Yannis & The Yaw at Koko

Until his death in 2020, admiration for Tony Allen was something of a badge of honour for British musicians who wanted to move towards the more esoteric. Brian Eno reveres him, and his collaborations with Damon Albarn helped the Blur frontman continue to spin off in a very different direction to his Britpop peers.

So who is Tony Allen? He’s the genius drummer who developed Afrobeat alongside Fela Kuti, who before his death teamed up with Foals’s frontman Yannis Philippakis on a newly released EP titled Lagos Paris London.

Recorded and performed, the latter now sadly without Allen, under the name Yannis & The Yaw, Lagos Paris London combines Philippakis’s characteristic throaty power with the Afrobeat with which Allen made his name.

Like Albarn’s work with the late drummer, it’s a joy because the sounds combine so well to create songs that borrow from both men’s regular work. It’s musical fusion cuisine. At Camden’s recently restored indie cathedral, Koko, seeing it played live is a fulfilling musical meal.

Philippakis opens with the more deliberative Night Green, Heavy Love. It’s a track with hints of post-OK Computer Radiohead that serves as a nice introduction, before Walk Through Fire and Under the Strikes truly showcases what the Yannis & The Yaw project is about.

The former is probably the standout number they play – drawing us perfectly in with a marching beat, before truly unleashing Philippakis’s mournful but full-bodied vocals. The latter is a funky slice of Afrobeat set off by a drifting falsetto. 

A cover of Allen’s Afro Disco Beat is an enjoyable interlude, before Philippakis and his band launch into Clementine, a more melancholic rumination on the desire to find love that nonetheless has the same hints of Africa, with its brass and prominent bassline.

It would be the perfect closer, but Philippakis does have one more track up is sleeve before we head off – the epic Rain Can’t Reach Us. It’s a song that starts off with an intro where the keys and percussion bring to mind droplets in a rainforest, before heavy guitar takes us to a place that will be more familiar to Foals fans. 

It’s not a criticism, but watching Yannis & The Yaw is not like a traditional gig with its high points structured around hits, rather something that all flows into one. You can tell it’s a musician showcasing a labour of love, rather than hitting the road to feed fans.

That won’t be for everyone – but if you’re a huge fan of Foals or like Afrobeat and other British musicians’ experiments with it, then it’s both fascinating and fulfilling to see.

Mark Worgan
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Yannis & The Yaw’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Rain Can’t Reach Us here: