Tony Allen & Jeff Mills - Tomorrow Comes The Harvest

Techno titan Jeff Mills has teamed up with the father of Afrobeat, Tony Allen, for a collaborative album titled 'Tomorrow Comes The Harvest'. The new project is Mills' attempt to " liberate himself from the tyranny of the sequencer" as told on the new duo's Facebook page. “We’re working together to achieve something bigger than the both of us,” says Mills. “It really is a pure collaboration, not just through music, but in our minds and spirit as well.”

mixmag.net 

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There’s a simple, age-old idea behind Tomorrow Comes the Harvest: Throw two luminaries from different worlds into the studio, roll tape, see what happens. 

In one corner, find Jeff Mills, whose credentials are unimpeachable — he co-founded Underground Resistance, the future-facing electronic Detroit outfit that created reams of charged, jazz-friendly techno and several house-leaning dancefloor classics. In the other, meet Tony Allen, the longtime drummer for Nigerian star Fela Kuti, who helped invent the commanding, endlessly adaptable afrobeat groove. This is not the first such pairing — for example, Allen played with German techno maven Moritz von Oswald in 2015 — but the scene is set for a cross-generational, cross-disciplinary and even cross-continental exchange; the potential energy is high.

The results are more pedestrian, though. It’s a testament to Allen’s indomitability that Mills largely defers to him. The drummer is everywhere, kicking up a recognizable vortex of pitter-patter, but if you didn’t know Mills was on this, his presence might go unnoticed. That diffidence is a missed opportunity — Tomorrow Comes the Harvest would benefit from a sense of more productive addition, or creative friction. 

“Locked and Loaded” comes closest to this: Low-toned electronics bounce and decay, adding a threatening undercurrent to Allen’s unrelenting pulse. This could lead to something genuinely nasty, though they don’t quite reach that point on Tomorrow Comes the Harvest. “The Seed” has the most melodic development, with incessant bleeping giving way to satisfyingly big sheets of sound. 

But mostly these four songs, four edits and two remixes sound like an energetic drummer enhanced slightly with the occasional squirting synth and percussive electronic chatter. If the drummer wasn’t Allen, that would be more of a problem.

rollingstone.com 

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Back in 2016, legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen approached techno pioneer Jeff Mills with the idea of working together. A series of live gigs and off-the-radar studio sessions followed, with the first fruits of their joint efforts finally appearing on this must-have 10". As you'd expect, the duo's collaborative work combines Allen's traditional Nigerian polyrhythms, traditional Afrobeat instrumentation, and the far-sighted, sci-fi inspired electronic futurism that has always marked out Mills' work. The result is a quartet of cuts that could arguably be described as retro-futurist Afro-tech - all delay-laden beats, basslines and organs subtly sparring with gentle acid lines, Motor City electronics, beguiling deep space textures and shimmering, 31st century motifs. It's arguably Allen's stylistic contributions that dominate, but that's no bad thing.

juno.co.uk 

Tony Allen - The Source

 

Tony Allen: The Source – drummer's Blue Note debut reframes jazz in his own image

Classic Blue Note releases of the 1960s are filled with tracks that exoticise Africa, with names such as Afro Blue, Afrodisia, Ghana, Niger Mambo, Mr Kenyatta, The Man from Tanganyika and so on. Five decades later, Blue Note’s latest signing Tony Allen – the Nigerian drummer who powered Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat – is turning the tables and exoticising Blue Note’s hard-bop. The Source builds on Allen’s recent mini-LP of Art Blakey covers, but this time he and musical director Yann Jankielewicz invoke other jazz legends. Ewajo recalls Miles Davis’s angular modal jazz; On Fire is based around a Dizzy Gillespie-style chromatic trumpet riff; Cruising evokes Duke Ellington’s tone poems; Push and Pull sounds like an ecstatic New Orleans marching band. Each is set to one of Allen’s herky-jerky drum patterns and a restrictive ostinato bassline, but Allen’s Parisian band explore each theme in detail, with some garrulous, impressive solos from the likes of saxophonist Rémi Sciuto and trumpeter Nicolas Giraud.

theguardian.com 

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On this hybrid album of jazz and Afrobeat, long-time Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen makes the complex sound effortless. Rarely has percussive innovation sounded this downright satisfying.

Making your way through the formidable back catalog of long-time Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen—one that spans nearly half a century—is a revelatory, sometimes head-spinning journey. Allen’s work has traversed styles that on the surface have little in common beyond his unique rhythmic presence. In the past 10 years, for example, Allen has tackled everything from Afrobeat (on solo album Film of Life), dreamy French pop (with Charlotte Gainsbourg), downbeat indie rock (with The Good, the Bad & the Queen), and techno (with the Moritz Von Oswald Trio). This range is a testament to both Allen’s redoubtable drumming skills and his ability to rein in his percussive ego in support of the job at hand. 

Curiously, though, for a drummer who absorbed so much of his percussive knowledge from the work of Max Roach and Art Blakey, there was little place in Allen’s catalog for actual jazz until 2017. In May of this year, he released a tribute to Blakey and his Jazz Messengers on legendary jazz label Blue Note. That EP, which saw Allen filter Blakey’s hard swing through his own Afrobeat elasticity, serves as a brilliant precursor to The Source, with which it shares label, musicians, and influences. More importantly, The Source shares a fascinating musical hybridity with the Blakey EP. It’s a continuation of the cultural back-and-forth between African music and jazz that, decades ago, saw Blakey absorb West African musical influences on albums such as 1962’s The African Beat, and Allen mold the influence of jazz into the Afrobeat sound.

But The Source isn’t a jazz album, per se: Allen’s drums don’t typically swing so much as jitter and jiggle, with boundless syncopated rhythms that sound like a giant squid menacing a drum kit. Nor is it an Afrobeat album, with Allen’s band comprised largely of Parisian jazz musicians plus Cameroonian guitarist Indy Dibongue; Damon Albarn makes a low-key contribution to “Cool Cats.” Rather, this is an album that straddles jazz and Afrobeat in an elegant push-and-pull that sometimes edges closer to the former, sometimes wanders closer to the latter, and often sits joyfully in the middle.

On “Wolf Eats Wolf,” for example, a scratchy Afrobeat groove—all sputtering, percussive organ and ecstatic brass riffs—gives way to a wandering trombone solo. Album opener “Moody Boy” goes in the other direction: a scattered, jazzy introduction that sounds semi-improvised, dissolving into chicken-scratch guitar rhythm and tough funk drums. The hybrid tone of the band is hugely important to this mix, with the Afrobeat licks of Dibongue’s choppy guitar style balanced by the more classically jazz texture of Mathias Allamane’s double bass.

Freed from the role of support act, Allen is the unequivocal star of The Source, wallowing in the wonderful freedom of rhythmic expression. His unique drumming style rarely resorts to repetition as it alternately responds to and drives changes in the music. The result is a percussive masterclass, from the nervous energy of “Bad Roads,” where Allen’s mongrel rhythm puts a jazz beat onto an Afrobeat motif, to his deceptively complex skills on “Tony’s Blues.” On the latter, a drum pattern that initially appears out of joint pulls into glorious rhythmic focus with the introduction of the other musicians, who play in careful staccato dabs. In this mix, Allamane proves vital, his melodic bass riffs anchoring a musical blend that at times—as on the aptly named “Push and Pull”—threaten to float off into the ether. The one time Allamane is set free, his solo on “Cruising” is a joy, a rock solid bassline loosening into elastic bent notes, like a plastic packet slowly melting on a fire.

What saves The Source from being an album uniquely for drum nerds is the songwriting. The 11 tracks here—all written by Allen with saxophonist and long-time collaborator Yann Jankielewicz—may understandably not live up to jazz standards like “Moanin’” and “A Night in Tunisia” that appear on A Tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. But there are some fine musical motifs, including a delightfully itinerant chord sequence and jump-cut riff on “Push and Pull,” the moody, merry-go-round melody on “Tony’s Blues,” and a playfully menacing riff that emerges four-and-a-half minutes into “On Fire.”

Perhaps the greatest attribute of this album, though, is how it makes the complex sound effortless. The Source may draw on Afrobeat and jazz to create something intricate and expansive, but the results are never contrived or academic. In this, The Source mirrors the musical skills of Allen himself, a man who tackles rhythmic mazes like a walk in the park, making this release both a fine addition to his catalog and a load of genre-bending fun. Rarely has percussive innovation sounded this downright satisfying.

pitchfork.com 

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Jazz drummer Tony Allen, innovator of Afrobeat music with Fela Kuti’s band in the late 60s and 70s, returns to center stage with a new album. “The Source” is an energetic celebration of the history of jazz and african music, led by Allen’s unparalleled drumwork. Described by Brian Eno as “perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived,” Allen lays down an album that delights at every turn with polished melodies and and exciting changes. It’ll bring you out of your seat.

Now based in Paris, Nigerian-born Allen has played on a seemingly endless stream of recordings. “The Source” is his debut LP for the legendary jazz record label Blue Note Records, following a tribute EP to Art Blakey, and he packs as much power behind the kit as ever. Retracing his roots to the album’s namesake, “The Source,” Allen documents the sounds of jazz far and wide, implementing a wide range of styles into his sound. No one in the jazz world seems better suited for this than Allen, the reigning king of Afrobeat influence.

Album opener “Moody Boy” invites us on Allen’s voyage into the past. In an extended intro of rolling piano and horn flourishes, the band seems to be catapulting us into its trip through time, back to the “The Source.” A minute and half in we enter the groove and don’t look back. This is not the future. This is the past arriving with all its might.

Standout track “Wolf Eat Wolf” summons the classic sound of Fela Kuti and Africa ‘70 back to the table, with circulating guitar lines and funky organ that drive alongside Allen’s absolutely infectious drumming patterns. Allen finds hidden lines of rhythm and complements horn melodies effortlessly, practicing both restraint and forceful playing in equal measure. By the song’s end the horn section is in full force, discovering New Orleans-style arrangements that feel like pure celebration.

“The Source” was recorded old school too – purely on analog gear from the studio to cutting the record. This not only affects the album’s sound but also its feel too. The approach of Allen and his impressive roster of jazz cats hearkens back to the glory days of jazz, before synths and other digital gear made their mark on the scene. With fifty years of experience behind him, Allen makes jazz cool and bravado look easy, lounging on an album cover that looks like it could’ve been made in the 60s.

“Cool Cats” comes draped in ethereal piano and drives forward in a celebration of afrofunk vibes. Allen and his band are experts at blending together the influences of jazz and Africana into a spectacular package, the sound spiraling together into a potent brew of vintage cool jazz and Nigerian groove. 

It’s a joy to listen to, especially for those who want a little taste of the classic mid-century jazz sound seen through an African lens.

lemonwire.com 

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Tony Allen’s debut release for Blue Note, released just a couple months ago, paid tribute to legendary jazz drummer Art Blakey. And while it didn’t necessarily reveal entirely unforeseen depths in the music of either artist, it provided a much-needed bridge between the sounds of Allen’s Afrobeat past and his contemporary jazz future. Allen, the former drummer for Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 and one of the greatest drummers of all time, had up to this point never been all that closely associated with the sounds of hard bop, and by paying tribute to Blakey (who put the hard in hard bop) he provided a glimpse at a side of his musical identity that, to many listeners, hadn’t been as fully explored.

The Source, Allen’s full-length debut for Blue Note, is a step back from jazz tradition, and admirably so. While Allen’s latest full-length is by all means a jazz album, it’s one that’s firmly rooted in his own background as a pioneer of Nigerian funk. These songs groove hard, built upon the syncopated yet deeply funky rhythms that Allen built his career on more than 40 years ago, and they haven’t lost any of their punch. What its preceding EP revealed in terms of influence and background, The Source is about what Allen continues to build on that, creating a more exploratory fusion than leaning in any one expected direction.

Allen’s style is recognizable on The Source, but at no point is he ever replicating the past. The title The Source is intended as a nod to the various jazz influences that have gone into shaping his own personal playing style and growth as a musician, with the opening pair of tracks, “Moody Boy” and “Bad Roads,” incorporating elements of the long-running jazz label’s 75-year past. But in a way, The Source also seems to point back toward Allen as an influential figure on his own. A lot of it feels like compositions only he could have had a hand in, like the mixture of avant garde jazz and Afrobeat pulse in “Cruising,” or the low-key grooves of “On Fire.” Yet as strong as Allen is as both backbone and bandleader of the ensemble featured here, the players are every bit as essential to the character of these recordings, from the nimble bass walk of Mathias Allamane to the dual sax chorus of Rémi Sciuto and Jean-Jacques Elangue, who offer some brief glimpses of Kuti in their bold leads.

As The Source progresses, it delves deeper into a more recognizable Afrobeat sound almost as if to create a parallel between Allen’s own discoveries as they became infused into his own creations. “Tony’s Blues” is a kind of midway point between these two poles, while “Wolf Eats Wolf” is proper Africa 70-style rhythmic vamp. And “Cool Cats” finds Allen incorporating an unexpected extra element into one of his most energetic and urgent pieces; amid the brash display of horns and low-end strut, Damon Albarn (with whom Allen collaborated on The Good, The Bad & The Queen) lends some eerie touches of piano for atmosphere. As much as The Source is about the music that shaped who Tony Allen is as a musician, its compositions are about how Allen is helping to shape the future of jazz in his own image.

treblezine.com 

 

Tony Allen - Interview for "Film Of Life"

 

Originally published in French @ welovemusic.fr

In late October, the godfather of Afrobeat signed a sublime album Film of Life. A gem released on Jazz Village transpires Tony Allen from beginning to end. Yet all was not so simple. The Nigerian told us about this album with a pleasing freedom. Meeting with a master of the genre.

Film of Life he has a special place in your discography?

Tony Allen: I knew and I had decided that he would not like the other albums. It would change compared to my habits. That's what I had in mind before you start.

I suppose it is strange for you because it evokes your career?

Tony Allen: It can be explained in this way indeed. That's what the song is Moving On, this idea of movement, like being in a movie, the film of a lifetime. I had ups and downs. I have known different places, different times. I went through all that with my character. And as long as I am now, and I keep moving, all is well. But I will not be able to move for a long time. But I continue because I never saw the end and I do not see her as long as I continue to explore music. Music has no boundaries and it can never be any.

You invited Damon Albarn for the title Go Back. Could you tell me more about your relationship with him?

Damon is my friend, and it's even more than a friend to me, he is like my family. You know, we've known for a long time now and we work together all the time. Damon still wants to write, and for this reason he wanted to do something new including myself. We worked together in his studio in London. I work with him because he has this way of proposing new things all the time. It does not stop asking until we did not tell him yes. (laughs) That's what I like best about him. He's a genius to me. I like many rock artists, but particularly stands out because it's someone who does not stop. I believe that nothing stops, there is no end, and we can always move forward. Some have done their best and end up no further. It is always better by continuing to move forward.

When did you realize you wanted to do an album on your career, your life and your experiences?

Tony Allen: That was when I wrote Moving On. I wanted to build only the music at first, from a strictly instrumental album without song. I wanted to live my freedom and I did nothing that could stop my game. Make an album with the song has its good and bad sides. Because when it comes to the stage, this means assume two parts: drums and vocals simultaneously. I have done but I just wanted to get in shape to do it. It's harder now, the party is already complicated percussion and if I have more singing over it means that my mind has to think more than five things simultaneously. Five people, that's it. It is as if he had to think like five people simultaneously.

For this album, you worked with The Jazzbastards. Why did you choose these musicians?

Tony Allen: We are friends and we worked together with Sebastien Tellier, Air and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I suggested to participate in the project after a concert where we played with Sebastien Tellier La Cigale. I said, "Oh, I am preparing my album, maybe you could come to record in my studio."

Boat Journey song has a political dimension. You denounce the situation of migrants, but also unconsciousness of such exile.

Tony Allen: Actually, as I have said, I did not sing on this album is the record label, the label that I was asked. I needed time to figure out what I was going to write on any topic. Boat Journey is really obvious, eventually. Because I saw these dramas almost every day on television. How people capsized in the ocean. In the ocean, the deaths, people who die in the ocean to escape the situation in their country ... They want to come to France to change their situation, but they chose the wrong side, the wrong way to achieve Europe. For, if they want to come to us, why not, I have never stopped anyone from coming. But when they arrive in Europe, if they get there, what job are they going to do? What job and where? What boss is willing to give them a job? And when they did not capsize and the police scavengers, they go straight in detention in a camp. Suffering in prisons over there is worse than what they left behind. Some of them are begging the authorities: "If you do not let us go, let us at least start."

Going back to your drumming. It is the heart of your music. Are percussion always the starting point of your compositions?

Tony Allen: When I write, the drum part is all the time in the beginning. The rest comes later. because it's my battery sets partitions I play. It is a way that allows me to not repeat myself.

Film of Life is a real Afrobeat model ...

Tony Allen: The Afrobeat can be used anywhere in the music as it is written in 4 times. The Afrobeat glue to Western music, sad music. No matter the pace, slow, fast if it is written in 4 times. This is a signature that is also present. But it is an open style to all.

Your autobiography was published last year and now a retrospective album comes out. I feel that you need to step back on route.

Tony Allen: I have always been aware of my life from the beginning. If you ask me what happened to me at the age of 10, I could return it. I could tell you everything in detail. In fact, the book explores the best that I have experienced up to this album. Film of Life is more a continuation because nothing is set in music.

This means that with Rocket Juice and the Moon, The Good, the Bad & the Queen, it is not necessarily finished?

Tony Allen: I will always be willing to take a project. The music comes to me in different directions and each time with different artists, different stars, whatever ... When they invite me, I'll go, I'm game. I was made for this job. I love the challenge, because it's always a challenge when you have to deal with people and music as a whole. I'm open because I like to have a different approach and I always respect other people's music when they invite me.

You have several upcoming concerts. The scene remains your favorite place speech?

Tony Allen: Yes, frankly I'd rather be on stage and in the studio. In the studio we spend time practicing to be perfect. But on stage, you do not have time for that, you need to focus and succeed the first time. "Poof, go!" Everyone can see how it goes. On the recording can not see anything, just listening to music but we do not see action. It's more annoying.

 

Originally published in French
@  welovemusic.fr

Tony Allen chooses five top moments from his 55-year career

Originally published @ theguardian.com

He was the drummer for Fela Kuti throughout the master’s groundbreaking years and has helped shape Afrobeat ever since. Ahead of his new album, Film of Life, Tony Allen chooses five top moments from his 55-year career.


Fela Kuti and the Africa 70: Question Jam Answer (1972)

Question Jam Answer was the beginning of Africa 70 finding very strong form. The personnel was changing a lot at that time, but this was a great lineup [including Ayo Azenanbor on bass and trumpet from Tony Njoku]. Fela was writing a lot of good songs at that time, and that’s why it’s difficult for me to say that I like this one more than the other. But Question Jam Answer stands out because of the composition, the way Fela wrote it, and my own drumming – which isn’t a common or a familiar drumming pattern – is something different. The approach that Fela brought when he wrote it was all about letting the music talk, and every time he wrote it was like a challenge to me and I like to face that type of challenge. I’m happy when I rise to it and people hear something and think: “Wow! That’s different.” When Fela wrote Question Jam Answer, some of his friends confronted him about the drumming and said: “Fela, what if this Allenko came to you tomorrow and said he was going to leave unless you gave him more money? You would have to do it because his drumming is too difficult to copy.” Nobody is going to take my place.

I remember when I had to stop drumming because I had an ulcer. So I was off for two weeks to get some rest. They hired other drummers to stand in for me but it was impossible for them. One drummer came in for a gig and couldn’t play the next night. So they came to wake me up while I was sleeping and put me in a taxi to play the gig. I said: “You have a drummer there,” but he said: “No, it is not working.” Few people have the kind of communication that Fela and I had when we played music, so I decided to go on stage even though I was ill. His friends were right though, as no drummer in the country could play what I played on that record. Only I could play it.

Tony Allen and Afrika 70: No Accommodation for Lagos (1978)

No Accommodation for Lagos was produced by Fela – he produced my first three records Jealousy, Progress and No Accommodation for Lagos – and after I left Fela in 1979 I made No Discrimination. I decided to do four tracks on the record which you would consider Afrobeat – up until then, Fela would do two tracks maximum on a record which were Afrobeat, but I wanted to give people more. Our approach was inspired by James Brown and his really long versions of songs. We looked at that and thought: “Why can’t we do it?” and created these songs that last God knows how many minutes. With Afrobeat, you need to respect the amount of time it takes to grab you. You can’t write Afrobeat for radio because they edit and edit and edit until the music is dead. No Accommodation was the final record I made with Fela as producer and was the beginning of the end for me as part of Africa 70. I never intended to leave Fela, but the way the album ended up and the time it took Fela to finish producing it made me think about what was going on. In the sessions, Fela also recorded some of his own tracks and that took three days, but mine took eight months to finish and they were recorded at the same time.

I remember he played his solo on the first day and I thought it was fantastic but he said it wasn’t good, so he wanted to play it again. So he played it again but that took two months and again he wasn’t happy. Then he played it again two months after that and the same thing happened. Then, finally, the one he used I wasn’t happy with, but he said that was the best. The mixing took another two months – so eight months in total. Fela was there every day but there were always excuses and at that point I realised I needed to quit the organisation. I finally went in November 1978 when we were at the Berlin jazz festival. We finished our gig and I told him I was leaving – not to destroy him, or destroy anyone, but just because my services were no longer needed. After that he used two drummers playing my parts separately.

The album talks about things that were happening at the time, such as the slum clearances in Lagos, clearing them out and bulldozing their houses without offering alternative housing, and you used to see many people sleeping underneath the bridge. People thought because I was talking about corruption that the police would come for me but they never did. I never mentioned anyone’s name individually. I accused all of them.


Tony Allen: HomeCooking (2002)

The critical response to [the 2001 album] Psyco on da Bus had been mixed. Some said I was going crazy and wasn’t respecting the rules of Afrobeat any more. I was just trying to explore musical areas and let listeners know Afrobeat could be mixed with other genres. So I tried to blend it with dub and electronica. People wanted me to play the kind of songs I played with Fela, but that style had gone. Fela was Fela; he was a genius and his style should be left alone. For someone like me, who left his group, to copy his style would have been wrong. If I wanted to do that I should have stayed with him. But critics didn’t like it, so I came back with HomeCooking which was an album filled with guests. I brought in Ty, who had remixed some of my work previously, to rap on the record and Damon Albarn, who had already sung about me on Music is my Radar. On the first day in the studio, Damon didn’t record anything because we were enjoying ourselves too much. He came with two boxes of champagne and everyone got boozed and he decided he’d take the music back to his own studio and finish it there. That was the beginning of our friendship and since then we’ve done a lot of different things.

Ernest Ranglin: Modern Answers to Old Problems (2000)

Ernest’s label wanted me to feature on a record with him. I liked his guitar playing and the fact he used jazz, reggae and lots of different types of music. They invited me to the studio and he wrote music for everyone except me. I asked him if he was intending to compose my parts and he said no, because he wanted me to relate to what he was writing. It made me feel happy because it was challenging and it stopped me from being stagnant and getting used to just playing one type of music. I like to face an artist I’ve not faced before, especially when the artist has something unique. It’s interesting to work out how we are going to work together and what would work with what we both have.

For me, the key is to look for what works. I thought of many things I could have played on this album but I experimented and tried different options until I found what worked. I always respect the music that is in front of me and don’t impose myself on it. When I’m playing with someone else, you’ll know it’s Tony Allen, you will recognise my work without having to see my name. I have my identity.


Rocket Juice & the Moon (2012)

This was something we decided to do after Africa Express in Lagos and we came back to London. Flea wanted to play with me, and Damon Albarn said we should create something while we were in each other’s company. Everything was done live, except the guest vocalists, such as Erykah Badu. I wanted Flea to play whatever he felt. I started the songs with my drum patterns and Flea would look for something that would go with my drums. It can be difficult for musicians who don’t have a background in African rhythm – I’ve been trying to mix up different styles and sounds in my head from day one. There are many places I can take my drumming and I try to make my drums sing and turn them into an orchestra. I don’t bash my drums. Instead of bashing, I caress. If you caress your wife, you’ll get good things from your wife; if you beat her, up I’m sure she’ll be your enemy. I’m creating different patterns with my four limbs. They are all playing something different, which means you need to split your mind into four elements with the one central idea running through. Even professional drummers can struggle with mastering Afrobeat.
Originally published @ theguardian.com

Tony Allen - Film Of Life

 

Some artists require no introduction. Others can boast of achievements worthy of household status, but remain instantly recognisable to enthusiasts only. Despite high profile collaborations with Damon Albarn, a key role with the Africa Express project and a string of acclaimed recent solo albums, Tony Allen remains in the latter category.

This is a somewhat unfair state of affairs, considering Allen's accomplishments. As Fela Kuti's drummer and bandleader of the legendary Africa 70 orchestra, Allen was essential to the creation of Afrobeat. Following the huge success of Fela! the musical, this superhumanly funky stew of polyrhythmic hypnosis that infused the hypnotic repetition of prime James Brown with limber High Life grooves, traditional Nigerian rhythms and the improvisation-friendly looseness of Jazz is nearer to the mainstream than ever before. As recent documentary Finding Fela attests (Allen features prominently), Fela was hardly the epitome of humility, but even he acknowledged just how crucial Allen's impossibly dexterous beats were in the creation of Kuti's most celebrated works.

Considering the upgrade in the profile of the late serial scourge of Nigeria's corrupted military regimes and, consequently, the sublimely vibrant protest music he and Allen created following the recent Fela-fests on stage and screen, now would be the ideal time to unleash a nostalgia-tinged trip through the back pages of Afrobeat. However, the retro vibes of backwards-gazing opener "Moving On" are a bit of a red herring. With this musical career summary and introduction to the album out of the way, Film of Life is largely about, er, moving on. For example, the societal concerns of "Boat Journey" - a passionate warning against placing your life in the hands of ruthless people traffickers in an almost certainly hopeless quest of a better life - are in line with the contents of Allen's great early solo albums, but the track's slinky, minimalist bounce strays far from their relatively conventional Afrobeat settings.

Stylistically, there might not be all that much linking (mostly) instrumentals such as the fantastically frantic "Ewa" - gaze in awe at how Allen's loose yet metronome-tight fills fit seamlessly with the central riff - and "Koko Dance"'s updating of High Life's calls to the floor to, say, the melancholy drift of the sublime "Go Back" (with Allen's The Good, The Bad & The Queen and Rocket Juice and The Moon bandmate Albarn on vocals and co-writing duties). However, Allen's superlative drumming, utterly undimmed by the passing years, is idiosyncratic enough to tie all the disparate elements, guest vocalists and stylistic shifts into a seamless bunch: you'll know whose albums it is as soon as the beat kicks in, and the drum kit is rarely silent.

Not that Film of Life is about showcasing Allen's obvious virtuosity. Allen doesn't indulge in anything as obviously showing-off as drum solos. Then again, he doesn't really have to: the rhythms propelling these tracks are multilayered to the point where you'd swear each limb was working to a different time signature; a master-class display in unimaginable skill employed in the service of a greater good: the groove. Add this to a uniformly strong set of tunes and it’s clear that at 74, Allen has created one of his defining statements.

thelineofbestfit.com 

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Tony Allen was instrumental in the creation of Afrobeat together with Fela Kuti. His rhythmic Yoruba patterns perfectly complementing Kuti’s instrumental funk and Pan-African Slogans. Their collaboration would last 15 years before Allen broke off into new musical territory covering diverse genres from dub to pop. Over the years he has worked with artists such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sebastian Telier and Joe Lovano.

The most fruitful partnership to emerge was with Damon Albarn. They met in London in 2003 and this led to the pair collaborating on the track ‘Every Season’ for Allen’s album “Homecooking”. Since then they have worked together in The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Africa Express and Rocket Juice and the Moon (alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea). Albarn describes Allen to be “the greatest drummer in the world”.

“Film of life” is Allen’s tenth album and features a cast of world class musicians including Albarn who plays Melodica on “Tiger Skip” and co-wrote and performed “Go Back”. The album brings together bebop, afrobeat jazz and psychedelic pop. Allen entrusted the production to a trio of young French musicians known as The Jazzbastard having heard their work with Malian rapper Oxmo Puccino and Canadian-Haitian singer Melissa Laveaux. The result is a stunning long-lasting album with a rich, varied, Technicolor soundscape. On the opener “Moving On” Allen recalls each of his previous albums depicting his spirit of endurance and powers of reinvention. Elsewhere on “The Boat Journey” and “Go Back”, Allen explores themes of exile and displacement whilst “Ire Omo”, “Koko Dance” and “Insider” pay homage to Africa and its rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

The album is a great addition to an already amazing career and it is impressive that even after all these years Allen is still innovating and not simply sitting back on his laurels.

somethingyousaid.com 

Tony Allen’s Film of Life showcases the influential 70-year old Afrobeat drummer still in prime form.  This album, composed and performed by Allen and a rotating roster of crack musicians and produced by the French trio The Jazzbastards, has any number of fresh sounds for listeners as the band explores a variety of musical styles, from funky Afrobeat to Philly soul.  This marks yet another solid release from an established artist in the process of renewing his career and artistic vision with the Jazz Village label, an imprint that has released several high-quality albums from veteran musicians in 2014. - See more at: http://blackgrooves.org/tony-allen-film-of-life/#sthash.fOURUmgF.dpuf

Tony Allen’s Film of Life showcases the influential 70-year old Afrobeat drummer still in prime form. This album, composed and performed by Allen and a rotating roster of crack musicians and produced by the French trio The Jazzbastards, has any number of fresh sounds for listeners as the band explores a variety of musical styles, from funky Afrobeat to Philly soul. This marks yet another solid release from an established artist in the process of renewing his career and artistic vision with the Jazz Village label, an imprint that has released several high-quality albums from veteran musicians in 2014.
 
With Allen─a student of bebop, funk, Afrobeat, and other musical sounds of the African Diaspora (and longtime member of Feta Kuli’s band)─on the drum set, this record is full of infectious grooves throughout; when it seems as though the pocket can get no deeper, Allen and company find innovative ways to dig a bit further into a song’s polyrhythmic structure.  Eclectic as always, Allen and his band traipse through a number of musical styles throughout the course of this album, providing a nuanced treatment of each particular number and unlocking each song’s full potential.  A dramatic horn section on “Moving On” punctuates straight-ahead Afrobeat grooves, while a hypnotic bass ostinato underscores the tastefully layered arrangement of “Boat Journey.” “Ire Omo” hearkens to the days when James Brown was arguably the single most important force in the music of the African Diaspora, combining the driving dual-guitar, horn riff approach of the JBs with multipart harmony group vocals. Allen even dabbles in styles less in line with his signature Afrobeat-jazz-funk blend, collaborating with former Blur and Gorillaz singer Damon Albarn, who contributes a melodica solo on “Tiger’s Skip” and lead vocal and piano on the Philly soul-meets-My Morning Jacket number “Go Back.”

Film of Life contains some of the same conceptual and politically conscious material that defines much of Allen’s prior work; however, he delivers these conceptual threads through the means of dance-friendly party grooves. This is in contrast to releases such as Black Voices (1999), an album that experiments heavily with electronic music, or Home Cooking (2002), which might best be described as a rap-meets-roots endeavor, both of which seem to let the musical material be defined by the concepts.  Film of Life channels both Allen’s interest in experimental textures (with synthesizers and computer-generated effects appearing prominently throughout the record) and his interest in a Diasporic musical conversation into a well-rounded set of concise, danceable, and effective grooves, largely letting the music do most of the talking.

This song-driven approach pervades the record.  Even though Allen, the bandleader, is a drummer, there are no extended solos; as no particular sense of lyrical conceptualism drives this album, neither does virtuosity.  Rather, Allen and company let the music happen, finding grooves and exploring them in deep and challenging ways.  This simultaneously sophisticated and funky record is not to be missed by any fan of Allen’s prior work, any musician who wants to deepen their understanding of where “the pocket” really is, or any listener who likes to get out on the dance floor.

Reviewed by Matthew Alley@blackgrooves.org

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Femi and Seun Kuti are the heirs to their late father Fela’s King of Afrobeat crown. Right? Of course. Well, except…the crown hasn’t been up for grabs. Tony Allen was there from the music’s beginning, a creative partner/confidant of Fela starting in mid-‘60s Lagos. He wasn’t just the drummer in the crucial Africa 70 band. He was co-architect of a sound that endures today as strongly as ever. The crown is his, and on his his new album, Film of Life, he wears it in style.

It’s not because the music sounds like Fela. It’s because of the ways in which it does not. Yes, there is classic Afrobeat here—the punchy horns and female singers of opening song “Moving On” are legacy elements. But the song title is telling. Allen, now 74, is not done moving on, moving forward, which is in the truest spirit of his old boss/friend. Fela never wanted to recreate the past. Heck, there are plenty of bands around the world recreating it today.

Film of Life, in contrast, is every bit the work of someone who has collaborated not just with Fela, but with Blur’s Damon Albarn, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, jazz frontiersman Archie Shepp, French electronicist Sebastien Tellier, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, to name a few. In 2006 he teamed with Albarn, Paul Simonon of the Clash, and Simon Tong of the Verve to record as the Good, the Bad and the Queen. Two years ago he, Albarn, and Flea worked together as Rocketjuice and the Moon.
Produced by French trio the Jazzbastards, Film of Life sparkles and crackles with unexpected combinations of styles and sounds at every turn. “Moving On” starts at the core: Allen’s mix of interlocking rhythms establishes a foundation to support ultra-funky horns. (His sometime-nickname, the Human Metronome, doesn’t even hint at the complexities of his playing and very human touch he possesses.) Next, “Boat Journey” builds with a skittering guitar line and cinematic touches like dramatic tympani, as Allen speak-sings a cautionary tale warning that those “running away from misery” will confront themselves and find “double misery.”

“Tiger’s Skip,” co-written by Albarn and featuring him on melodica, has some of the dub atmosphere the British artist has used with Gorillaz. “Ewa” conjures a jazzy ‘70s film soundtrack vibe, an intricate construction spiked by Vincent Taeger’s vibes. “Go Back” features Albarn on vocals in an introspective soul turn. “Ire Omo” brings in female singers Adunni and Nefretiti for a classic Afrobeat sound.

afropop.org 

Tony Allen’s Film of Life showcases the influential 70-year old Afrobeat drummer still in prime form.  This album, composed and performed by Allen and a rotating roster of crack musicians and produced by the French trio The Jazzbastards, has any number of fresh sounds for listeners as the band explores a variety of musical styles, from funky Afrobeat to Philly soul.  This marks yet another solid release from an established artist in the process of renewing his career and artistic vision with the Jazz Village label, an imprint that has released several high-quality albums from veteran musicians in 2014. - See more at: http://blackgrooves.org/tony-allen-film-of-life/#sthash.fOURUmgF.dpuf

 

Tony Allen: The Beat of Afrobeat

  

The pulsating Yoruban derived rhythms that are so seductive and foundational in Afrobeat can be reduced to the work of one man, Tony Allen. Allen was self-taught, practicing his chops while working as an engineer at a local Lagos radio station when he was only 18. He caught his first break playing claves for the highlife band “The Cool Cats” headed by ‘Sir’ Victor Olaiya, the catalyst that brought him into the nucleus of the Nigerian music circuit where he later met his partner and bandleader from 1964-1979, Fela Kuti.

Allen, like Kuti, was a product of Yoruban culture, a student of a Western Colonial influence, and a child conceived in the tension between European colonialism and African independence, a crack in the earth that spawned the moment of creativity that conceived Afrobeat and allowed it to flourish during the most politically tense environs.

Another great similarity between Allen and Kuti, was their affection for American jazz. Allen studied the works of Max Roach, Ghanaian highlife drummer Kofi Ghanaba, and Art Blakey, particularly drawn to Max Roach’s use of the hi-hat—a necessary ingredient in jazz that had never been truly utilized in African music—and began incorporating it into his own signature sound. The result was a hybrid of a highly polyrhythmic understanding of drumming from African folk rhythms and popular West African genres like highlife and juju, married with a very authentically American jazz vernacular, and the growingly popular funk aesthetic by pioneers like James Brown.

When Kuti and Allen met again through their intermingling within the same Nigerian music circle, Kuti remarked “How come you are the only guy in Nigeria who plays like this—jazz and highlife?” A serendipitous pairing took place, as Kuti’s (highlife and jazz) band, the “Koola Lobitos” sought Allen as an original band member.

Kuti’s formidable trip to the United States set fuel to his political fire. Kuti was captivated by various fragments of Black Nationalism resulting from his relationship to Sandra Smith, a Black Panther, who first introduced him to the Black Power ideology through the works of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, and others. He came back to Lagos applying his learnings into the African context. With a newfound affinity towards Pan Africanism and an urgent need to infuse it into his music, Kuti changed his band name to The African ’70 as a declaration of his alignment with a continental Liberation movement, and dissent against European imperialism. With a new political consciousness, he needed a sound that would speak it justice, and there arose Kuti as the voice, and Allen as the heartbeat. What Kuti said in words, Allen said through the majestic agility of his four limbs, bearing the ability to play all separate time signatures at once, often giving the illusion of multiple drummers playing simultaneously, a feat that only someone with a profound fluency in the spiritual language of rhythms can achieve.

Allen’s tenure with Kuti was a crucial one for the evolution of contemporary African music, and for drawing the bridge between two very disparate worlds musically, culturally, and politically. Allen served as Kuti’s musical director and was the only member of the Africa ’70 who had real creative autonomy. Despite a musical love affair at first, Allen eventually left Kuti and Africa ’70 in 1979 to further pursue his own music (he had recorded 3 solo albums while still Africa ’70 that Kuti supported). Allen was discontent with the unrelenting nature of Kuti towards his band members and was further disillusioned with Kuti’s rather undemocratic handlings of the band as he claimed the majority royalties and credit sought from their recordings. Nonetheless the 30 of Kuti’s albums that Allen recorded on are still remembered as the best from Kuti’s career, surely no coincidence to anyone who understands the impact of Allen to the Afrobeat genre at large. Despite his departure, Kuti would still attribute the joint creation of Afrobeat to both himself and to Allen.

Today—Allen, now in his 70s—is still known as one of the best drummers of all time. The title is attributed to not only his stellar musicianship, but also to his imaginative and forward thinking mind as an inventor of music, and as a successful bandleader.

Soon after his departure from the Africa ’70, Allen recorded a few albums in Nigeria before relocating first to London, and soon after to Paris, where he has lived for the past 20+ years. Allen’s exposure to a new environment allowed his work to rapidly flourish and evolve, expanding genres even further to include the influences of dub reggae, hip-hop, indie-rock, and electronica into a new genre that he coined as “Afrofunk”. His music is as politically relevant as ever, and his ear has matured to adapt to the nuances of a new world music landscape decades after his work with Kuti.

Allen’s musical anthology is unbelievably vast. After his work with Kuti, he assembled his own group called the Afro Messengers, ventured into his own creation of Afrofunk thereafter, he recorded in Lagos an album compiling the sounds and influences of intergenerational Lagos bred musicians in 2006 entitled Lagos No Shaking, and recently released a richly experimental album Inspiration Information with the Finnish musician Jimi Tenor in 2009. Perhaps one of his most provocative recordings since his tenure with Fela Kuti was with Damon Albarn (of the band Blur) in The Good, The Bad & the Queen, the debut album was critically acclaimed as one of the best rock recordings of 2007.

Allen’s musical tenacity has outlived many genres of music. He has had a career spanning over close to 5 decades, beyond various geographical borders, and many cultural movements. Allen continues to push the envelop while upholding what he believes to be the only real ingredient to Afrobeat—the rhythm. No matter what the project, the collaborators, the influences—so long as Allen holds down the rhythm—the end product will be celebrated as a continuation of the Afrobeat genre that he helped create almost 50 years ago.

Words by Boyuan Gao, published @revive-music.com

Tony Allen Announces New Album "Film of life"

By Gregory Adams 

Though the details are slim, it's been confirmed that prolific Afrobeat master drummer Tony Allen is set to issue his first solo effort in five years, Film of Life. While an exact due date has yet to be delivered, the album arrives sometime in October via Jazz Village.

 The LP marks his first proper solo venture since 2009's Secret Agent and has him teaming up again with longtime collaborator Damon Albarn. The album's first preview is "Go Back," a bubbling, bass-bouncing ballad was co-written with the Blur leader, who adds vocals and keyboard work to the track. According to press materials, the song is an "homage to the African refugees who ended up on the Italian island of Lampedusa."

You'll find a radio edit of the song, as well as a quick trailer teasing even more funky material, down below.

Prior to Film of Life, Albarn had appeared on Allen's 2002 LP HomeCooking, while the pair also played together in the Good, the Bad and the Queen, as well as Rocket Juice and the Moon, among other projects.

 

 

Tony Allen: An Autobiography Of The Master Drummer Of Afrobeat

First of all, drummers are going to love this book. With so few autobiographies of drummers in print, the publication of Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat is a cause for celebration. Co-author Michael Veal, author of Fela: The Life and Times of a Musical Icon and an accomplished musician himself, brings to life the rhythm and emotional timbre of Tony Allen's speaking voice and the complex story of this singular, Lagos-born-now-expatriate musician in a first-person narrative that takes the reader through a particularly transformative time in West Africa's post-colonial history. Most importantly, the book is a hell of a lot of fun to read, although Allen's first-hand accounts of his struggles with shamanistic bandleader and Nigeria's adopted "black president" Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will piss off any musician who has had to fight to get paid for playing a gig. And Allen's chillingly matter-of-fact recollection of the aftermath of the 1977 military raid on Fela's "Kalakuta Republic" compound, a raid that involved beatings, rape, mutilation, and nearly burning the compound to the ground, is truly terrifying.

Swinging Like Hell!

Afrobeat, a musical genre that Veal describes as Nigeria's "sonic signature," was born out of Allen's mastery of what he describes as "a fusion of beats and patterns," including highlife, rumba, mambo, waltz-time, traditional music from Nigeria and Ghana, American R&B and funk and, not surprisingly, jazz. On Allen's first U.S. tour with Fela's band Koola Lobitos, a band that would be renamed Africa 70 upon its return to Nigeria, Allen heard and met drummer Frank Butler, who played drums with such musicians as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Allen cites the drumming techniques he learned directly from Butler as "the final piece of the puzzle that just made everything catch on fire."

And catch on fire it did. In his vivid description of Allen's drumming on the track "Fefe Naa Efe" from Fela and Africa 70's 1973 album Gentlemen, Veal writes: "Like the great jazz drummers, (Allen) keeps a steady conversation with the other instruments, particularly the soloists...Like a great boxer, he knows when to jab with his bass drum in order to punctuate a soloist's line, when to momentarily scatter and reconsolidate the flow with a hi-hat flourish, when to stoke the tension by laying deeply into the groove, and when to break and restart that tension by interjecting a crackling snare accent on the downbeat."

The book not only reveals Allen's methodical, years-long development of a new way to play the drum kit and propel Fela's compositional and political vision, it also shows Allen never stopped developing his technique post-Fela and continues to bring "the vitality of Yoruba artistic creativity" into new and innovative creative contexts. Allen negotiated the "world beat" market of the 1980s and 90s and experimented, like many African musicians recorded during those years, with heavily electronic and dub production techniques. In recent years, Allen has recorded and performed with American, French, and British musicians from genres that may seem light years away from his highlife roots. He saves some of his highest praise in the book for Damon Albarn, formerly the lead singer and bandleader of the wildly popular British band Blur and who has collaborated with Allen on several projects. "The way Damon came into my life," says Allen, "it was kind of like it had been written...not only did this guy make a big difference in my career, but we are also very good friends."

After many years of being underpaid and under appreciated for his innovations, Allen is currently enjoying a creative renaissance. One of the most moving passages in the book comes toward the end when Allen, now in his 70s, describes how busy he is "touring all over" Europe and what drives his creative work ethic. "I still want to play something impossible," Allen writes, "something that I never played before."

allaboutjazz.com

The Elder Statesman of Afrobeat Opens Up

Lately it seems that many of the world’s great percussionists are finally getting the attention and recognition they deserve. From the excellent new documentaries on Ginger Baker and Levon Helm, to Tony Allen’s recently released autobiography, Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat, it seems that music fans are finally beginning to wake up and realize how crucial a great drummer is to a great band. Cream wouldn’t have been Cream without Baker. The Band would not have been the Band without Helm.

And, as was plain to see upon his departure from Fela Kuti & the Africa 70 in 1978, Allen was essential to Fela’s iconic sound. Kuti made several great records following Allen’s absence, but these records noticeably lacked the virtuosic, yet understated touch of the master drummer of Afrobeat. In Allen’s new autobiography, co-written with Michael E. Veal (author of Fela: The Life and Times of a Musical Icon) we get a glimpse into the life and times of the man behind the kit, as well as fascinating insights into the tumultuous rise of Fela Kuti & the Afrika 70 to superstardom.

Aside from Veal’s adulatory introduction, Tony Allen is informal, highly conversational, and for the most part engaging, though Allen’s frequent digressions are occasionally confusing for the reader trying to piece together the larger picture. One thing is clear, however; from humble beginnings in Lagos with uncommonly supportive parents, to his triumphs with Kuti in the studio and on the international stage, to later life in France as the elder statesman of Afrobeat, Allen has always carried himself with a quiet confidence far more valuable than any lavish praise from music fans. It may have taken the world several decades to properly acknowledge his contributions to music, but Allen doesn’t seem to need anyone’s recognition, in stark contrast to Kuti, for whom the quest for respect and recognition seemed to be almost compulsive.

There are several entertaining passages that reveal the tension between Allen and Kuti during Afrika 70’s ascendancy to superstardom. One particularly memorable passage details the bandmates’ quarrels over groupies:

... The truth is all this bullshit happened because of the girls around. It was just a question of me screwing one girl that was his favorite. But nothing stopped him from screwing that girl also, as she lived in his house. So who was the master—was [Fela] not? If the girl followed me, it was because she wanted to… Why was [Fela] making a problem with me?... He gave it to me properly in front of that girl so that she would know that he was the boss. Which everybody already knew, anyway.

There is an air of slight bitterness surrounding Allen’s description of Kuti throughout the autobiography, and who can blame him: Kuti’s megalomaniacal genius and shady business ethics would have made any associated musician frustrated. Still, the immense strength of Kuti’s personality could not suppress Allen’s, and it becomes evident in Tony Allen that Allen has always been his own “boss”.

Any fan of Afrobeat knows the incredible debt the genre owes to Allen, but some fail to recognize the drummer’s influence in rock, pop, and beyond: Paul McCartney, 2uestlove, and Brian Eno are just a few contemporary titans who sing Allen’s praises, and recognize his innovation behind the kit. In the ‘50s Nigeria drum kits were rare; even rarer were Nigerians who knew what to do with them. Aside from a few brief mentorships with his new instrument in his adolescence, Allen has been teaching himself percussion for the better part of 70 years, never ceasing to develop and refine his style even as his ability has become known and celebrated throughout the world. Truly, this is the mark of a genius; that rare artist who never ceases exploring, refining, and challenging himself to take daring and uncomfortable risks with his craft.

It’s challenging to select only one performance to exemplify Allen’s talent; even limiting myself to five or ten choices seems to be doing the drummer an injustice. The truth is that Allen has been remarkably, consistently great for nearly half a century. I can still recall the first time I heard him play: as a lover of rhythm and percussionist myself, I was forever changed when I first experienced the force of Allen’s artistry in the 1977 classic, “Opposite People”. This is music that is nearly impossible to listen to and remain sitting still; Allen basically forces you to move.

After decades of being underpaid and underappreciated for his contributions with Kuti and beyond, it’s satisfying to see Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat in print. Drummers, fans of African music, and lovers of music more generally will find a lot to love in this book.

 popmatters.com

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“This is not a slice of dry academia, what we get in this incredibly fruitful collaboration is 160 pages of rich revealing narrative that is so engrossing that I missed my stop on the tube. . . . Basically, I couldn’t put the book down and it had me sifting through the records to provide a soundtrack to the narrative.” - Paul Brad, Ancient to Future
 

“This master drummer’s account is enriched by unstinting critical appraisal, whether evaluating Fela’s most loved recordings or his own subsequent solo efforts. Tony Allen, ever restless, retains the enthusiasm of an absolute beginner, tempered with a survivor’s wisdom. His life obviously a work in progress, one anticipates music yet to come and the stories that surface in its wake.” - Richard Henderson, The Wire 

“This is a much needed, truly fascinating book… Allen spins the tale of his life, and of the evolution of one of the great popular musical styles of the 20th century, like the great storyteller he is. It’s a narrative filled with tasty anecdotes and twinkling details, which just add to its momentum. You can almost see the wry smile on his face as he challenges you to make up his own mind… Allen’s totally absorbing narrative was edited and shaped by Michael E. Veal… In his introduction he treats us to an unbeatably succinct, lucidly accurate contextual analysis of Allen as a ‘Yoruba modernist’. He also gets to grips with how the Allen technique works… This is highly readable and highly recommended.” - Max Reinhardt, Songlines

“There’s a sentence in the introduction where Veal, a Yale professor, uses the phrase ‘indigenization of jazz drumming’, but don’t let that put you off. The academic is present primarily to transcribe and edit, while Allen reflects on 50 years at the coalface… One of the great sidemen, Allen here cuts mercilessly through the bullshit.” - David Hutcheon, Mojo

"Tony Allen brings the music scene in Lagos, Nigeria, to life, the dynamic and spiritual music that the world came to know as Afrobeat. He shows what it means to be a musician and a master drummer, and he shares the stories not only of Fela Kuti but also of many other important musicians."—Randy Weston, author of African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston

"Tony Allen is an engaging person, an important musical figure during a dynamic era in African music, and a major contributor in the creation of an influential musical genre. He and Fela Kuti emerge in his portrayal as dedicated musical seekers who continually struggled to develop and protect their art. Allen's memoir is an exceptional achievement that will make readers wish to have been there with them to live it all again."—John M. Chernoff, percussionist, ethnographer, author

AfrobeatMusic.net

“Allen bring us his inspirational biography. Written together with Michael Veal, author of Fela Kuti’s biography, this is the most accessible Afrobeat book of them all. . . . Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of West-African popular music.”

Popmatters - Zachary Stockill

“After decades of being underpaid and underappreciated for his contributions with Kuti and beyond, it’s satisfying to see Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat in print. Drummers, fans of African music, and lovers of music more generally will find a lot to love in this book.”

Jazzwise - Jane Cornwel

“Anyone who knows their Afrobeat will tell you how pivotal the kit drummer Tony Allen was to the genre’s development. Indeed, as . . . Michael Veal points out in this important, deftly crafted book, the pairing of Allen and the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti could be likened to partnerships between such jazz supernovas as Coltrane and Elvin Jones; Miles and Philly Joe Jones; Ornette and Billy Higgins.”

barnesandnoble.com