Foals frontman and guitarist Yannis Philippakis has announced a new collaborative EP with Tony Allen, the late drummer who played extensively with Fela Kuti, under the name Yannis & the Yaw. He also shared the EP's lead single, “Walk Through Fire.”
Landing on August 31, the Lagos Paris London with Tony Allen The Foals frontman has been working on the EP for over eight years. Philippakis first worked with Tony Allen in Paris in 2016 and began collaborating with the Nigerian afrobeat pioneer, as well as multi-instrumentalists Vincent Taeger, Vincent Taurelle and Ludovic Bruni.
According to Philippakis, the two-day sessions culminated in an unfinished EP, and they occasionally regrouped to finish over the next four years until COVID isolated both he and Allen. Sadly, Allen passed away in April 2020, and Philippakis felt a responsibility to take the EP to the finish line: “It was imperative to finish it in a way I've never felt with another record,” Philippakis said in a press release.
“There was a deep duty to do it, to finish it as best as possible and to pay tribute to it by publishing it. Watching some of the drum takes was a moving experience because those recordings were some of the last pieces of music he worked on. There is a timeless quality to these drum tracks and you feel a continuity of their life and energy through them. “I wanted people to hear this and it's nice to be able to do it for him, but of course it's a little bittersweet.”
The singer-songwriter has shared the first single from the EP, the blues-tinged “Walk Through Fire.” The song retains much of the syncopated, guitar-based expressiveness that Philippakis is known for on Foals, but Allen offsets the pace with restless snare hits and fractured, sliding work behind the kit. The song's relentless energy is perfected by Philippakis, who howls Allen and his collaborators with soul and spirit. He stream the song below.
He Lagos Paris London with Tony Allen EP is Philippakis' first solo effort as Yannis & the Yaw. The singer, songwriter and guitarist plans to revisit the name for more collaborative projects in the future. Meanwhile, Foals wrapped up their 2022 promotional tour. life is yours last year; Check out our interview with Philippakis conducted ahead of the album's release.
Meanwhile, Tony Allen's posthumous album There is no end arrived in 2021 to honor the late musician and featured contributions from Damon Albarn, Sampa the Great, Danny Brown and Skepta.
Lagos Paris London with Tony Allen Illustrations from the EP:
Lagos Paris London with Tony Allen EP track listing:
01. Walk through fire
02. The rain can't reach us
03. Night green, heavy love
04. Under the strikes
05. clementine
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