The Mighty Upsetter returns to On-U Sound with nine brand new tracks recorded in Brazil, Jamaica and London with long-time friend and collaborator Adrian Sherwood at the controls.
Lee Perry’s friendship with Adrian Sherwood stretches back to the mid-1980s, and a fortuitous meeting brokered by underground broadcasting legend Steve Barker between the dub innovator and UK upstart. This led to the creation of On-U classics such as From the Secret Laboratory, The Mighty Upsetter and Time Boom X De Devil Dead, as well as Lee gracing Dub Syndicate records with some vital vocal injections.
Rainford is the culmination of over two years work and recording sessions by a crack crew of brilliant musicians. Determined to craft a work of lasting power, Sherwood likens to the album to the work that Rick Rubin did with Johnny Cash on the American Recordings series, a deeply personal work (the album title refers to Lee’s birth name) and arguably the strongest batch of original material that Perry has released for many years.
From the atmospheric field recording and wah-wah guitar of album opener Cricket on the Moon, to the gothic cello embellishment on Let It Rain, the chopped and compressed horn section of Makumba Rock, to the layered, carefully arranged backing vocals like a heavenly chorus throughout the record, this is an album with true love, care and attention poured into it’s every groove. It culminates in the truly extraordinary Autobiography of the Upsetter, in which Scratch narrates the story of his life from growing up on a plantation in 1930s colonial Jamaica to becoming a worldwide musical superstar.
Without hyperbole, Lee Perry is a musical titan with few equals, the man Brian Eno has called “one of the geniuses of recorded music”, a massively influential Grammy winning producer and serial collaborator with Ari Up, Beastie Boys, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Clash, Congos, David Lynch, Junior Murvin, Keith Richards, Max Romeo, The Orb and many others.
Adrian Sherwood has been an influential and innovative figure on the UK reggae and independent label scene for nearly 40 years, not to mention being invited to apply his mixing desk sound science to artists as varied as Blur, Depeche Mode, Fall, Nine Inch Nails, Sinéad O'Connor, Primal Scream and Roots Manuva.
*“It's the most intimate album Lee has ever made, but at the same time the
musical ideas are very fresh. I'm extremely proud of what we've come up as a
piece of work".
Adrian Sherwood
“‘Rainford’ is a late-career answer to 1978’s ‘Roast Fish Collie Weed & Corn Bread’ and beyond all reasonable expectation, fully its equal”* -★★★★★ MOJO
“‘Rainford’ shows why the man dubbed ‘Lee’ for ‘Little’ – because of his short stature – has had such towering influence” - 8/10 DJ Mag
“There’s something rather touching about the On-U Sound boss anchoring these twilight reflections from the 83 year old Upsetter … it’s refreshing to hear him [LSP] speak from the heart” - UNCUT
“‘Rainford’, with production from On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood, is a classic set of Scratch vocals: science fiction nursery rhymes, apocalyptic lullabies, their melodies light as air yet rocksteady” - The Wire