Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen Inspiration Information

Back in October 2009, Strut’s Inspiration Information series was in fullswing. Following an acclaimed collaboration between Mulatu Astatkeand The Heliocentrics, Finnish maverick Jimi Tenor hit the studio for amouth-watering head to head with Afrobeat drumming legend, TonyAllen. Tenor had already built a reputation as a fascinating enigma inmodern day music. Consistently one of the most inspired andunpredictable live artists around, his work since his breakthroughalbum ‘Intervision’ (Warp, 1997) had involved open-minded projectsranging from live film soundtracks and orchestral pieces to a series ofAfro-based albums with his band Kabu Kabu. Enjoying a burgeoningrevival, Tony Allen had continued to attract new fans. Celebrated asthe creator of the Afrobeat rhythm and a lynchpin of Fela Kuti’s Africa70 band, his work at the time of this recording had included the firstalbum as The Good, The Bad & The Queen with Damon Albarn and hisdebut recording for World Circuit Records, ‘Secret Agent’. Recorded at Lovelite Studios in Berlin during November 2008 withfurther sessions in Finland and Paris, the Tenor / Allen collaborationwhipped up a raw, heavy analogue sound mixing the full range ofAllen’s Afrobeat repertoire with Tenor’s off-kilter brew of dark humour,tongue-in-cheek lyrics and tight, firing musicianship. The sessionsinvolved key members of Tenor’s Kabu Kabu band and Berlin-basedguest MC Allonymous with tracks evolving naturally from jammingideas together over five intense days of recording, fuelled by plenty ofAfrican food and whisky. Tenor’s trademark range of home-madeinstruments rubbed shoulders with vintage keyboards and traditionalAfrican percussion.