The Foals frontman and late Afrobeat pioneer’s Lagos Paris London releases in August.
Yannis Philippakis has announced the release of a long-rumoured collaborative EP with late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen.
The seeds of the Foals frontman’s collaboration with Allen were sewn in 2016 when Philippakis states that he met the famed Fela Kuti drummer for an impromptu two-day studio session devised by a peer and held in Paris. Releasing through Transgressive Records under the guise of Yannis & The Yaw in August, further contributors to the EP’s sessions included Paris-based instrumentalists Ludovic Bruni, Vincent Taeger and Vincent Taurelle whilst David Wrench subsequently helmed mixing duties and London-based painter Barka – whose résumé includes past collaboration with Yussef Dayes – provided an illustration to adorn the project’s cover.
The newly announced project builds upon a string of collaborative releases featuring Allen to materialise in recent years, following on from works with seminal South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela and American multi-instrumentalist and Jazz Is Dead orchestrator Adrian Younge.
Philippakis previously shared of his collaboration with Allen,
“The lyrics are slightly different and slightly more political. They’re less introspective and have more of a social edge. I was walking to studio in Paris through trash-filled streets due to the strikes, so some of that crept in. I don’t want to give too much away. I want it to be a document of the time that we were together in Paris and for it to be faithful to this Parisian band with Tony as the drummer.”
Propelled by a vibrant syncopated groove both typical of Allen and reminiscent of Foals’ Afrobeat-informed early years, hear lead single ‘Walk Through Fire’ in advance and view the track list for Lagos Paris London below.
Lagos Paris London
1 ‘Walk Through Fire’
2 ‘Rain Can’t Reach Us’
3 ‘Night Green, Heavy Love’
4 ‘Under The Strikes’
5 ‘Clementine’
Lagos Paris London releases on August 30th via Transgressive Records. Pre-order the album on vinyl here.
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
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Fruit and Grooves Collective 