National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Following the sleeper success of last year's Inspiration Information album, which teamed Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke with , Strut records introduces the fourth installment of this innovative series with a pairing of Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen and electic Finnish flutist Jimi Tenor. The album will be released October 13th.

Jimi Tenor remains a fascinating enigma in contemporary music. Consistently one of the best and most unpredictable live artists aound, his work since his 1997 breakthrough album Intervision has involved open-minded projects ranging from film soundtracks and orchestral pieces to a series of Afro-based albums with his band Kabu Kabu. Tony Allen continues to attract new fans as one of the greatest drummers alive today. Celebrated as the creator of the Afrobeat rhythm and a lynchpin of Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band, his recent work has included The Good, The Bad & The Queen collaboration with Damon Albarn and his first album for World Circuit Records released earlier this year, Secret Agent.

Recorded at Lovelite Studios in Berlin during November 2008 with further sessions this year in Finland and Paris, the Tenor / Allen collaboration whips up a raw, heavy analogue sound mixing the full range of Allen's Afrobeat repertoire with Tenor's off-kilter brew of dark humour, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and tight, firing musicianship. The sessions involved key members of Tenor's Kabu Kabu band and Berlin-based guest MC Allonymous with tracks evolving from jamming ideas together over five intense days of recording, fuelled by plenty of African food and whisky. Tenor's trademark range of home-made instruments rub shoulders with vintage keyboards and traditional African percussion.

The resulting set is one of the best recordings that both artists have produced in recent years. Tracks range from Jimi's S&M tableau, 'Darker Side of Night' to apocalyptic commentary on our times, 'Path To Wisdom' and the hilarious lampooning of the UK immigration system, 'Mama England', composed on the Tenor tour bus. The album also features fusions based around traditional Afrobeat structures ('Sinuhe', 'Got My Egusi') and ends with the extended freestyle builder, 'Three Continents', a life affirming, mesmeric groove built around another belting Allenko rhythm base.