RELEASE
African Star / Sylvan Morris - They Just Can't Stop Us / Whip Lash
LABEL: Jamwax
Sylvan Morris is the Jamaican sound engineer behind thousands of tunes and some of the best classics reggae albums. From the mid-sixties till the 90’s, he shaped a unique sound in the best studios. He’s done work for artists like Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer, The Heptones, Big Youth, Ken Boothe, The Gladiators, Delroy Wilson and many many more. Sylvan Morris started his career at the famous WIRL studio (renamed Dynamics later) in 1966. He worked there for two years and then went to Duke Reid (Treasure Isle Recording Studio) for a couple of months. He decided to leave this studio because the neighborhood and the environment were rather harsh. In 1968, Sylvan Morris was 19 years old and he joined Studio One Recording Studio. There was a lot of rivalry going on between Duke Reid and Clement Dodd. Coxsone recruits him because he needed a good engineer to bring out a unique sound and a good ear to accompany the musicians and singers at the arrangements level. He started as engineer but became quickly producer and arranger of a lot of songs because most of the time, Coxsone wasn't even in the studio, as he was focused on auditions. After the Coxsone’s auditions, the artists were in the studio with Sylvan Morris, Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles most of the time. When Jackie Mittoo left the ship, it was Leroy Sibbles and Sylvan Morris who takes care of all the work. After six intense years of recordings and mixing, Sylvan Morris left Studio One around 1974. Sylvan Morris became resident recording engineer at Harry J. He did famous recording sessions like Bob Marley & The Wailers’ ‘Natty Dread’, making Harry J’s studio one of the most famous Jamaican studios. Unfortunately in the 2000’s, Sylvan Morris turned blind and needs a helper most of the time. The royalties from this project have helped him also to buy medicaments. Special thanks to Sylvan Morris, Delroy Melody, Tero Kaski and Pekka Vuorinen.
