Telekom Electronic Beats

Tributes to Lee “Scratch” Perry, “Salvador Dalí of music”

Musicians from all over the world honour the legacy of a true dub genius

 

On Sunday morning, the world lost one of its true mavericks and most influential musicians and performers: Lee “Scratch” Perry sadly passed away from unknown causes in a hospital in Lucea, Jamaica, at the age of 85. 

Over the weekend, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holmes shared his condolences on Twitter: “My deep condolences to the family, friends, and fans of legendary record producer and singer, Rainford Hugh Perry OD, affectionately known as “Lee Scratch” Perry.”

Perry was instrumental in the popularisation of Jamaican Soundsystem culture around the world, from his early work with reggae pioneers the Bob Marley and The Wailers to his ground-breaking studio experimentations at the origin of the “dub version”.

His lifelong commitment to the development of the dub sound further led him to win a Grammy Award for Best Album with his Jamaican E.T. in 2003. His eventful life was brought to screens in a documentary film, The Upsetter, narrated by director Benicio Del Torro in 2008.

“I love music. I adore it. So whatever you send to me that’s talking about life and the future—I’m available. Just let me know if you need dub,” said the dub scientist to Electronic Beats, true to his sheer enthusiasm for the newest forms of creation, back in 2016. 

Artists from all over the world have since celebrated the unmeasurable impact of the Jamaican genius, dub and reggae pioneer who influenced everyone, from Moby to the Orb and collaborated with the greatest figures of the 20th century like Keith Richards, The Clash and the Beastie Boys.

Read some of the most outstanding tributes gathered here on Instagram. 

 

Read this next!

Alpine Dub: Lee “Scratch” Perry On Switzerland’s Dub Kinship
A History Of The U.K.’s Earthshakingly Bass-Heavy Sound System Culture In 10 Tracks
Genre Guide: Dancehall’s Most Essential Riddims

Credits:

Photo: Lee Scratch Perry by preetamslot (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Follow @electronicbeats

The Beat Goes On With The Electronic Beats Newsletter

y

20 Years of Electronic Beats

y

8 Podcasts about Electronic Music that are totally worth your time

This surreal Keinemusik video takes the “earworm” to a new level

y

How ‘Echoic Choir’ brought the club back to CTM Festival

y

Dive into The Cube, Our New Immersive Digital Storytelling Experience

Meet River Moon, South Africa’s Loveable Agent of Chaos

y

When Life is poured into Music

y

Year in Review: Breaking down electronic music’s iron curtain

A Beginner’s Guide To The Decentralized Internet

y

Harry Nuriev: “I like this feeling of naive desire to change the world”

y

Watch 19 Hours of Exclusive Live and B2B Sets From Halle Am Berghain

Björk on ‘Biophilia’ and Making Music Interactive

y

DESIREE keeps pushing to tell her truth

y

Year in review: Has 2021 delivered on its promises?

Electronic Beats and MISBHV gaze into The Unknown

y

E-MERGING: Temporary Pleasure builds ephemeral club spaces around the world

y

E-MERGING: These designers make knitwear with a contemporary twist

The triumphant of return: how Sugababes reclaim their legacy

y

Human Evolution with Superconscious and Giusy Amoroso

The Week Cover Artwork y

Listen to Episode 01 of The Week, our new podcast

12 albums that gave us goosebumps in 2021

y

How Project Futureproof Empowers a New Generation to Follow Their Passions

y

More than just merch: how fashion became electronic music’s dynamic new frontier

EB Picks: A roundup of our September favourites

y

The Birth of Dubstep Captured in New Photobook ‘Drumz of the South’

y

A matter of space: how nightlife communities fight gatekeeping

E-Merging: Standard Deviation makes Ukrainian voices heard

y

First Things First: Asquith

y

E-MERGING: JADA never lets you know her next move

On Vatican Shadow and the Far-Right

y

E-MERGING: ‘A Song For You’ makes you feel a kaleidoscope of emotions

y

The Transcript: Billie Eilish in conversation

E-MERGING: Get to know Michele Rizzo and his hypnotic performance art

y

Sonic Healing: Exploring the Restorative and Spiritual Qualities of Music

y

Arca Due to Perform at Halle Am Berghain This September

Tommy Cash is always in his rave era

y

Music in the Age of Interconnected Production

y

“Free music for free people”: the early Polish rave scene adapted into a play

First Things First: Erika de Casier

y

The Retro-Future is now: What the great wave of Listening Bars says about us

y

E-MERGING: Damsel Elysium is the artist searching for deeper connection

E-MERGING: Illya Goldman Gubin’s art is a nostalgic snapshot in time

y

A Disastrous Rave in a Refugee Squat Sends Shockwaves Through Paris

y

Christopher Bauder Talks Us Through the Rave Experiences That Influenced the New ‘DARK MATTER’ Exhibition

Queer power and joy

y

Enter Mordorkore: Berlin’s debut hardcore fantasy rave

y

Unity in the community: the best online radios of 2021

Soundtracking Social Movements in the New Millennium

y

“The physical and the psychic are mirror reflections of each other” – Daniel Pinchbeck Talks to Darkside’s Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington

y

A Club Is not Enough

Roller Skating, Civil Rights, and the Wheels Behind Dance Music

y

Stream: Cinthie honours Frankie Knuckles’ legacy with a fundraising DJ set

y

The renaissance of dance and hope

E-MERGING: 5 tattoo artists stirring up the scene with their unique styles

y

We Need to Address Anti-Asian Racism In the Music Industry

y

E-MERGING: Maison Taskin is the fashion brand blurring the lines between offline and online

Altered Egos

y

Transgender and Non-Binary Artists You Should Be Listening To

y

The Bug and Dis Fig on Mutant Dub, Soundsystem Culture, and ‘In Blue’

E-MERGING: BERHASM is the Georgian fashion brand fighting for freedom

y

Slivers of the Future

y

10 innovators shaping the future of our culture

Folamour in his iconic Bucket Hat

The Journey: Folamour talks pandemic, social media and bucket hats

y

E-MERGING: Clara Colette Miramon makes your wildest Y2K dreams come true

y

Altered Egos

TOCCORORO is serving looks 24/7

y

Have party collectives become more influential than clubs?

y

E-MERGING: Leo Costelloe’s art is a shiny love letter to loneliness

Class of 2021: the artists who brightened up the year

y

E-MERGING: SF1OG is the Berlin label connecting past, present and future

y

The best ravewear off the runways of Paris Fashion Week SS22

Big Room House

y

E-MERGING: Otherworldly cakes meets chaos glam nails

y

Boy Harsher directed the sultriest horror film of pandemic times

Reference Festival Sets the Bar for the Browser-Based Cultural Fest

y

How Authentic Is Pop-Feminism?

y

Playlist : ‘Selects’, a round-up of the best new tracks by EB

E-merging: IDEN is the fashion brand serving dystopian dreams

y

Badman Forward: Dubstep’s History and Legacy

y

Franka Marlene Foth and Electronic Beats push the limits of immersive choreography

Dancing in the metaverse: a conversation with Burning Man

y

The Idea of Musicality in Modern Dance Music

y

Spotlight: FWD Transmissions

Art at the intersection: An interview with Jakob Kudsk Steensen on ‘Berl-Berl’ at Halle am Berghain

METAMORPHOSIS by TRASHYMUSE × Telekom Electronic Beats y

Our first NFT by TRASHYMUSE just dropped

y

Soon on a dance floor near you: London Fashion Week’s best looks

Bastion of hope – A techno temple for the lost future

y

E-merging: The Fairest is the new platform making art accessible

y

Exploring 20 Culture-Defining Moments of the Last Two Decades

10 records to tale La Ruta, the Spanish highway that rivalled Ibiza’s club scene

y

E-MERGING: Meet the OROKO radio community a different way

032c comments on The Cube by Telekom Electronicbeats y

Electronic Beats’ immersive project The Cube featured in 032c

The Mother.loading collective in a group picture on a gradient background

E-MERGING: MOTHER.loading doesn’t want to recreate, but create the moment

y

AVA proves Northern Ireland’s scene is thriving, despite political failings

y

E-MERGING: TOURIST is the new platform connecting the dots

E-MERGING: Ain’t No Trash gives vintage furniture a new home

y

The Evolution of Music in Video Games

y

E-MERGING: Kyra Sophie wants to make the fashion world a less scary place

‘Unmute Us’: 70,000 Marched for the Return of Nightlife and Festivals in Holland

y

‘Growth and destruction:’ Âme on AI, Innervisions, and entering the NFT space

Published August 30, 2021.