Afrobeat legend Tony Allen died in the spring of 2020 at the age of 79. The year before, the legendary drummer wrote and produced all the beats for a newly announced album: There Is No End will be released on April 30, the anniversary of Allen’s death via Blue Note.
There Is No End was produced by Allen, Vincent Taeger and Vincent Taurelle. The 14-track LP features guest voices from Danny Brown, Sampa the Great, Lava La Rue and others. Today Blue Note released the lead single “Cosmosis” (with Skepta and Ben Okiri), which is jointly produced by Allen, Damon Albarn and Remi Kabaka. Okri’s lyrics were written in honor of everyone. Listen to the song below and scroll down to see the album art and track list.
In a press release, Vincent Taeger said Allen was “a teacher without speaking … a drummer and a guardian, with a great artistic vision, and that vision filled the songs even after he left us.”
Ben Okri added:
This man could have lived another 150 years and created new worlds over and over again. He had become the master shaman of his art. He knew himself and his thoughts. He wanted the album to be open to the energies of a new generation … but like a great mathematician or scientist who found code to a new world in just a few hits, he created this extraordinary canvas.
About a month before his death, Allen released Rejoice, his joint album with Hugh Masekela. One month after Allen’s death, Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz shared the Allen collaboration “How Far?”, Which also featured Skepta.
Read on the course “Where should I start with Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, one of the greatest drummers of all time?”
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Tony Allen: There is no end
There is no end::
01 Tony’s Prelude
02 stumble [ft. Sampa the Great]
03 Crushed grapes [ft. Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon]
04 Very great [ft. Tsunami]
05 do you want [ft. Mah Eeto]
06 Coonta Kinte [ft. ZeeloperZ]
07 Rich Black [ft. The Koreatown Oddity]
08 One Inna Million [ft. Lava La Rue]
09 Gang on vacation (Em I Go We?) [ft. Jeremiah Jae]
10 deer in the spotlight [ft. Danny Brown]
11 hurt your soul [ft. Nate Bone]
12 My own [ft. Marlowe]
13 cosmosis [ft. Ben Okri and Skepta]
14 There is no end
