In 2016, Yannis Philippakis, Foals’ frontman, was coming off their tour for the 2015 album What Went Down. He investigated setting up studio time with legendary drummer Tony Allen to stretch his musical chops.
Percussionist Allen had been a multi-generational influence on the works of Fela Kuti, Sebastien Tellier, and Jeff Mills. Yannis and Allen met in Paris at a throwback 1970s studio to see if working together was feasible.
Going into the meeting, Yannis expected the outcome to be a recording of Afrobeat nostalgia. But some alchemy took place, with the jam sessions capturing songs filled with rock, funk, jazz, and dub influences. Two cultures would combine to create something uniquely separate from men’s other musical endeavours. The two, along with Allen’s regular collaborators, Vincent Taeger, percussion, Vincent Taurelle, keys, and Ludovic Bruni, bass, quickly came up with five nearly completed songs. Due to scheduling conflicts, COVID-19 and Allen passing away in April of 2020, it looked like the project would never see the light of day.
Philippakis felt a deep obligation to complete and release the songs. Work continued, and the result was Yannis and the Yaw, featuring Tony Allen’s release, Lagos Paris London. The EP is a labour of love released to honour Tony Allen and celebrate his life. It displays a combination of Pan-African influences and Foals’ signature sounds, all with, as Yannis puts it, “Tony acting as the percussive conductor at the heart of the Tornado.”
The opening track, “Walk Through Fire”, delivers an identifiable Foals guitar signature with exploding transcendent drums. The lyrics channel Fela Kuti’s fiery protest songs, this one, particularly about a metropolis in revolutionary strife—elements of funk seep through as Allen’s percussive skills are shown to a turn. “Rain Can’t Reach Us” opens more delicately, but the atmosphere remains dark as apocryphal observations are made. The track builds continually with horns punctuating a track based around an unfinished loop from “What Went Down”, delivering an anathematic offering.
The Bass work on “Night Green, Heavy Love” is worth the price of admission. The track was a one-take session. The song best represents the alchemy created by Philippakis and Allen. It is a lightning moment that cannot be replicated again. On the track, hypnotic sonics meld with gritty images and an ominous feeling that something evil is coming this way. The ending also contains a trademark Foals guitar riff.
“Under the Strikes” is what Yannis expected to create. The song contains vibrant rhythms and punchy brass that whirls around Allen’s loose-beat drumming. This dervish gets wilder, building to a crescendo of brass that finishes the track.
The final track, “Clementine,” is more romantic, adding piano and a Foals-often-used vocal layering technique. It was created after Allen had left the studio for the day. The song is filled with longing and nostalgia as it explores impermanence. The selection could be a cousin to Foals’ “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost.” The song is an apt conclusion to a serendipitous collaboration.
After Allen’s passing, Lagos Paris London was guided into creation by Taeger and Taurelle, assisting Philippakis. The EP aims to celebrate the man who helped inspire it, providing “A communion with the past that provides an escape in the present day.” It stands out as not another World music collaboration but instead, something that can stand on its own between the World music genre and Alternative rock genre. On the EP, there is much to love for Foals fans and to admire and learn from Tony Allen’s input. Lagos Paris London is an inspiring and alluring release, with its only drawback being the desire for more and knowing it is not to be.
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