Tony Allen Film Of Life (2014)

For his tenth album, the human metronome of afrobeat has pulled out all the stops. At his side are The Jazzbastards, a trio of producers at the cutting edge of contemporary sound, and fellow world-class musicians, including Damon Albarn, who continues to build pioneering bridges between Africa and today’s music scene. Tony Allen has given us an album that has the ring of a true self-portrait, an overview of his rich and exemplary career that brings together bebop, afrobeat jazz and psychedelic pop. For the wizard of Lagos, who has always thought of his drums “as an orchestra” and who likes “to make them sing”, Film of Life marks the pinnacle of his achievement.

The drummer and unofficial music director of the late Fela Kuti's band, Africa 70, from 1968 until 1979, Tony Allen (born Tony Oladipo Allen) helped create the sounds of Afro-beat. With his solo recordings, however, Allen has refused to remain stagnant, incorporating dub and avant-garde hip-hop influences into his modern African dance music.

"Suddenly" is the 5th studio album by British recording artist Billy Ocean, released in 1984. It featured his first major U.S. pop hit single "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart. Prior to that, his biggest success in the U.S. charts had been a #22 placing for "Love Really Hurts Without You" in 1976, which was one of a number of British hits he had achieved by the release of this album.