How It's Used

“The Congos (Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson) were one of many Jamaican groups Perry recorded in his Black Ark studios and released on his Black Ark label. They were a classic 1970s Rasta reggae group, driven by strange variants of the Old Testament (Sodom & Gomorrow is a typical offering), a passionate commitment to Africa and repatriation, a belief in Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey, and plenty of musical inspiration emanating from American soul and gospel. This record was made during the golden age of reggae. The sweetness of the vocals, richness of the backing and Lee Perry's endlessly inventive percussive effects result in something instantly accessible and marvellously experimental.”

—Bruce Elder, “Some Pedigree Perry,” The Sydney Morning Herald, April 8, 1996.

“In 1974 Perry opened his own Kingston studio, The Black Ark. It was little more than a wooden shack, but during the next five years, using just a simple four-track recorder, he set about changing the face of Jamaican music.

“Among the records produced there were innovative classics by Max Romeo, the Congos, Junior Murvin and Perry's own magnificent Super Ape album. They sounded unlike anything else around and to this day nobody has quite worked out technically how he did it. 'You want to know how I made 24 tracks out a four-track machine? No, you will steal my dream. That's in Scratch's head. I was the only one who could do it.

“I suggest that he also virtually invented dub. 'You speak the truth. That was me. With the machines I made an iron man like a human being. Scratch is the max. Scratch is omnipotent. There is no power higher than Scratch.’”

—Nigel Williamson, “In the Beginning: Lee "Scratch" Perry created dub, mentored Bob Marley and gave the world reggae. Forty years on, there's still magic in his music,” The Times (UK), April 15, 2000.

“Earlier this year, the entire contents of Inner Space—down to the dozens of mattresses that hung on the walls as soundproofing—were transplanted from its original site and reconstructed in The Rock'n'Pop Museum in Gronau—Germany's equivalent of America's Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame. Over three decades it had accumulated a mystique as potent as the other influential crucibles of 20th-century phonography, such as Sam Phillips's Sun Studios, Abbey Road, Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Jamaican Black Ark, or Kraftwerk's notoriously hermetic Kling Klang. The museum's rescue of the studio gives credence to Can's position as one of the most significant forces in German post-war music.”

—Rob Young, “Now that's what I call Krautrock—They lived in a German castle and had a line-up including Stockhausen students and a Japanese busker. Rob Young celebrates the mystical allure of Can,” The Guardian (UK), November 6, 2003.

“An expert keyboardist who worked with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, Mr. Johnson worked at seminal Jamaican recording studios like Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, Lee (Scratch) Perry's Black Ark and Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion. By some estimates he participated in more sessions than anyone else in the history of reggae.”

—Rob Kenner, “Wycliffe Johnson, Boisterous Reggae Producer and Musician, Is Dead at 47,” The New York Times, September 6, 2009, .

Links

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on the Black Ark

Product Links
"Arkology" by Lee "Scratch" Perry