Knowra Lee “Scratch” Perry Lee “Scratch” Perry Lee “Scratch” Perry (1936–2021) was a Jamaican record producer, singer, and songwriter whose experimental studio techniques helped shape reggae and dub.
Dub music : A Jamaican music style that reshapes recorded songs through bass, drums, echo, and studio effects. Perry helped establish dub by remixing reggae recordings into radically altered soundscapes.
The Upsetters : Lee “Scratch” Perry’s recording and performing group, best known for instrumental reggae recordings. The group gave Perry a vehicle for his instrumental experiments and studio-led compositions.
Coxsone Dodd : Jamaican record producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, founder of the Studio One label and sound system. Perry worked at Dodd’s Studio One before establishing himself as an independent producer.
Bob Marley : Jamaican singer and songwriter who became an international figure through reggae music. Perry produced early recordings by Marley and the Wailers, before Marley’s global breakthrough.
Punk rock : A rock music movement associated with fast, stripped-down songs and a challenge to musical convention. Perry’s reggae productions entered British punk culture through bands such as the Clash.
Sound system : A mobile or venue-based music system built around powerful speakers, selectors, and recorded tracks. Sound-system culture supplied the audiences, records, and competitive setting for Perry’s production work.
Super Ape : A 1976 Lee “Scratch” Perry album with the Upsetters, celebrated as a landmark of dub reggae. Its layered effects and shifting rhythms distill Perry’s Black Ark sound.
Studio One : A Jamaican record label and recording studio founded in Kingston by Coxsone Dodd. Perry’s early studio work there exposed him to the production practices he later transformed.
The Wailers : A Jamaican vocal group formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. Perry produced recordings by the group that helped shape its early reggae sound.
On-U Sound : An English record label founded by Adrian Sherwood in 1979, associated with experimental dub production. Sherwood’s label extended the studio-centered approach Perry helped develop.
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