A local DJ has been making waves with a new guide to the music of a record label that has been called the "Motown of Jamaica."
Morgan Nixon, who goes by the DJ name “Moman” has been documenting the history of the Jamaican reggae label Studio One.
His newest book, “No Man Is An Island 2: A Guide to More Choice Studio One Pressings,” highlights 171 pressings from the label and provides notes on how to incorporate them into a DJ set.
HPR talked to the Mānoa resident about his book and the history of the Jamaican reggae label Studio One.
"I spent a lot of time there at the Library of Congress and I was also studying American R&B music, blues music, folk music, whatever I could listen to really, and I realized they had a serious gap in Polynesian music," Nixon said. "I proposed filling that gap, and my original plan was to come to Hawaiʻi for a month and record traditional Hawaiian field recordings."
Nixon set up shop in Waimānalo, where he rented a room from his friend's mom, and began recording jam sessions. His monthly stay turned into 15 years — and his archive collection grew.
His book features music that is hitting a 60-year cycle. He said that for people his age to document the music they grew up on is critical to ensuring it doesn't get forgotten.
The history of Jamaican reggae can be drawn to Studio One, which is often compared to Motown. Nixon shared how people like Bob Marley and The Whalers got their start there. It was also the first Black-owned recording studio in Jamaica.
"The amount of music that they put out is, like some people say, over 15,000 songs, I've heard 17,000 songs. It's really only bested by massive corporate record labels in the U.S. like Motown or ABC Warner," he told HPR.
"So the fact that they did it to that scale with so much less resources, like they printed the labels in-house, they recorded the music in their own studio, they had their own pressing plant by the late 1960s, it's just a pretty incredible story. And it really touches to my love of underground, do-it-yourself culture."
Nixon will be spinning vinyl records and presenting his book at Idea’s Music and Books in Kaka’ako this Sunday at 4 p.m.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 4, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
