Tony Allen, and the power of self-teaching.
Rest in Percussion.
On April 30th 2020, the pioneering drummer, Tony Allen sadly passed away in Paris aged 79. Allen, alongside Fela Kuti, co-founded the melodic, transcendent Afrobeat sound.
Afrobeat is a sound that is synonymous with home, with being Nigerian. At family parties, on Sunday afternoons after church, it was drum patterns created by Allen that my family would intermittently dance, sing and eat to. It is now a sound you will hear playing in many more homes, with a new resurgence led by Nigerian artists Wizkid, Burna Boy, and more. For the uninitiated, Drake’s ‘’One Dance’’ which features Wizkid, is probably the most popular example of the genre. In October 2016, One Dance became the most played song on Spotify, with over one billion streams.
The joyous, feel-good, yet complex and layered sound that Afrobeat inspires is in many ways a result of Nigerian culture, but also of Allen’s musical ingenuity. Fela once said ‘’without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat’’. Allen’s sponge-like musicality enabled him to absorb influences from jazz, funk and local Nigerian styles into the underscore which provided the perfect backdrop for the maverick talents of Fela.
Allen taught himself to play the drums at the age of 18, driven by a love of modern jazz and inspired by the likes of Charlie Parker. While working as a freelance musician in 1960’s, post-independence Lagos, Allen would be asked to play Latin music, highlife, Jazz, at the behest of whoever was paying. Learning this, I began to think. We’re living in a time where entrepreneurship is championed, in an era of the self > institution. Now, imagine if Tony Allen had been offered a full-ride scholarship to Julliard at 18 for example — would he become the genre-shifting, daring musician that he was? Would the stratified nature of higher education and the tyranny of structural biases limit his creative expression? It most likely would have. Allen is regarded by many as the greatest drummer of all time. Yet the greatness Allen achieved derives from the curriculum he himself created.
The great power of self-teaching is perhaps being in a never-ending flow state of learning. Always extending your experience, stretching your parameters, never bound by them. Had Allen been a Julliard student, he would’ve likely hit a similar level of musical accomplishment, but the incredible cultural legacy he’s left behind would be diminished. The legacy that reshaped genres, with Allen veering into electro and UK dub music in the mid-noughties. The legacy that created collaborations with Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Charlotte Gainsbourg and most enduringly — Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz.
Self-taught artists/creative/professionals tend to achieve a level of mastery and reverence that is unique. The famously self-taught Japanese architect Tadao Ando is regarded as a master. The late architect-turned-fashion designer Virgil Abloh reached a similar status with the variety of his creative outputs.
Look at Erin Brokovich for example, the true story of a single mother who learnt legal process became her own defence, fought a massive corporation and won the case. A legend — who has an Academy Award-winning biopic.
I think that grafty, hustlers mentality from being self-taught creates an edge in style and skill that a degree or formal education cannot provide. Julliard is a top school with a heritage that could benefit any musician. But, there are some talents destined to beat to the rhythm of their own drums. The journey of the self-taught is inherently linked to one’s growth as a person. Which instantly makes the opportunity for improvement, limitless.
With almost two months in lockdown, this could be a great period for self-teaching. Of course, there are bigger fish to fry than learning how to produce beats. But, if you do want to expand your skillset, to grow and develop yourself, now is the time. Your goals are there for the taking.
Tony Allen said his aim was to ‘’make my drums sing and turn them into an orchestra.’’ Sing they did. Orchestral, they were.
So, what will your drums do?