«Thank you for making the world a more joyful, inspiring place.» Marking what would have been the late, great Tony Allen’s 81st birthday, Joan Wasser aka Joan As Police Woman expressed her utmost love and admiration for the legendary drummer and Afrobeat pioneer with a social media post yesterday. The sentiment was accompanied by a photo from November 2019 which also featured Dave Okumu of Mercury Prize-nominated band, The Invisible. The snap offers a glimpse into a special time shared by the trio during which they collaborated in a night-long improvisation session in a Parisian studio – the first results of which saw the light of day this past week. An impassioned call to arms, Take Me To Your Leader marked the announcement of The Solution Is Restless – a 10-track collection written and recorded by Wasser with Dave Okumu and Tony Allen, shortly before he sadly passed away. The album arrived on November 5th, 2021 via [PIAS] Recordings and believe it or not, this incredible line-up doesn’t stop there – special guests featured on the album include Meshell Ndegeocello, Cole Kamen-Green, Parker Kindred, and Damon Albarn, who Wasser credits for her introduction to Allen at the March 2019 Africa Express event, The Circus. Wasser recalls, «Tony and I played a version of Nina Simone’s I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free and decided to record together. I asked my old friend and fierce musician, Dave Okumu, to join from London, and that November, in a Parisian studio, we improvised all night.» Enjoy this gorgeous song!
This Is Pop? 