Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Afro-Beat: Fela Kuti and Tony Allen



I have listened to a combination of both Tony Allen and Fela Kuti. One song that stood out to me was “Every Season” by Tony Allen with vocals by Damon Albarn. The song focuses heavily on Allen’s drum rhythms, which follows a difficult time signature. Most of Tony Allen’s music sounds like pop music with a groove influence. It uses a variety of different instruments found in modern rock and found in traditional African music. 
Fela Kuti’s well-known song “Zombie” also stood out to me. It uses a variety of different instruments to carry the melody and rhythm of the song. The singing is also reminiscent of traditional African chanting. “Viva Nigeria” is a song with a good message that uses spoken word along with danceable music in order to influence peace. I noticed that a lot of Afro-beat music influences peace and moral issues along with the happy and uplifting tone of the music. African music has definitely grown as a huge interest of mine after listening to Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.

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