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KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter. -
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Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage. -
Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa. -
Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more -
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Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion. -
Sia Tolno: My Life
Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph. -
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Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit. -
Tinariwen: Tassili
Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud. -
Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
Oakland/Panamanian rappers -call it "Panabay"-- return with good results. -
Cheikh Lo: Jamm
The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record. -
David Rudder: Random Notes
Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.
The reinvention of this former Afrika 70 musical director has taken numerous directions. Tony Allen remains one of the most trusted and respected names in drumming, with roots in American jazz in 1964, African highlife a few years later and, eventually, the music of James Brown and Max Roach while touring with Fela Kuti in the ‘70s. He stayed with Fela until 1979, yet even during that time, he was cutting his own records, like 1975’s Progress. So while Allen’s name is virtually synonymous with Afrobeat, experimenting was always in the cards.
Allen worked with Manu Dibango in the ‘80s and moved on to electronica a decade later, culminating with 2002’s Home Cooking. That last record channeled his love for R&B and hip-hop, and while it had its moments, it lacked his trustworthy bite. Allen has also done a lot of side work, including playing on Susheela Raman’s excellent Love Trap. Perhaps it was the rerelease of Allen’s early recordings in the wake of Fela’s death that inspired his own return to Lagos to record the inspiring Lagos No Shaking. Whatever turned Allen back toward his heyday, it was a blessing.
While every artist reserves the right to reinvent their creations, returning to fundamentals can prove evolutionary in itself. The 11 tracks on Lagos are brilliant throwbacks to the Fela era, albeit written in the more accustomed five-minute format. Yet you wish one or two would extend to those 20-minute explorations – the grooves are deep enough to hold such weight. Allen is a true master of rhythm, finding a pocket few in our time can maintain. Everything is simply right on this album: the production meshing congas with Allen’s sturdy kit, the revolving vocalists, horn lines and seductive bass tones. Nothing is out of place.
Allen has not forgotten his mission by any means; he merely lays a new foundation for the music he loves. Guests include the 76 year-old palm wine singer and thumb pianist Fatai Rolling Dollar and Yoruba singer Yinka Davies, as well as a great, old school horn section pulled into the mix. Inside these classics younger vocalists such as Omololu Ogunleye and Muritala Adisa bring youthful vibrancy. Allen keeps the joyous aspects of song alive, as on the upbeat “One Tree,” and fuels his penchant for R&B with the sensual “Losun.” The closing drum/flute jam, “Gdebu,” reminds the listener Allen has in no way lost sight of African music’s original infrastructure: indigenous ritual music. The entire Lagos No Shaking is a tribal record for modern warriors, with Allen still leading the charge.
Contributed by Derek Beres for www.afropop.org
