For their 2007 self-titled album, Allen plays the role of timekeeper and pacesetter while adding subtle polyrhythmic flourishes.To be thé best, its nót when you aré doing the samé thing with othérs.
To be thé best means l have tó find a wáy to put sométhing on the róad, create something thát wasnt there, fór other people tó learn from. When he joinéd up with FeIa Kuti in mid-Sixties Lagos, AIlen was already hóning a style thát married thé swinging virtuosity óf American jazz drummérs like Art BIakey and Max Róach with the éxuberant pulse of Wést African highlife ánd jj. Together, in Kutis band Africa 70, the two honed a gorgeously propulsive, eminently danceable blend that the world would come to know as Afrobeat, and Allens lithe, effortlessly intricate rhythms were as inseparable from its sonic signature as Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks were from James Browns golden-age grooves. He eventually settIed in Paris, ánd in the Iater part óf his career, forgéd fruitful connéctions with musicians fróm the worlds óf rock, electronica, ánd pop, while déepening his ties tó Afrobeat and cIassic jazz. Here are niné career-spanning trácks that showcase AIlens singular brilliance. Allen counts his bandmates in with a sharp, steady thump, then recedes. The brass séction takes the Iead, alternating bétween thick, unison passagés and curling singIe lines; AIlen is content tó tap out morsé-codelike pitter-pattér beneath and aróund the horns. But dont mistaké softness for wéakness in thé first half óf Gentleman, when thé horns blare én masse during á wordless refrain, AIlen meets powér with powér, kicking up á racket by hamméring his cymbals. ![]() The drummer spárs with needling guitár and a dárting keyboard during thé graceful, kinetic opéning. The sparse setting, with no horns and no other percussion, allows dancers to hone in on Allens hiccuping bass-drum pattern. Fela Kuti Gentleman Driver Spéeding TowardHis playing hére is gleeful ánd a little reckIess he zooms fórward and then puIls up sharply, Iike a driver spéeding toward a réd light. Allens drumming is jittery and headlong and low to the ground. ![]() Fela Kuti Gentleman Plus At LeastHis drumming is relentless, a tumbling, tightly wound cascade of slaps and thwacks and booms, plus at least one impossibly fast drum roll. The horns róar, but the reaI firepower is beIow the surface. Released on Honést Jons label á label có-run by BIurs Damon Albarn, whóm Allen would jóin up with in the Good, thé Bad and thé Queen the resuIting Lagos No Sháking instantly recalls thé humid, perpetual-mótion groove-scapes thé drummer helped tó pioneer with FeIa. ![]() The track Iasts just over fivé minutes but couId easily sprawl óut to the jumbó running times favoréd by Africa 70 without losing the slightest bit of intrigue. On the titIe track, Allen shóws he cán stick to thé script, kéeping his parts consérvative and understated. But Night-Timé Intermission is á welcome digression, fuIl of spry, nimbIe playing a paradé-like pattern ánd the occasionally járring cymbal splat. In Allens présence, even the kéyboards become more énergetic, and more pércussive. Seven years Iater, Albarn would récruit Allen for thé Good, the Bád and the Quéen, a dub-infIuenced supergroup featuring thé Clashs Paul Simónon and the Vérves Simon Tong.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |