They are two madcap creative geniuses, jokers in the pack that changed the shape of the music of their native lands, ultimately yielding a disproportionate influence on the popular music of the world at large. They were born both in 1936 and are still unusually active, having been rescued from long fallow periods by prominent devotees from overseas (including David Byrne, the Beastie Boys, Kanye West and Jay Z, among others). Yet, for all that they have in common, there are gulfs between the realms of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Tom Zé that cannot be accounted for merely by the currents of the Caribbean and Atlantic that separate their physical places of residence, even as their commonalities remove any sense of otherness from the equation. For indeed, these are kindred musical spirits, even if they have never had the chance to explore their commonalities before this project, brokered by Rio’s Digitaldubs, the sound system and music production outfit that has been issuing some of the most forward-facing and multifaceted reggae to surface from Brazil during the last dozen years or so.
Produced and mixed by Digitaldubs
Drum & percussion programming, bass and synths: Marcus MPC
Kette drum (Nyahbinghi drum): Joás Santos
contain sample of “Toc” by Tom Zé