(Very) short intro to Tony Allen‘s album “Film of Life”
“For his tenth album [‘Film Of Life’ in 2014], the human metronome of afrobeat has pulled out all the stops.“
At his side are The Jazzbastards, a trio of producers at the cutting edge of contemporary sound, and fellow world-class musicians, including Damon Albarn, who continues to build pioneering bridges between Africa and today’s music scene. Tony Allen has given us an album equal to his legendary reputation, an overview of his rich and exemplary career that brings together bebop, afrobeat jazz and psychedelic pop. For the wizard of Lagos, who has always thought of his drums “as an orchestra” and who likes “to make them sing”, Film of Life marks the pinnacle of his achievement
“[…] the poignant ballad ‘Go Back’ was written with Damon Albarn, who features on vocals and keyboards. Set to a sensual and hypnotic beat, the two musicians have created a homage to the African refugees who ended up on the Italian island of Lampedusa. This is a dazzling new masterpiece to add to the collective adventures of the brilliant English jack-of-all-trades and the cult Nigerian drummer […]”