You could say that I’m obsessed with recordings of vintage drum machines. I just love the clunky sounds and the freedom granted to the human players who know there’s a steady pulse no matter how far out their own playing gets. So knowing this, Dangerous Minds pal Ian Raikow was kind enough to point out the below specimen by the wonderful Lee “Scratch” Perry in his crazed Black Ark period and this tidbit of info:
“...the story goes that this recording features the very first drum machine to arrive on the island. Programmed by Familyman Barret and his brother…”
This and other truly mind-blowing dub-plate experiments from ‘73-‘76 are available on the grand new compilation Sound System Scratch. Essential !