The Upsessions & Lee Scratch Perry – Shake It

Eccentric Jamaican music legend LeeScratchPerry is a little bit of everywhere these days and works in several genres. In May he was part of the vintage sounding
Back on the Controls album and he has also worked with more future-sounding acts like
The OrbDubblestandart and EasyRiddimMaker.

Now he is involved in another project with a vintage sound. But it’s not swirling roots like Back on the Controls, almost the opposite actually. Shake It! is Dutch band The Upsessions’fourth album, and it features 14 tracks in the ska, rocksteady and early reggae vein, largely inspired by Desmond Dekker, The Maytals and The Skatalites.

They teamed up with Lee Perry while on tour in Germany and he has injected his distinctive half-sung/half-spoken style to several of the songs. It certainly adds a rough flavour to the otherwise smooth, yet often up-tempo, material.

Just as many albums in this vein Shake It! blends vocal cuts with instrumentals. And the set ranges from the calypso-tinged and risqué The Big Bamboo Treat and Punani Strike via the funky 100.000.000 Tons of Reggae and Funky Lumpini to skanking dance floor crashers like the title track and Hold Your Wining.

Sharp and infectious for your dancing feet.

– See more at: http://unitedreggae.com/articles/n1626/092914/the-upsessions-lee-scratch-perry-shake-it#sthash.NXIhwxWk.dpuf

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