The rhythmic agility that changed everything
Afrobeat is a worldwide movement. With its roots in Nigeria and picking up influences from jazz and highlife, it has gone on to influence and permeate those genres it was once influenced by as well as funk, hip hop, R&B, pop, and so many more. Brian Eno and David Byrne, for example, both heavily credit Tony Allen and Fela Kuti as influences.
Revered Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen is known for introducing a rhythmic fluidity and agility to musicians who followed. According to Wikipedia, “In 1964, Fela Kuti invited Allen to audition for a jazz-highlife band he was forming. Kuti complimented Allen's unique sound: "How come you are the only guy in Nigeria who plays like this – jazz and highlife?" Thus Allen became an original member of Kuti's "Koola Lobitos" highlife-jazz band. In 1969, following a turbulent and educational trip to the United States, Kuti and the newly renamed Africa '70 band developed a new militant African sound, mixing the heavy groove and universal appeal of soul with jazz, highlife, and the polyrhythmic template of Yoruba conventions. Allen developed a novel style to complement Kuti's new African groove that blended these disparate genres.”
“Allen recounts how he and Kuti wrote in 1970: ‘Fela used to write out the parts for all the musicians in the band (Africa '70). I was the only one who originated the music I played. Fela would ask what type of rhythm I wanted to play. You can tell a good drummer because we have four limbs and they are playing different things the patterns don't just come from Yoruba [but] other parts of Nigeria and Africa.’"
Modern musicians have gone on to apply elements of Afrobeat to their music throughout the past several decades. Lively, soulful, and uplifting, there really are no other sounds like these.
These sounds were recorded on a Bock 47 through great river preamp at the front of the drum kit, on an Electro Voice Re20 on the floor tom, a Sennheiser 421 on rack tom, AKG C414s as overheads, a Shure sm7 on snare, AKG C3000 under the snare, and a Shure sm57 on the high hat.
