Sylvan Morris at Dynamic Sounds. 15 Bell Road. Kingston, Jamaica. Interview: Shivu Rao, Sean StewartAll Photos © Shaun Roberts - flickr.com/photos/shaunroberts Props to Shivu Rao for recognizing Sylvan Morris in the parking lot of Dynamic Sounds and sparking the conversation that would lead to the interview. Sylvan Morris worked as a recording and mixing engineer at the forefront of the development of Jamaican music in the 1960s and 1970s. Equipped with a pitch perfect ear, a naturally inventive spirit, a hands-on approach and an intense work ethic Morris not only managed to create a sound of his own, but also was highly sought after by the musicians of the era, to whom he was affectionately known as ‘My Operator.’ Over the course of a quarter century Morris worked closely with such luminaries as Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jacob Miller, The Heptones, U-Roy, Augustus Pablo, Alton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and many more. Read More
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Sylvan Morris at Dynamic Sounds. 15 Bell Road. Kingston, Jamaica.

Interview: Shivu Rao, Sean Stewart
All Photos © Shaun Roberts - flickr.com/photos/shaunroberts
Props to Shivu Rao for recognizing Sylvan Morris in the parking lot of Dynamic Sounds and sparking the conversation that would lead to the interview.

Sylvan Morris worked as a recording and mixing engineer at the forefront of the development of Jamaican music in the 1960s and 1970s. Equipped with a pitch perfect ear, a naturally inventive spirit, a hands-on approach and an intense work ethic Morris not only managed to create a sound of his own, but also was highly sought after by the musicians of the era, to whom he was affectionately known as ‘My Operator.’ Over the course of a quarter century Morris worked closely with such luminaries as Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jacob Miller, The Heptones, U-Roy, Augustus Pablo, Alton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and many more.

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This past January Roger Steffens gave us a full guided tour of all six rooms of his Reggae Archives. Comprised of collections within collections the ‘Ark-Hives’ represents a lifetime dedicated to Reggae music. Involved since the earliest days of Reggae music’s debut on the international scene Roger has not only been a collector but a participant and key player in the development and spread of the music and culture.

Affectionately known as the Reggae Ambassador to some, Steffens has left his mark on the music through his work as radio host at KCRW 89.9 in LA, a founding editor of The Beat magazine (1981-2009), as well as the various liner notes and books he has authored, the interviews he’s conducted, the lectures he’s given, the shows he’s emceed, his position as the chairman of the Reggae Grammy committee, and his open door policy at the ‘Ark-Hives’.

In this piece I’ve focused mostly on the Bob Marley & The Wailers related material and I hope it provides a glimpse into just how insanely important his collection is. This is 9 minutes of holy grail after holy grail and it only represents a portion of his collection. Hope you enjoy it.

I have to big up the homie Karim ‘DJ Karim’ Thompson who is responsible for the music you hear in the video. As head of Stainless Records Karim has worked with everyone from Sizzla, Bounty Killer, Sean Paul, Mavado, and Elephant Man all the way to rapper NORE. Check out more from DJ Karim at myspace.com/stainlessrecordsinc

As always respect to the homie James Porteous for generally making things happen.

Roger thanks so much for inviting us into your home and for taking the time to give us the tour. Not a day I’ll soon forget. Visit the Reggae Archives online at: hermosarecords.com/marley/introrss.html