Overview
One of the most important creative figures to emerge from Jamaica in the latter half of the 20th Century, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry contributed to every major shift of musical style on the island, from the ska of the early 1960s to the roots reggae heyday of the late 1970s, with dramatic effects overseas. A mentor to Bob Marley and a collaborator with a range of artists active in other fields, including Paul McCartney, the Clash, the Beastie Boys, Keith Richards and George Clinton, whose work has been sampled by the Prodigy and Jay Z, Perry developed non-standard recording techniques at his Black Ark studio, which acted as a place of sanctuary for the Rastafari faithful, as well as a site of insurrection, until a dramatic personal metamorphosis made him a wandering nomad that enacted short-lived musical partnerships in diverse locations.
In this illustrated presentation, authorised biographer David Katz will trace the evolution of Perry’s artistic practice in the realm of the visual arts, a little-known parallel stream of divine and didactic motivation, which saw him venerating the spiritual, the sexual and the scatological while attacking western religious leaders and politicians of all stripes. Through still images, song extracts and video clips, we will learn how the African cultural practices that shaped Perry’s childhood are crucial to a proper understanding of his work and how the complex and often contradictory art and music he produced can ultimately be seen as responses to the shattered nature of the post-colonial Jamaican psyche.
Speaker
Born in San Francisco and long resident in London, David Katz is the author of People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae, and has contributed to several other books.
His writing and photographs have appeared in many international periodicals, including the Guardian, Mojo and Riddim.
Katz has produced documentaries for Public Radio International and contributed to documentaries and feature films for the BBC, Channel 4 and Arte, and since 2004, his Dub Me Always vinyl nights have been a regular feature of London’s musical landscape.
Details
This event is organised in collaboration between the Wolfson Humanities Society with Wolfson REACH Hub.
This is a hybrid event, which will take place in-person in the Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre) and also on Teams.
If you would like to attend online, please register for the Zoom link.
Refreshments will be available for the in-person audience.
Access
This event will take place in the Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact our events team - events@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
Wolfson Humanities Society
The Humanities Society organises regular talks spanning a wide range of topics which take place every Tuesday during term time - please sign up to their mailing list to keep up to date with their upcoming events.
REACH Hub
The REACH research hub at Wolfson is an interdisciplinary meeting place for the promotion and facilitation of culturally diverse research.
Photo © David Katz
