Film of Life
A musical autobiography, produced by the Jazzbastards in France.
Tony Allen, 2014
PopMatters dates the release to October 14, 2014, and MusicBrainz to October 20. Producers are said to be the Jazzbastards, a French trio, though we could not confirm the names, and Songlines says it was recorded at Allen's Paris studio. Allen told Afropop in 2017 that I tell stories through my music, and that he did not want to sing on it because that is where he wanted to start getting jazzy. Damon Albarn is on "Go Back" and "Tiger's Skip", and Adunni and Nefertiti and Kuku appear on "Ire Omo" and "Tony Wood".
PopMatters gave it 8 of 10, Songlines 4 of 5 and called it his strongest 21st century album, and Afropop's Steve Hochman said it sparkles and crackles with unexpected combinations of styles and sounds.
Track listing
- Moving On6:41
- Boat Journey4:46
- Tiger's Skip3:52
- Ewa4:11
- Afro KungFu Beat6:10
- Koko Dance6:39
- Go Back5:37
- Ire Omo5:06
- African Man5:03
- Tony Wood6:05
More from Tony Allen
Afrobeat Express (1989), Black Voices (1999), HomeCooking (2002), Lagos No Shaking (2006), Secret Agent (2009), Black Voices Revisited (2010), The Source (2017), There Is No End (2021)
Sources
- Tony Allen, Film of Life, PopMatters (2014-11-05)
- Film of Life, Songlines
- Mind the band: Tony Allen, Afropop Worldwide (2017)