I haven't linked my posts to the losses of music giants that happened during the current crisis, such as Manu Dibango, Christophe... I'll do today, although in a diverted manner.
Tony Allen died yesterday. Considered by many as the best drummer anyone can remember of, he shaped the sound of afrobeat, and therefore contributed to the sound we're used to nowadays, from Africa of course, but also in electronic music, hip-hop etc. As legendary as he was, he's been sticks for hire for decades. He brought his incredible skills to many albums, especially for European and American stars of the music industry.
Two weeks ago, I read an article from Radio Nova about Sébastien Tellier's song "La ritournelle", on which Allen plays the drums (Edit : Sébastien Tellier and Record Makers generously shared Tony Allen's drum solo track as a .wav file). The article describes how a shy Tellier asked this iconic drummer how he wanted him to play the drums under his hypnotizing piano melody.
It wasn't the last collaboration between the two. Allen circled back in 2013, playing drums on Tellier's album "Confection".
I've loved some of Sébastien Tellier's music as soon as I heard his music in "Lost in translation", Sofia Coppola's movie. There's nothing original here, I guess a lot of people discovered Tellier that way. Then I dug. The "Narco" soundtrack. The "Politics" album. "L'étrange vérité". I had to own those. I failed, and still to this day, for "Politics".
So, 2013. "Confection" was marketed as the soundtrack to an imaginary movie. Word on the street says something different ; it was actually a soundtrack to a movie, that was rejected. For those who don't know, it actually happens a lot in the movie and music industry. I remember music blogs back in the first half of the 2000's which used to post many rejected scores and soundtracks, from outstanding composers. Good ol' days.
Nonetheless, despite this background story, the album is everything you would expect from a post-Ritournelle Sébastien Tellier, a style he diverted from in the meantime. The album sounds like it comes from the same recording session, or the same era, revolving around the same harmonies, atmosphere, vibes and mythology. The fact that the same team was used on "La ritournelle" and seven years later for the "Confection" album has everything to do with that feeling : Zdar (RIP) on the mix, Tony Allen (RIP) on drums, Phoenix's Rob on synths, Emmanuel d'Orlando on arrangements.
The sound is soft, rich, enveloping, highly musical a reminiscence of François de Roubaix. A true marvellous romance, with Tellier avoiding the microphone, except for one track, the Ritournelle-ish single "L'amour naissant", which isn't even the best song of the album.
Here's the album, on Bandcamp.
Sébastien Tellier's new album, "Domesticated", is due right after the crisis is over. Concerts will follow.
Anyway, the point was : RIP Tony Allen.
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