’
Perry. Whether he be genius or completely
mad (the two often come hand in hand), his music has and always will touch
everybody that comes into contact with it in some way or another.
On the Vibes EP, Perry teams up
with Swiss reggae band Iguana to give us five tracks of quite simply, stunning
quality. At the age of 78 you’d maybe
think that he was just here for the ride whether it be his own or simply to
boost his ego, but the man clearly still has ideas in abundance to offer.
With recording techniques that
are clearly from the days when dub was a new music form right up to modern day
effects and instrumentation, Perry has merged the two and released one of his
finest most complete works to date.
Opener, the very catchy Get
Down has clear funk (under)tones coupled with a sumptuous dubstep beat and a
simple bass line. Tinkling keyboards and
the subtlest of dub effects on both voice and backing make it a wondrous
track. Add a little free-form guitar
work and you’re there.
Roots Rock Reggae dos exactly
what it says. A slightly more conventional approach but again with some lovely
additions of snared drums and dubbed out keys.
Amazing that the man still has ideas that are as fresh and original as
anything else that is around.
Running water serves as the
intro to Midnight Train. A song for the
sun-kissed beach if ever there was one.
A simple dancehall beat with some brilliant piano interludes and the
almost trademark references to drug related substances. Rhymes that only Perry could write and get
away with, and completely delightful.
Digi-dub is the order of the
day on Run Rebels Run with a brilliant rolling bass beat which compliments the
sharp snare and ridiculously superb electronic effects dubbing all over the
place. Perry’s repetitive vocal chant is
brilliant. This is the man at his modern
day best.
Closer, the near instrumental
Flash brings together basic reggae riddims with ‘that’ bass sound made famous
by Adrian Sherwood and On Usound revolutionaries such as Gary Clail, Mark
Stewart and the mighty Tackhead. Again,
some delightful dubs and over a lazy reggae beat. The technology makes this track very special.
It would be nice to say it’s
great to have Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry back, but he’s never really been away. The only criticism of the Vibes EP is that
it’s not a full album. Brilliant stuff.
9.5/10
Links
Iguana Vibez on Beatport
Lee 'Scratch' Perry website
Lee 'Scratch' Perry on Twitter
Lee 'Scratch' Perry on hiapop Blog
Adrian Sherwood on hiapop Blog
Mark Stewart on hiapop Blog
Published on Louder Than War 5/09/14 - here
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