Tony Allen
The 50 Best Live Albums of the 1970s
The concert industry exploded in the 1970s, and the live album, a stopgap project once reserved for only the biggest artists, became a compulsory ritual and a pivotal moment for many artists. Live albums captured legendarily loud bands like The Who and The Ramones in their natural element. Once obscure regional acts like Bob Seger, KISS and Cheap Trick exploded into the mainstream with live albums. The Band, The Stooges, and Velvet Underground put their final gigs on vinyl. Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young (as his ongoing archive series shows), and Jackson Browne recorded entire sets of new songs onstage. The Grateful Dead released several official live albums (and continue to do so) that only made fans want to bootleg shows on their own more. With the 50th anniversary of a landmark live album, Th...
Gorillaz Reveal Feature-Filled Tracklist for “Song Machine” Project with Elton John, Beck, More
Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett‘s eclectic animated brainchild Gorillaz have been dominating airwaves for two decades. With timeless classics like “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc.,” the Gorillaz name has become associated with subverting expectations and wowing with ever-changing style and monumental features. Gorillaz have now announced a new project (not to be referred to as an album), Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez, which is chock full of incredible features and set to expand on the already iconic Gorillaz legacy. The tracklist boasts some truly legendary names featured on this next batch of Gorillaz tunes, including Elton John, Beck, ScHoolboy Q, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, Skepta, an...
Afrobeat Legend Tony Allen to be Honored with Posthumous AIM Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music
Nigerian Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, who tragically passed away in April 2020, will be posthumously honored with the Outstanding Contribution to Music award from the Association of Independent Music (AIM). The AIM Independent Music Awards, which is entering its 10th year, will announce its winners in a virtual ceremony on August 12th, 2020. Born in Lagos in 1940, Allen rose to prominence as the drummer and creative director of fellow Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti‘s band Africa 70, recording 30 albums with his Nigerian compatriot over the years. Allen, a self-taught musician who singlehandedly revolutionized the art of drumming, was once referred to as “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived” by iconic English musician Brian Eno. The impact that Allen&#...
