ALFF Program - The Upsetter: the Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry

Friday, February 10 at 11:00pm

Dir. Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough
USA, 2008, 90 minutes

The Upsetter tells the fascinating story of Lee “Scratch” Perry, a visionary musician and artist from poor rural Jamaica who journeyed to the big city in the late 1950’s with dreams of making it in the burgeoning record industry. Lee Perry burst on the Kingston scene with a brand new sound, inventing a genre of music that would come to be called Reggae while mentoring a young Bob Marley and gaining international recognition as a record producer and solo artist. Soon he was being called upon by musicians as diverse as The Clash and Paul McCartney to provide his unique sound to their recordings. Besides originating reggae and dub music, Perry was also the first person to ever use a sound sample in a song. Perry’s influence on popular music ranges from reggae to hip hop and electronica. Narrated by actor Benicio del Toro (The Usual Suspects, The Wolfman, Che, 21 Grams).

Screening sponsor: Triple J’s Music, Tattoos and Piercing / gallery22