"Walk Through Fire" - Yannis & the Yaw (feat. Tony Allen)

It’s the drums. This song is listed as Yannis & the Yaw featuring Tony Allen, but after listening to the drums, I think we can agree this song is actually Tony Allen featuring Yannis & the Yaw. Tony Allen’s percussion pulls what would have been a fine song into something more transcendent. I’m not going to pretend that I fully know and appreciate Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, or his work with Fela Kuti. Or that I know that much about Yannis, who is also of the band Foals. But set that all aside, and just listen to the drums on “Walk Through Fire.”

It’s times like this that I wish I was a musician. That I wish I could provide color commentary to what is going on in this song. To understand what is happening and have the vocabulary to describe it other than “he drum good.” I don’t know if there’s just one drum track going on or a thousand. Tony Allen could have had eight arms for all I know, or there could be two of him performing here. After listening to this song and trying to figure out what is happening with the beat, I would say any of the above is possible.

As transcendent as these drums feel, I do know that Tony Allen did not play them from beyond the grave. Mr. Allen died in 2020, but had recorded this and other tracks with Yannis prior to his death. There’s always the risk of exploitation with something like this. The dead can’t complain about what you do with their work. Wherever he is, I hope Tony Allen loves the end result. I think it’s great, and that’s a drum I’ll happily beat.

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Class of ‘90 rulez.