Ras Teo – Up Fi Jah – Review
Ras Teo: Up Fi Jah Album Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.
Ras Teo has been producing some remarkable bodies of work in recent times – and none so more than his upcoming release, which is out officially on 25 October.
Up Fi Jah, released via Forward Bound Records, sees this talented musician team up with a Who’s Who of Roots Reggae’s finest across eight sumptuous tracks. Production comes from Teo and Zion I Kings’ alumni David ‘Jah David’ Goldfine, while I Grade Records’ Laurent ‘Tippy I’ Alfred is on hand for mastering duties. The latter is, of course, slick and highly effective – showcasing each track perfectly while also ensuring the project feels whole.
The album opens with the title track, which sees a brooding minor key take centre stage across an involved yet spikey musical arrangement. Roots devices are central – like Roberto ‘Lone Ark’ Sanchez’s keys on a bubble rhythm, Alfred’s skanking rhythm guitar, and Goldfine’s bass on a drop-beat rhythm, which generally misses the first beat of every bar. This plays into Sanchez’s drums, also on something like a one drop but with additional syncopation across the snare. The additional percussion makes Up Fi Jah rich and engaging – like Zoe Brown’s fluttering flute which at times plays in sync with Okiel McIntyre’s horn section; the latter who also does a highly pleasing solo section. Teo is his usual, mesmerising self – delivering a vocal filled with passion, and lyrics singing praises to Jah while reminding us that he has a plan for us all.
I See Rastafari takes the album in a somewhat different direction – into a major key across a smoother arrangement, notable from the drawn-out backing vocals and Teo’s main melody. Again, Roots features dominate – but here, Sanchez’s drums feel more Steppers than Roots, with the kick hitting more beats and hi-hats scuttling in between. Andrew ‘Jah Moon’ Bain’s lead guitar is well executed. Meanwhile, Goldfine’s choice of percussion – washboard, triangle, vibraslap – and their arrangement assist with this. Meanwhile, McIntyre’s horns are lazy and laid back, while synth strings bring some higher kHz. Overall, this means that I See Rastafari feels smooth and with depth, but also pacey at the same time. Teo’s emphasis on his falsetto range compounds this – while lyrically, it makes for an engaging sermon about the importance of Rastafari while the rest of us suffer under Babylon. Stirring works.
Next, Patiently does what it says on the tin: brooding vibes across a minor key, with a focus on semitone progressions on some of the instrumental lines and Teo with a vocal well-down his register. The arrangement is somewhat more stripped back than the previous two tracks, although within this is an emphasis on Brown’s gorgeous flute, which is on call and response duties to Teo’s main line. McIntyre’s horn is brilliantly dampened – again, adding to the atmospherics – while the backing vocals are almost whispering. Overall, there is an ominous tone to the track, as Teo whispers and murmurs a warning across the instrumental line, regarding how one must maintain faith in the face of Babylon’s mendacity because Jah will deliver us, in the end – and we must “wait our turn; learn the lesson now some never learn”.
Air Balloon is an equally engaging track, but for other reasons. Here, the minor key persists but with a more sumptuous arrangement than Patiently – presenting a narrative shift. McIntyre’s horns are staccato; keys are dominant with the bubble rhythm, while the washboard scratches persistently. The bass this time avoids dropping beat one for the most part, while drums settle back to a one drop. However, the interest here is the bridge – where the instrumental lines come into their own. Teo again changes tack, here working up his tenor register with good attention to detail in terms of dynamics, but then swooping down into a baritone. The narrative line is also interesting: almost a sermon, in terms of reminding us that while Babylon may be riding high at present across the planet, what goes up must come down – and the whole system “will go pop” at some point. Engaging works all round.
Creation is majestic and regal with particularly detailed instrumental lines and an uptick in the imagined pace of the track. Drums are frantic, with a focus on the snare running spins creating the feeling of a rapid track – while the BPM isn’t. McIntrye’s horns and Brown’s flute are extremely well-orchestrated – again focusing on call and response, while also doing some complex runs and riffs, adding to the feeling of pace. Sanchez’s clavichord, while being seen previously, is more apparent here with its rasping melodic line, while Bain’s guitar juxtaposes this with some pleasing lilting. All these match Teo’s narrative about the excitement and wonder of creation and the world Jah has delivered all around us – and a reminder that it is ours to treasure, not to destroy.
Next, Hola Face takes Up Fi Jah back to something pointed and purposeful. The pace is slowed, the arrangement generally smoothed out, and the minor key dominant – all witnessed by the relentless rhythm section underneath yet more intricate details. Here, Sanchez’s organ is prominent, sneaking in and out amid the bubble rhythms and one drops. His clavichord is again well-placed, while McIntyre’s horns and Brown’s flute swerve between rapid fire runs and smoother passages. Listen carefully, and you may just hear Sanchez’s melodica – albeit it is not obvious. Teo is very expressive on Hola Face, making great use of dynamics and length of notes – while he has constructed a pleasing narrative praising Jah and reminding the rest of us that he is, indeed, the “King upon the throne”.
Jah Mountain is a very good example of how to match a vocal performance with an instrumental arrangement – or vice versa, of course. The interplay between Teo’s vocal and McIntyre’s horns is excellent – one calls, the other responds, both equally being stuttering and winding. This sets the tone for the rest of the track well – as Sanchez’s keys stray from the straight one drop into riffs that feel improvised, while his drums become more embellished, and the clavinet runs around in the background. Teo’s vocal is particularly impressive, here – with keen attention to detail on his dynamics and phrasing across lyrics which discuss how Jah, watching down on us all, reminds us to follow his word – not Babylon’s temptation – and that we will all ascend to his mountain in time.
Up Fi Jah concludes with Wonderland. It’s an ominous yet uplifting track, with a curious focus away at times from the higher kHz instruments, instead leaning back into keys and guitars. The former are particularly well-executed, running complex melodies in the upper bass clef, while guitars whine and screech. That’s not to say horns and the flute don’t play their part; they do, across rapid-fire melodies away from Teo’s main vocal. There’s a lot of Dub engineering here, too – like the use of rhythmic reverb, some well-placed synths, and instrumental breaks. Teo feeds into all this brilliantly, as he flips between a high baritone, his fuller tenor range, and a falsetto with ease – using this vocal range to play into the switches in instruments. His use of dynamics does similar – and this is packaged off by an attractive and actually uplifting narrative line about one’s ascension to the ‘wonderland’; whether that be when one finds faith, or ‘heaven’ on your earthly death is debatable – but either way, it’s an engaging picture that’s painted about the glory of Jah.
Overall, Up Fi Jah is another solid release from Ras Teo and all involved. The sheer quality of musicianship is hard to overstate – but with the team around him, it’s not unexpected. There’s keen attention to details in terms of mixing up traditional Roots musical devices and structures and expanding upon them; Teo’s vocals are assured, and his lyrics compelling – and overall, the album is another success from this talented artist.
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Ras Teo: Up Fi Jah Review Review by Mr Topple / Pauzeradio PR Services.
