Lee Perry at Black Ark

Learning about the styles and production strategies of the early reggae producers is pretty interesting. Producer Coxsone Dodd, at Studio One, was a major player in the ska years, but then took a breather during rocksteady's heyday. When reggae came into view, he moved to the front of the pack. One of the reasons Dodd became the foremost producer when roots reggae came into its own, according to Lloyd Bradley in This is Reggae Music, was his work ethic at finding new talent and his system of auditioning young singers and songwriters. He also had a killer house band. Part of it also had to do with his production style. At that time, whether he had six or eight tracks to record through, he would double- or triple-track the bass to achieve the fat sound that was expected by listeners at lawn dances in Kingston. 

Lee Perry was another superproducer at around the same time, but differed widely from Dodd in his mannerism and approach to recording. Musicians from that era talk about Perry as a musical genius who knew exactly what he wanted. But his approach, from what I've read (and from what this video makes it out to be) was much less constrained. First of all, he let his musicians smoke the chalice openly (as you can see in the video). Musicians at his Black Ark studio claim that this is what led to so many great, relaxed recording sessions. (Dodd was not a fan; he didn't ban ganja, but his people knew he'd rather not have it at Studio One.) Perry was also a pretty eccentric dude, and something of a packrat. That's why photos and videos of Black Ark are so visually stunning. 

These are just some of the details I remember as I'm nearing the 450-page mark of Bradley's epic history of Jamaica's music. Obviously Perry went on to lead the Upsetters into the world of dub. Listen to his recordings from the early 70s. Also listen to King Tubby. But, for a window onto what life was like at the Black Ark, see below. Just try to disregard the patronizing, ethnographic narration.