Watch Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Paint a Record in RLR’s ‘I Am Paint’ Video
Even as dub legend Lee “Scratch” Perry approaches 80 years old, the Upsetter is still crazy (and prolific) after all these years. After teaming with trance icons the Orb for a pair of LPs, Perry has now collaborated with XL Recordings honcho Richard Russell for a new track dubbed “I Am Paint.” The single is the first from Russell’s new RLR project, Noisey reports.
Perry’s manic prophesizing paces the song’s bouncy, infectious vibe, and the track’s title comes into play in the music video as the Black Ark master hosts an all-night painting party. While it appears that Perry is just messing around with a small black canvas — he stomps around with paint-covered feet and slings his paintbrush around — Perry and Russell are actually documenting how they created the 250 limited edition 12″ copies of the “I Am Paint” single. Each sleeve was hand- or foot-painted by the duo at Perry’s White Ark in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
However, these 12″ vinyls aren’t part of some Record Store Day exclusive. Instead, Perry and Russell are asking fans to send them their own artwork in exchange for a copy of “I Am Paint.” Check out the Residence La Revolution site for more details.
The 79-year-old man of a million riddims last released his solo LP Back on the Controls in April 2014. Speaking to Rolling Stone at the time, the always-thought-provoking Perry said, ” “If I pulled the plug, just like that, then snap!, the entire universe could disappear. But then it would be on my conscience. I was sent here to make people happy . . . but repentance is coming.”