# ‘Super Ape’, 1976, and Bill Ryder-Jones’ perfect pot album: “It looks like the album sounds”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/super-ape-1976-and-bill-ryder-jones-perfect-pot-album-it-looks-like-the-album-sounds/
- Published: 2026-11-15T06:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-15T06:20:46+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/super-ape-1976-bill-ryder-jones-perfect-pot-album/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Ryder-Jones calls *Super Ape* a sonic masterpiece.
- Perry shaped its sound with echo and overdubbing.
- The album inspired Ryder-Jones to experiment with dub.

## Summary

Bill Ryder-Jones has named Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters’ 1976 album *Super Ape* as his ideal record for a relaxed cannabis listening session. Its dub reggae production, which turns familiar rhythms into strange, immersive soundscapes, made a lasting impression on him and later influenced his own music-making.

Recorded at Perry’s Black Ark studio in Kingston using limited equipment, the album relies on overdubbing and effects such as echo to reshape reggae arrangements. Ryder-Jones recalled hearing it as a teenager after a friend lent him a copy; it was played while the Coral made their first album and may have influenced “Calendars and Clocks”. Inspired by Perry’s methods, he later bought a four-track cassette recorder to experiment with dub himself.

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