Ras Teo - Celestial Rockers (Zion High Productions)

Jah D: "Ras Teo linked me to play bass on a song he did with Pablo Gad that Ashanti Selah out of London produced. So he had me play bass in sort of a work-for-hire capacity. I started linking him with riddims and he voiced a couple and did really well. Two I'd sent, he voiced the same day, and I loved what I heard. So we did two more and called it an EP. This format of four and four (four vocals, four dubs) is something we gonna be using a lot in the future.".

Het samenwerkingsverbond tussen Zion High Productions (David 'Jah D' Goldfine - drums, bas, percussie en gitaar), I Grade Records (Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred - gitaar/toetsen) en Lustre Kings Productions (Andrew 'Moon' Bain - gitaar), werd voor de gelegenheid aangevuld met muzikanten als Patrick Tenyue (trompet), Ben 'Ashanti Selah' Smith (kette-percussie) en de betreurde Andrew 'Drew Keys' Stoch (toetsen/trombone), aan wie dit album werd opgedragen.

Jah D: "Drew Keys, what a great bredrin. He is such a great musician, such a great friend of mine and a bredrin in the faith same way. He was like the chief musician among us, as he was way more schooled than any of us. When we would try something new, or try something kind of risky or try to push the boundaries, he was always the one to verify: "Yeah this is ok!". Drew could hear a song and tell you like the chord progression just from listening to it. He had perfect pitch and that is rare even among trained musicians. His knowledge of music allowed us to explore all realms. Drew had that confidence that we needed as a band. Drew can never be replaced. We will really miss his writing and his ideas for sure!".

Het leverde een acht tracks tellend album op, opgenomen in showcasestijl, telkens met een vocal cut gevolgd door een dub. Naast de al genoemde muzikanten wist Ras Teo bovendien niemand minder dan Mighty Diamonds te overtuigen om, samen met Paul 'Lymie' Murray en Carlton 'Dehdeh' Blacks, de koortjes in te zingen.

'Celestial Rockers' is meteen ook het eerste project waarvoor Zion I Kings gebruik maakte van een drumcomputer, maar zelfs Ras Teo, zelf geen fan van voorgeprogammeerde drumritmes, had dat pas door nadat Jah D hem daarover inlichtte. Blijft over: een ijzersterke productie in de lijn van de klassieke Jamaicaanse albums uit het gouden tijdperk van de roots!