TONY ALLEN レコード& CD

Review: Even after his death, Tony Allen is still delivering ground-breaking and genre-bending releases. There is No End, a posthumous album largely recorded in 2019 but finished (with Allen's blessing) following his death by co-producers Vincent Taeger and Vincent Taurelle, veers away from the Nigerian drummer's Afro-beat, Afro-jazz and Afro-disco roots, instead combing his brilliant polyrhythms with elements of grime, dubstep, hip-hop, soul and funk, plus vocals from a veritable who's who of MCs, spoken word artists and singers. The results are hugely impressive and forward-thinking, offering a fittingly on-point post-script to Allen's exceptional career.

Review: Since its release in 1999, Tony Allen's Black Voices album has earned a reputation as an overlooked modern classic. While a scaled-down reissue appeared on Kindred Spirits in 2014, this edition marks the first "full repress" of the original double-album version. The Doctor L-produced set remains hugely alluring, thanks largely to the warm and attractive mixture of Allen's loose and languid Afrobeat rhythms, fluid jazz and jazz-funk instrumentation and vocals that recall the legendary drummer's work with Fela Kuti. Like the original set, you'll find a number of tasty dancefloor reworks nestled on the second disc, with the fuzzy and disco-fied PsychojujuMix of "Ariya" - complete with rubbery bass and sweaty drum solos - standing out.

Review: On its' original release in 2002, Tony Allen's HomeCookin album was arguably a little overlooked. Like its' predecessor, 1999's Black Voices, the set updated the legendary drummer's Afrobeat sound for a new millennium. As this timely reissue proves, it was a particularly successful exercise. The album's genius lies in the Nigerian sticks-man's combination of traditional elements - most notably his loose, skittish polyrhythms, guitars and punchy horns - with elements of future-jazz, modern soul (see the brilliant Eska collaboration, "What's Your Fashion") and hip-hop. British rapper Ty excels himself on a number of killer cuts, though it's a more traditional Allen style dancefloor workout - the sublime "Crazy Afrobeat" - that really stands out.

Review: Dense cosmic vibes from one of Nigeria's most influential musicians, Black Voices arrived in 1999. A future shock that fused contemporary production, timeless soul and forward-thinking, planet-bounding grooves it still sounds effortlessly timeless now as it did when it landed. From the carefree rhythmic rim-shot abandon, soft spoken word and slippery riff slaps of "Asiko" to the fuzzy guitar textures and heady stomps of "The Same Blood" via the carnal drama and processed vocals of "Get Together" Black Voices really is an incredible work of art. Sought after for many years, this reissue will find favour with many who missed it the first time round.

Review: How often does a superstar band leader hand his band over to his drummer, while he steps back to become a sideman? That's what Fela Kuti, undoubtedly the coolest, hippest, best known African musician on the planet, did in 1975. "Afro Disco Beat" is the complete seventies anthology of the drummer and music director of superstar Fela Kuti's band Africa 70, the creators of a new style called 'Afrobeat', one of the (if not THE) hippest rhythmic music styles of the seventies. Tony Allen was an incredible drummer of whom Fela Kuti said "he sounds like four drummers".

Review: For the second volume in the Tony Allen and Africa 70 Disco Afro Re-Edit series, Africaine 808 and Mexican Sound Institute have been given the tricky task of reworking some suitably epic classics. The 12-minute original version of "Afro-Disco Beat", long considered one of the greatest Afrobeat workouts of all time, proudly stretches out across the A-side, allowing listeners to revel in Allen's extended drum breaks and Africa 70's rousing, horn-heavy instrumentation. Africaine 808 give the track a deliciously spacey, Moog-heavy makeover, combining Allen's playing and Africa 70's horns with vintage drum machine hits and outer-space effects. A brilliant package is completed by Mexican Sound Institute's similarly spacey, intergalactic interpretation of 1979 cut "African Message".

Review: Heroic Nigerian drummer Tony Allen put out this landmark album in 1984, but the sounds bare all the hallmarks of his best 70s material. The grooves are super chunky and many say the title track here is one of Allen's best ever tunes. It has a punchy hook and political sentiment that really resonates while the rest of the tunes are not too shabby either. There wired up with electronics next to the trumpets, drums and percussion and have a super cool Celluloid Electric Africa vibe as a result. A regal and dub version is included of that title track meaning this reissue won't hang around for long.

Review: Comet Records continue their Afrika 70 reissue series with more from the pioneering and visionary Tony Allen and The Afro Messengers. It focuses on his best material from the late 70s, remasters it all and presses it nice and loud. The No Discrimination LP is as relevant now as ever in terms of its messaging, and musically it also holds up. The lyrics are socio-politically charged. The drumming is tight as hell and though this marks Allen's first solo album away from Fela's band, it finds him in fine form as he takes afrobeat into the future.

Review: This remix magnificently crosses the afrobeat of Fela Kuti with the reggae tradition of Count Ossie.

Review: Theo Parrish and Tony Allen together on a record? What a combo! Fusing the souls of Detroit and Laos, the unlikely but neatly fitting duo has created two absolutely beautiful soul workouts here. "Day Like This" is a staccato soul roller with emphatic swooping drums, sultry washed-out vocals and big warm organs. "Feel Loved" is a jazzier, more upbeat affair. Again the drums sit at the very forefront of the mix while the rest of the rich, warm instrumentation fits in around them in a soft, dreamy state. The debut release on Theo's new Wildheart label, expect more goodies like this very very soon.