In Between Dub

About

Before his death in 2021 at the age of 85, Jamaican dub innovator Lee “Scratch” Perry had spent roughly seven decades transforming the sound of rocksteady, ska, reggae, and dancehall by looping rhythm sections and applying heavy doses of reverb (and often his own gravelly voice) to what otherwise would’ve been conventional song. Bob Marley, The Upsetter, The Congo, Junior Murvin, Linval Thompson, even The Clash wouldn’t sound the same without Scratch’s early style of remixing. He also, somewhat surprisingly, dubbed out records by Linda McCartney and the Beastie Boy. So, perhaps it wasn’t the oddest of couplings when lifelong reggae fan Jack Johnson reached out to Scratch in 2020 to rework some of the Hawaiian singer-songwriter’s key tunes of the preceding two decade, especially considering both artists’ generally subdued, island vibe. That was the genesis for <i>In Between Dub</i>, but Perry only got a few songs in before he died. Two songs from Johnson’s 2003 album, <i>On and On</i>—“Traffic in the Sky” and “Times Like These”—receive the exclusive Scratch treatment, and also feature Perry’s vocals in conversation with Jackson’s; “Wasting Time” also captures Scratch’s voice, but with the help of his studio mates Subatomic Sound System doing the posthumous production work. Johnson’s acoustic guitar isn’t immediately a natural fit for dub, but in Perry’s hands—and in those of the other dub titans here, including Mad Professor, Scientist, and British lovers rock architect Dennis Bovell—Johnson’s signature remains a central feature while comfortably nesting inside the studio trickery. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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