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Tony Allen (musician)

This article is about the Nigerian drummer. For other musicians, see Tony Allen (disambiguation).

Tony Oladipo Allen (20 July 1940 – 30 April 2020) was a Nigerian and French drummer, composer, and songwriter who lived and worked in Paris, France. Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti's band Africa '70 from 1968 to 1979, and was one of the founders of the Afrobeat genre.[1][2] Fela once stated that "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat".[3] He was described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived".[4] Later in life, Allen collaborated with Damon Albarn on several projects, including Gorillaz, the Good, the Bad & the Queen and Rocket Juice & the Moon.[5]

Tony Allen
Allen at Oslo Jazzfestival 2015
Allen at Oslo Jazzfestival 2015
Background information
Birth nameTony Oladipo Allen
Born(1940 -07-20)20 July 1940
Lagos, British Nigeria
Died30 April 2020(2020-04-30) (aged 79)
Paris, France
Genres
Occupations
  • Drummer
  • composer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
Years active1968–2020
Formerly of
Tony Allen at the Eurockéennes of 2007

Early career

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Allen was born in Lagos, Nigeria to James Alabi Allen, a motor mechanic from British Nigeria (now present day Nigeria) and Prudentia Mettle, from the Gold Coast (now present day Ghana).[6][1] He began playing drums at the age of 18, while working as an engineer for a radio station. Allen was influenced by music his father listened to: Jùjú, a popular Yoruba music from the 1940s, but also American jazz, and the growing highlife scene in Nigeria and Ghana. Allen worked hard to develop a unique voice on the drums, feverishly studying LPs and magazine articles by Max Roach and Art Blakey, but also revolutionary Ghanaian drummer Guy Warren (later known as Kofi Ghanaba – who developed a highly sought-after sound that mixed tribal Ghanaian drumming with bop – working with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach).

Allen was hired by "Sir" Victor Olaiya to play claves with his highlife band, the Cool Cats. Allen was able to fill the drum set chair when the former Cool Cats drummer left the band. Allen later played with Agu Norris and the Heatwaves, the Nigerian Messengers, and the Melody Makers.

Fela and Africa '70

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In 1964, Fela Kuti invited Allen to audition for a jazz-highlife band he was forming. Kuti and Allen had played together as sidemen in the Lagos circuit. Fela complimented Allen's unique sound: "How come you are the only guy in Nigeria who plays like this – jazz and highlife?" Thus Allen became an original member of Kuti's "Koola Lobitos" highlife-jazz band.

In 1969, following a turbulent and educational trip to the United States, Allen served as the musical director of Fela's band, Africa '70,[7] which developed a new militant African sound, mixing the heavy groove and universal appeal of soul with jazz, highlife, and the polyrhythmic template of Yoruba conventions. Allen developed a novel style to complement Fela's new African groove that blended these disparate genres.

Allen recounted how he and Fela wrote in 1970: "Fela used to write out the parts for all the musicians in the band (Africa '70). I was the only one who originated the music I played. Fela would ask what type of rhythm I wanted to play.… You can tell a good drummer because we… have four limbs… and they are… playing different things… the patterns don't just come from Yoruba… [but] other parts of Nigeria and Africa."[8]

Allen recorded more than 30 albums with Fela and Africa '70. But by the late 1970s, dissension was growing in the ranks of Africa '70. Arguments over royalties/pay and recognition grew in intensity. As inventor of the rhythms that underpinned Afrobeat and musical director, Allen felt especially slighted. Fela stood his ground, stating that he would get the royalties for his songs. Fela did support Allen's three solo recordings: Jealousy (1975), Progress (1977), and No Accommodation For Lagos (1979), but by 1979, Allen had chosen to leave Africa '70, taking many members with him. "'What makes me decide it's time to go? It's … everything...and (his) carelessness...like he doesn't care, like he doesn't know ...he doesn't feel he's done anything (wrong). And with all the parasites around too.... there were 71 people on tour by now and only 30 working in the band....you got to ask why. Those guys were sapping Fela of his Force, of his Music.' So Tony moved on, once again in search of his own sound."

Afrobeat to Afrofunk

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Tony Allen (1988)

Allen formed his own group, recording No Discrimination in 1980, and performing in Lagos until emigrating to London in 1984. Later moving to Paris, Allen recorded with King Sunny Adé, Ray Lema and Manu Dibango. Allen recorded N.E.P.A. in 1985. Post-Fela, Allen developed a hybrid sound, deconstructing and fusing Afrobeat with electronica, dub, R&B, and rap. Allen refers to this synthesis as afrofunk. Allen returned with a much anticipated new project for his 13th release. Recorded live in Lagos, with a full-sized Afrobeat band, Lagos No Shaking (Lagos is OK) signified Allen's return to roots Afrobeat after forays into avant-garde electronica hybrids. Lagos No Shaking was released on 13 June 2006.

Later work

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Allen appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot and Riot (2002) in tribute to Fela Kuti.[9] Allen appeared alongside Res, Ray Lema, Baaba Maal, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp on a track entitled "No Agreement."

Allen played drums throughout the 2003 album Love Trap by Susheela Raman and also performed with her live. Allen recorded album "Live/Tony Allen" (2004) also.[10] In 2006, Allen joined Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, and Simon Tong as drummer for the Good, the Bad & the Queen.[11] Allen contacted Albarn after hearing the 2000 single "Music Is My Radar" by Albarn's band Blur, which references him.[11] They released their self-titled debut album in 2007, followed by Merrie Land in 2018.[12] Allen and Albarn also collaborated on the 2012 album Rocket Juice & the Moon.[5]

Allen played drums on two tracks on the 2007 album 5:55 by Charlotte Gainsbourg: "5:55" and "Night-Time Intermission", backed by French duo Air and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp.[13] He also made an appearance playing the drums in the video for "Once Upon a Time" by French duo Air in late 2007. He was a featured artist on Zap Mama's albums Supermoon (2007) and ReCreation (2009), adding his voice to the tracks "1000 Ways" and "African Diamond." Allen also contributed drums on "People Dansa", an afrobeat rhythm-fuelled track on the second album of the Brazilian singer Flavia Coelho, released in 2014.[14] His album Secret Agent was released in June 2009 by World Circuit.[15] He released A Tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (2017), a four-song EP on Blue Note Records featuring a reworked Afrobeat version of Art Blakey's "Moanin'". In 2017, Allen collaborated with Malian singer Oumou Sangaré for the track "Yere faga" from her album Mogoya.

Filmmaker Opiyo Okeyo released the documentary film Birth of Afrobeat (2019) about Allen's life in music.[16][17] The film screened at American Black Film Festival and won the 21st Century Fox Global Inclusion Award for Emerging Voices at the BlackStar Film Festival.[18][19] Damon Albarn and Tony Allen and band performed at a concert in the Netherlands, among then the Lowlands Festival (2019). Birth of Afrobeat was acquired by American Public Television and had its television premiere January 20, 2020 on PBS.[20][21]

Allen was featured on the Gorillaz track "How Far?" (2020) alongside Skepta, as part of the band's Song Machine project. Allen contributed to seven tracks on the album Keleketla!, (2020) a collaborative project co-ordinated by Johannesburg's Keleketla Library and English electronic musicians Coldcut, recorded in both Soweto and London.

Two posthumous Allen albums were released. There Is No End (2021) featured Allen on production alongside rappers and singers from around the world, including Danny Brown, Nah Eeto, and Sampa the Great.[22][23] The second release after Allen's death was The Solution Is Restless, a collaborative album featuring Joan As Police Woman and Dave Okumu. 2021 also saw the release of April March's album In Cinerama, which features Allen as a drummer; he is also credited for co-writing several tracks.[24] An EP Allen recorded with the Foals singer Yannis Philippakis, Yannis & the Yaw, was released in August 2024.[25]

Death

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On 30 April 2020, Allen died of abdominal aortic aneurysm at Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris.[1] Tributes came from musicians and producers including Flea, Peter Gabriel, Jeff Mills, Nigel Godrich and Sean Lennon.[1][26] Damon Albarn said he was his "number one musical teacher" and that he would "never, ever play with anyone like him again".[27]

Discography

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Solo discography
  • Jealousy (1975)
  • Progress (1977)
  • No Accommodation for Lagos (1979)
  • No Discrimination (1979)
  • Never Expect Power Always (with Afrobeat 2000) (1985)
  • Too Many Prisoners (with Zebra Crossing) (1987)
  • Afrobeat Express (1989)
  • Ariya (1998)
  • Ariya (remixes) (1999)
  • Black Voices (1999)
  • Black Voices Remixed (2000)
  • Psyco On Da Bus (with Doctor L, Jean Phi Dary, Jeff Kellner & Cesar Anot) (2001)
  • HomeCooking (2002)
  • Live (2004)
  • Lagos No Shaking (2006)
  • Secret Agent (2009)
  • Inspiration Information 4 (with Jimi Tenor) (2009)
  • Black Voices Revisited (2010)
  • Film of Life (2014)
  • A Tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (2014)
  • The Source (2017)
  • OTO Live Series (with Jimi Tenor) (2018)
  • Tomorrow Comes The Harvest (with Jeff Mills) (2018)
  • Rejoice (with Hugh Masekela) (2020)
  • How Far? (with Gorillaz and Skepta) (2020)
  • There Is No End (2021)
  • The Solution Is Restless (with Dave Okumu and Joan As Police Woman) (2021)
with Fela Kuti
Other appearances
  • Various - Racubah! – A Collection of Modern Afro Rhythms (1999)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 1 (2000)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 2 (2000)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 3 (2000)
  • Various - Afrobeat...No Go Die! (2000)
  • Ernest Ranglin - Modern Answers To Old Problems (2000)
  • Doctor L - Mountains Will Never Surrender (2000)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble (2001)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 4 (2001)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 5 (2001)
  • Various - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble Part 6 (2001)
  • Bababatteur - Awa Band (2004)
  • New Cool Collective - Trippin (2006)
  • The Good, the Bad & the Queen - The Good, the Bad & the Queen (2007)
  • Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55 (2007)
  • Rocket Juice & the Moon - Rocket Juice & the Moon (2012)
  • Various - The Rough Guide to African Disco (2013)
  • Chicago Afrobeat Project - What Goes Up (2017)
  • Gonjasufi - Mandela Effect (2017)
  • The Good, the Bad & the Queen - Merrie Land (2018)
  • Keleketla - Keleketla! (2020)
  • Adrian Younge - Tony Allen JID018 (2023)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Daniel Kreps; Elias Leight (30 April 2020). "Tony Allen, Pioneering Afrobeat Drummer, Dead at 79". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Quand Tony Allen, père de l'afrobeat, se met à table" (in French). 1 May 2020.
  3. ^ Williamson, Nigel (18 January 2008). "Tony Allen: The veteran Afrobeat drummer is shaking his sticks as hard and as brilliantly as ever". The Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  4. ^ Patterson, Ian (24 December 2007). "Steve Reid: Staying in the Rhythms". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  5. ^ a b Reed, Ryan (28 March 2012). "Rocket Juice and the Moon: Rocket Juice and the Moon". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. ^ Denslow, Robin (3 May 2020). "Tony Allen obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  7. ^ Pareles, Jon (2 May 2020). "Tony Allen, Drummer Who Created the Beat of Afrobeat, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  8. ^ Graeme Ewens, Africa O-Ye!, 1991.
  9. ^ Red Hot Organization Red Hot Retrieved 20 April 2022
  10. ^ Live/Tony Allen Retrieved 19 April 2022
  11. ^ a b Williams, Murphy (20 January 2007). "Songs of experience". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  12. ^ Young, Alex. "The Good The Bad & The Queen to release new album, Merrie Land, in November". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  13. ^ Charlotte Gainsbourg "5:55", The Guardian, Retrieved 20 April 2022
  14. ^ ""FLAVIA COELHO - Les Musiciens du 2e Album 'Mundo Meu'"". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Tony Allen". Musicfeeds.com.au. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  16. ^ Eyre, Banning (17 May 2018). "25th New York African Film Festival Launches". Afropop Worldwide. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  17. ^ "The Nigerian Shorts Program at This Year's New York African Film Festival Challenges the Nollywood Status Quo". OkayAfrica. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  18. ^ "BlackStar Qualifying Award Winners". Gravitas Ventures. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  19. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (6 June 2019). "American Black Film Festival To Feature 'The Black Godfather', Spike Lee, HBO Short Film Finalists And More". Deadline. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  20. ^ "AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange | My Friend Fela and Birth of Afrobeat | Season 12 | Episode 1". Pbs.org. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  21. ^ Kreps, Daniel (3 May 2020). "See Tony Allen Break Down Afrobeat's Major Drum Patterns in Unseen Doc Clip". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Tony Allen: There Is No End". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  23. ^ Krcatovich, Dustin. "There Is No End". Undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  24. ^ Sendra, Tim. "In Cinerama Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  25. ^ Murray, Robin (17 April 2024). "Yannis & The Yaw Unites Foals' Yannis Philippakis With Afrobeat Legend Tony Allen | News". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Pioneering Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen has died, aged 79". Nme.com. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  27. ^ Sweeney, Eamon. "Damon Albarn interview: 'I think my life has been a bit too colourful to be quite ready for an autobiography'". Business Post. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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