Since his early years in Uppsala, Sweden, Teo Hartoonian has been intrigued by Jamaican roots-reggae. When he kicked off his recording career, he was determined to emulate his heroes who included Fred Locks and Hugh Mundell.

On his seventh album, Ten Thousand Lions, the artiste known as Ras Teo continues that sojourn. The double disc has 12 vocal tracks, complemented by dub versions.

Released in June, Ten Thousand Lions is produced by Roberto Sanchez of Spain, who has worked with several roots-reggae luminaries including Rod Taylor and Earl Zero.

“As a youth living in Sweden, I was introduced to reggae and I was hooked. I was inspired by the likes of Hugh Mundell, Ijahman Levi, Linval Thompson, Fred Locks, and so many other foundational greats,” Ras Teo told the Jamaica Observer. “That sound, those vibrations, are always with me. I hear them constantly, even when I’m dreaming. So, we ah deal with authentic roots-reggae music with the message of Jah Rastafari.”

Ras Teo is in Jamaica promoting Ten Thousand Lions. He performed last Sunday at Kingston Dub Club and is scheduled to perform October 2 at music producer Everton “Caveman” Moore’s Windward Road base.

Some of the songs on Ten Thousand Lions, such as Mansa Musa, In my Vision and Bad Friday recall the militant sound of The Revolutionaries, house band at Channel One studio during the 1970s.

Bad Friday revisits the bloody Coral Gardens incident of Good Friday 1963 when eight persons including three Rastafarians and two policemen were killed in that St James community.

Without going into details, Ras Teo disclosed that he endured his share of pain during recording sessions for Ten Thousand Lions.

“Since my last album I experienced tremendous loss. I had to fight for the most valuable things, and I went to the lowest lows, it was there I re-assessed what truly mattered in life,” he said. “It was another slog that I needed to go through and I am glad I did, but I never want to go back there again, those days are behind me.”

The 40-year-old Ras Teo is of Armenian heritage. He moved with his family to the United States in 1996, and his passion for Jamaican music intensified. His first album, Mystic Morning, was released in 2009.

Bredda Daniel, his third album, was released in 2015 when Ras Teo visited Jamaica for the first time. On that trip, he worked with several veteran musicians including drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, percussionist Bongo Herman and trombonist Calvin “Bubbles” Cameron.