(World Circuit/Fuse Music Group)

Superb new album from Afrobeat pioneer

Younger audiences will be familiar with Tony Allen as drummer with Damon Albarn side-project The Good, The Bad & The Queen. However, his true musical legacy is the 15 years he spent as drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti’s seminal Nigerian band The Africa 70. With this outfit, Allen basically invented Afrobeat, by blending traditional Nigerian rhythms with soul, funk and jazz influences. This legacy is vividly captured on his new album Secret Agent, an excellent record that presents many of the rhythms and harmonics of classic Fela Kuti albums such as Open & Close. However, like the new Lee Fields effort, Allen isn’t content to merely replicate old sounds. For example, Ijo boasts superb interplay between Cameroonian guitarist Claude Dibongue and subtle touches of electronica, all driven by Allen’s trademark shuffling Afrobeat rhythms. In addition, the appearance of vocalist Oribiyi Adunni a.k.a. AYO adds a contemporary R&B edge to the album. The man himself murmurs lead vocals on the record’s first and last tunes, the wah-wah laden title track and the more leisurely groove of Elewon Po (though the latter tune’s summer vibe is brought down to earth with its “too many prisoners” refrain, illustrating Allen’s links with Fela’s fiery political activism). But ultimately, Secret Agent is a good-time album, effortlessly melding Allen’s highlife roots with African funk and Western soul influences. It also displays Allen’s blend of technical virtuosity and modesty – there are no drum solos on Secret Agent, but his shuffling beats form the backbone from which every other instrument flows. It’s a truly organic record.

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MATT THROWER

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