www.gwangjunewsgic.com
September 2021
FEATURE
10 Feature
Interview with Top Reggae Archivist Roger Steffens Inter view by Isaiah Winters
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be achieved if we practice the Rastafarian philosophy of One Love. That’s the name of Bob’s song that became the Anthem of the Millennium, known and loved by people in every time zone of this planet.
Isaiah Winters (IW): Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for Gwangju News readers. At this year’s Gwangju Design Biennale, you’re showcasing your reggae archives and so much more that you’ve produced and collected over many decades. For visitors who are unfamiliar with your work and reggae music, what do you hope they take away from the experience? Roger Steffens: The knowledge that there’s more to music than dancing. Bob Marley said, “Dance to Jah music,” which means dance to music whose lyrics lift the soul and spirit of humankind. This is message music, music to instruct, inspire, and offer hope that a better world can
IW: Bob Marley, whose life you know better than most, got a rough start in music, often at the hands of shady producers who’d cheat him out of his rightful earnings. I suppose this is where a lot of his music industry cynicism emerged. What do you suppose Bob would think of the K-pop industry today, and of the current music industry more globally? Roger Steffens: I think in some ways he’d be baffled and angry that oligarchs have taken over entire careers and bodies of work with only the bottom line behind all their decisions. Bob was cheated throughout his life, never earning more than two figures a week in his earliest days with producer Coxson Dodd, no matter how many thousands of records he was selling at the time. Accountants’ tricks robbed him of much of his later earnings. As a result, at the time of his final illness in late 1980, Bob was about to sign a ten-million-dollar contract with Polygram Records, hoping to establish his company as a Jamaican Motown, with artists owning their own music and its potential rewards. K-pop is an example of a country supporting a music that became one of the
eatured at this fall’s Gwangju Design Biennale are the prolific works of actor, writer, lecturer, editor, photographer, and producer Roger Steffens. Lucky for us in Gwangju, his installation at the Gwangju Design Biennale’s International Pavilion (Hall 2) will showcase arguably his best-known work: extensive reggae music archives, with much focusing on the life of musician Bob Marley. I recently reached out to Roger for an interview, and he graciously responded despite the tight deadline. What follows is our discussion about his installation, his vast knowledge of reggae, the life of Bob Marley, and his outlook as a writer and photographer.
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