Ras Teo – One Fire EP – Review

March 13, 2024

Ras Teo: One Fire EP Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

It’s always worth revisiting an immediate classic – because they stand the test of time. So here, we’re looking back at a Ras Teo EP from October 2023 – and it certainly is ‘fire’.

One Fire, released via Forward Bound Records, sees Teo team up with members of Zion I Kings. Produced in the most part by Teo and David Goldfine of ZIK with mastering from Laurent Alfred of I Grade Records, the EP is a slick and polished yet a thought-provoking and moving affair – showing the quality of a major label but without the cynicism of it.

Side A opens with Must Be – a rich and rounded Roots track. Teo’s signature trick of opening a track in a major key before surprisingly moving into a minor one is present, here. Overall, the composition is classic Roots. A meandering but forward-moving BPM is complemented by the rhythm section. David ‘Jah David’ Goldfine’s bass, rounded and reverberant, is on a drop-beat riff, missing the one – while Roberto ‘Lone Ark’ Sánchez’s drums do a one drop to play into this intake of breath at the start of each bar. Laurent ‘Tippy I’ Alfred’s keys run a choppy bubble rhythm with some pleasing riffing, but with the dB wound down somewhat so the bass and drums are more prominent.

Meanwhile, his guitar skanks while Andrew ‘Moon’ Bain’s lead guitar whines in and out at points, almost feeling somewhat Cali Surf Rock in the use of the amp. Okiel Mcintyre’s horns – a trumpet and a trombone – are pleasing, coming in with short bursts of sound at times as responses to Teo’s calls, while performing longer runs at others. Goldfine’s additional percussion, including pattering and reverbed kette, bring depth to the track – and all this coupled with Teo’s attentive vocal and lyrics about how challenging life is under Babylon (but how we have to keep the faith) make for a stirring and engaging experience.

Must Be’s Dub is a very good reimagining of the original – focusing on the additional instrumentation more than the rhythm section. There’s excellent use of rhythmic reverb across the snippets of Teo’s vocals, and the breaks are well-placed.

Then, the title track sees Teo et al change tack somewhat, albeit still with that major-minor chord progression trick which is also expanded upon throughout the track; there are pleasingly intricate chord progressions overall throughout as well. Here, One Fire is slightly more brooding than its predecessor – as the keys come to the fore on their bubble rhythm, making the overall sound starker. This vibe is also due to the bass’s slightly less syncopated riff and the drums’ lilting flow.

Zoe Brown’s multitrack flute is given a prominent role – fluttering in and out intermittently with pleasing dexterity. Horns are more staccato than on Must Be – but with Mcintyre’s usual and impressive attention to detail in terms of crescendo and decrescendo. Sánchez does an excellent job on the backing vocals across One Fire – using both a tenor and falsetto range to deliver some haunting harmonies. Teo is strong once more, delivering a pointed and calmly forthright performance, with particular attention to detail on his enunciation to make the lyrics pronounced. He also delivers a strong narrative, discussing how Rastafari will stay strong and persist in the face of Babylon’s wicked ways – eventually, with it and its proponents burning and ‘victory for the lion’. Strong works all round.

The One Fire Dub is an impressive feat. Here, focus is on the rhythmic elements of the composition, honing in on the originals more stuttering and ominous feel. The use of reverb is extremely impressive – weaving complex new riffs that merge standard and triplet notes. There’s some brilliant use of compression, cropping, and decay across Teo’s vocal, too, to make a particularly unsettling sound. All in all, the One Fire Dub is excellent.

Side B sees Teo open with A Home – here, in a melancholy minor key from the off but with attractive bridges that move into a major one, as does the tail-end of the chorus. It is again a step forward in the project, with the sound still stark but with more light and shade and a driving feeling led by the bass, which here invariably hits every beat of the bar across a complex melody. Brown’s flue and Mcintyre’s horns interplay brilliantly together, performing runs which bring glistening regalness to proceedings. The shimmering use of chimes are juxtaposed well with the unsettling sound of the vibraslap.

Noticeably, Teo’s main vocal is melodically more complex than what’s come before it. He weaves around an intricate melody, which swoops up and down his tenor range, keeping pace with the complex chord progressions. It’s also rhythmically detailed, using a mix of dotted, straight, and triplet notation. His performance is urgent, impassioned, but full of peaking and troughing in terms of dynamics and use of note length. Lyrically, it’s an inspiring and purposeful narrative about how Rastafari (and all conscious people) will win emancipation from Babylon – and eventually, there will be a home for all of us who have ‘clean hands and [are] pure in heart, in Zion’. Wonderful works.

The dub version sees Teo’s vocal stripped away perhaps more than on any of the other cuts, leaving the focus on the instrumentation. Given the complexity of the original, this works brilliantly – allowing the listener to appreciate fully the detail of what went into the composition.

The EP closes with 1,000 Miles, produced by Goldfine, Teo, and Humbl Sohl. It is a complete departure from Roots – taking One Fire into something more soulful and cinematic, with influences of Nyabinghi thrown in. Sohl’s piano performs an exquisite line – bordering on modern, stadia Soul – filled with expressive use of dynamics and rhythm. Phillip A. Peterson’s cello and Jenny Rose Wilson’s violin compound this impressive and grandiose feel – delivering a string line that is at times delicate while at others thunderous. This is compounded using what sounds like timpani – but could just be tom-toms – bringing the feel of something stirring; waiting to be unleashed.

Once again, Teo delivers gorgeous chord progressions which elevate the composition into something special (like with every other track). The pattering kette, blocks, and use of acoustic guitar demonstrate the African and Nyabinghi influences, respectively – making 1,000 Miles a veritable smorgasbord of the cinematic Soul and authentic Motherland.

Then, Teo delivers perhaps his best vocal of One Fire. It’s the sign of an inspired artist that they know when to employ the ‘less is more’ approach – and here, he does to perfect effect. Teo is passionate but restrained at the right times, moving smoothly up and down his tenor range, and at times into a falsetto, providing superb use of dynamics that build as the track progresses. His enunciation is clean but not too pointed, bringing fluidity to the melody. Klyve Crieffe’s backing vocals complement Teo perfectly, as well – providing a combination of straight harmonised accompaniment and vowel-based sounds.

Lyrically, Teo has created a stirring and moving ode to the African diaspora’s wish to return to the Motherland, someday – or, if you wish, ultimately to Zion itself. He paints a vivid picture of how it feels to not be truly ‘home’, while extolling the virtues of Africa/Zion as well. It’s the perfect denouement to One Fire – as it draws a conclusion to the narratives that have come before it.

Overall – and this may not be popular with some – but 1,000 Miles is the strongest track on the EP. It’s not Roots, granted, but it shows firstly the sheer skill of Teo and ZIK at turning their hands to anything, as well as their’s and Sohl’s talents. It’s beautiful, affecting, and utterly spellbinding.

Overall, One Fire is a superb piece of work. Teo and ZIK together are shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with in Roots – as well as clearly possessing a deep understanding of each other’s crafts. All the tracks are strong – but the icing on the cake is 1,000 Miles. Profound, musically deft, and utterly compelling as a project.