Yannis & The Yaw: Lagos Paris London
Vinyl | CD | DL
Out Now
The late, great drummer Tony Allen collaborated with Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis on his first extended solo release under Yannis & The Yaw, Lagos Paris London.
Allen is credited with being one of the founders of the Afrobeat genre, collaborating with Fela Kuti, as well as with pop artists like Damon Albarn. Lagos-born Allen died in April 2020 in Paris, aged 79. Philippakis had a couple of recording sessions with legendary drummer in Paris, before covid restrictions and Allen’s eventual passing left them unfinished.
The singer completed the project resulting in the release of the Lagos Paris London EP under the name Yannis & The Yaw. The EP comprises of five tracks, and captures some of Foals’ trademark catchy melodies and thumping guitars, this coupled with Allen’s inimitable drumming style make for a compelling listen.
Lagos Paris London’s inaugural track Walk Through Fire is the pick of the bunch.
Beginning with high notes and the chime of Philippakis’ guitar, it evolves into the blissful blunt chords that his songs are known for, a candy-laced boxing glove to the face.
In his usual arty, arrogant yet emotionally vulnerable style, Yannis’ lyrics too pack a punch: “You stand your ground with the powers that be. Don’t flee under fire for all to see.”
Rain Can’t Reach Us is also a must-listen, given the context of the record, they make for an eerie listen: “Time will tell if white horses/ In the sky will come/ Take our eyes/ Black tornadoes in the night.” On the song, Philippakis said: “We actually referred to Rain Can’t Reach Us as The Tornado for a long time because it feels like a gale blowing through your house and it’s just so special to hear Tony at the heart of that. There’s a chance it could have become a Foals track, but sharing that idea with Tony made it become this other thing.
“I think that’s really exciting, it’s like putting in random coordinates, getting in your car and driving and not knowing where you’re going to show up. You could arrive anywhere.
“It’s my favourite song on the EP.”
Lagos Paris London is available on vinyl, CD and streaming on Transgressive Records.
On the album, Phlippakis said: “Making music with somebody, and then death happening, and being in proximity to mortality, but having this record at the end of it, it’s been an important experience for me. “Understanding the power of meeting somebody and making something, those serendipitous encounters, meaningful ones where you make something are to be treasured and cherished, because, in many ways, that’s all that’s left at the end.”
Yannis & The Yaw are going on tour (dates below), the line-up is as follows: Vincent Taurelle (keys), Vincent Taeger (drums), Dave Okumu (guitar), Seye Adelekan (bass) & Kit Monteith (percussion).
Sat 7 Sep- Crammerock, Stekene, Belgium,
Tue 10 Sep- Paradiso, Amesterdam, Netherlands,
Wed 11 Sep- L’Alhambra, Paris, France,
Fri 13 Sep- Koko, London, United Kingdom (sold out).
You can find Yannis & The Yaw online here: yannisandtheyaw.com.
Words by Luke Birch. More from Luke can be found over at his Louder Than War Author Archive, his Muckrack and on Twitter @LukeBSport.
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