Zion I Kings // Live Free
On Live Free, Zion I Kings return with a dubwise suite that’s as meditative as it is majestic—an ambient roots odyssey carved from the same spiritual limestone that’s long shaped their storied output. A production triumvirate of David “Jah David” Goldfine (Zion High), Andrew “Moon” Bain (Lustre Kings), and Laurent “Tippy I” Alfred (I Grade), the Kings have long operated as sonic architects of the modern roots renaissance, crafting full-spectrum riddims with a fidelity that’s both sacred and spatial.
This time around, they stretch further into the psychedelic shoreline of dub—not the blown-out echo chambers of King Tubby, but something closer to a living ecosystem: elemental, textural, and patient. Live Free lives up to its name not with frenetic energy but through breath, restraint, and a devotion to vibration. These are compositions built for immersion, for floating within rather than stepping over.
Each track feels like a solar chamber, subtly pulsing with the warmth of analog reverb and magnetic delay. Opener “Grow Food” rides a liquid low end, with fluttering flute and math-y guitar lines orbiting like moons around a bass gravity well. “Cosmic Farmer” lifts further into celestial territory—cosmic jazz horns melting into the ether. Closer “Golden Hour” is also a highlight, as gloriously radiant as its title suggests.
There’s a reverence in the mix, not just for the dub tradition, but for the musicianship behind it. Zion I Kings aren’t content to simply subtract; they deconstruct and rebuild with purpose, giving space for each element to glow in its own frequency. The drums are soft but exacting, the bass omnipresent without being overbearing, and the guitars shimmer like reflections off deep water.
The record’s pacing invites deep listening. It doesn’t demand attention so much as reward presence. You could leave it on loop while watching the rain trail down a window or tune in with full focus and still find new contours in its arrangements. The mixdowns have a painterly quality—tone poems that stretch dub’s boundaries into meditative sound design.
In an age of algorithmic distraction and synthetic bombast, Live Free offers a quiet resistance. It’s a reminder that the deepest grooves don’t shout. They echo, ripple, and resonate.