Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis has announced a new EP featuring music he recorded with the late drummer Tony Allen.
The four-track record, 'Lagos Paris London', will be released under the name Yannis & The Yaw on August 30 through Transgressive.
The pair began recording material in 2017 in Paris, though scheduling conflicts prevented the songs from being completed. Allen, who played in Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti's band, passed away in April 2020, which motivated Philippakis to finish the EP.
It'll feature the spirited lead single Walk Through Fire, which offers the Nigerian Afrobeats pioneers' unique, skittering percussion and Philippakis' instantly recognisable vocals and rhythmic guitar work. Multi-instrumentalists Vincent Taeger, Vincent Taurelle, and Ludovic Bruni also feature on the project. Philippakis said:
"There was an imperative to finish it in a way that I had never felt with another record. There was a deep duty to do it, to finish it as well as possible, and to pay respect to him by getting it out there. Going through some of the drum takes was a moving experience because those recordings were some of the last pieces of music he ever worked on. There’s an eternal quality to these drum tracks, and you feel a continuity of his life and energy through them. He wanted people to hear this, and it’s good to be able to do it for him — but of course it’s slightly bittersweet."
Foals' most recent album is 2022's 'Life Is Yours'.
'Lagos Paris London' tracklist:
1. Walk Through Fire
2. Rain Can’t Reach Us
3. Night Green, Heavy Love
4. Under The Strikes
5. Clementine
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