New Age Doom pay tribute to legendary Jamaican producer and dub reggae pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry on their upcoming album Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide To The Universe, which is due out November 5th via We Are Busy Bodies. The album results from a sprawling collaboration between Perry, New Age Doom members Eric J. Breitenbach and Greg Valou, as well as a host of other musicians assembled remotely. Regarding their collaborative offer to the former Upsetter, Breitenbach explains: “We never expected him to say yes, but at the same time, never doubted that he would. Once he was aboard, everything else just fell into place.”
For the album, New Age Doom brought together an impressive list of fellow musicians, including bassist Tim Lefebvre on acoustic bass, electric bass and synthesizers, Cola Wars on synthesizers and Hammond organ Bowie Blackstar bandleader Donny McCaslin on saxophone, jazz trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, Dahm Majuri Cipolla of MONO on drums and gong, The Passenger on synthesizers and Ryan Dahle on multi-instruments, backing vocals, as well as the album’s analog mix and master. Like the above musicians, “Scratch” Perry provided his vocals remotely after New Age Doom sent the “bed tracks” for the album. In a written tribute to the now-deceased artist, which you can read in full after the YouTube embed below, they explain:
“Our intention with this collaboration was to give Lee the freedom to express his ideas fully and deeply, and to build our musical offering around his voice.”
Shane Morgan directs the new video for “Holy Dub,” the fourth song on the upcoming LP. Following drummer Eric J. Breitenbach, multi-instrumentalist Greg Valou, and keyboardist Cola Wars as they work in their studio, the visuals also include never-before-seen live footage shot during Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Blackboard Jungle Dub 45th Anniversary tour.
Statement on the death of Lee “Scratch” Perry
The news of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s passing shook us to the core – his sudden and unexpected departure is a devastating loss for humanity and we are still reeling from the news. Our hearts go out to Lee’s family, friends and loved ones. Though he has left his body, Lee “Scratch” Perry will never truly die. He lives on through his words, music and undeniable influence on generations of musicians. As long as people speak his name, play his music and hear his message, Lee “Scratch” Perry will be with us forever. We are eternally grateful for the opportunity to create new music with the legendary Upsetter, and to have the privilege of contributing, in our own small way, to his vast and mythic oeuvre.
Since many have asked, we’ll share a bit about how we approached this collaboration. It was exactly one year ago, on August 30, 2020, that we laid down the bed tracks for the album and sent them to Lee, who returned his finished vocal parts only days later, on September 3, 2020. As is our practice for remote recording, we sent Lee a long, evolving backing track with plenty of breathing room, along with minimal guidance, simply asking him to “speak or sing about any philosophical or transcendental theme.” The resulting sermon – equal parts blessing and warning – is straight up “Scratch.” As his long-time friend Lady Nigel Butterfly puts it: “Really, that’s how you’d get the best out of Lee – just allow him to remain one-thousand-and-one percent undiluted, because he brings it with a raw intensity every moment of every day… he’s a 24/7 Truth Bomb… give him a little space and genius will happen!”
Our intention with this collaboration was to give Lee the freedom to express his ideas fully and deeply, and to build our musical offering around his voice. He more than delivered, and we are incredibly fortunate that he graced us with such a loving and powerful message, as may be heard in the resulting album, ‘Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Guide to the Universe.’ We hope it will inspire and delight listeners the same way it did for us.
Thank you for everything, Lee “Scratch” Perry. We promise to keep experimenting, following our dreams and doing our best to honour your legacy.
New Age Doom, September 2021
Vancouver BC, Canada
