Watershed was pleased to welcome legendary reggae producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee to the Bristol premiere of documentary I Am The Gorgon, based on his life and how Jamaican music spread from the ghettoes of Kingston to the furthest reaches of the globe.

The screening was followed by a Q&A with Bunny 'Striker' Lee himself, hosted by Bristol DJ Steve Rice who was instrumental in bringing 'Striker' to Watershed. In the video below we asked him why Bunny is such an integral figure and

I Am The Gorgon charts Bunny Lee's journey, involving politics, arguments, gangs and guns, and an amazing cast of musical talent in the extraordinary story of how an island of less than 3 million people spread its musical message around the world.

Bunny Lee began his career working as a record plugger for the Treasure Isle label in 1962, he then moved through many administrative and engineering roles in the industry before producing his first record in 1967, Roy Shirley's "Music Field". He then set up his own label and released what later became known as the first ever reggae record - Bangarang by Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole. Bunny ushered in the transition from 'rocksteady' to 'reggae' and by the early 70s he was scoring international hits, carving out new markets in America and Britain by licensing his productions to the Palmer Brothers and Trojan Records.

Lee was instrumental in producing early dub music, experimenting with new production techniques which Lee described as "implements of sound." Working with equipment that would be considered primitive and limiting today, he produced tracks that consisted of mostly the rhythm parts mixed with distorted or altered versions of a song.

With all the bass and drum ting now, dem ting just start by accident, a man sing off key, an when you a reach a dat you drop out everything an leave the drum, an lick in the bass, an cause a confusion an people like it...

Working with everyone from Bob Marley to Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Bunny dominated the world of roots reggae and became one of the most prolific producers on the planet.

In this post-screening Q&A the near-full house of reggae lovers got the chance to ask Bunny about his career and the people behind the reggae movement.

This event will be presented by Ujima Radio 98FM and TNB Bristol, part of the Arise & Shine Project supported by the National Lottery through BFI and Creative England.

Posted on Thu 10 Oct 2013.

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