The Paper Wave Radio Show – Tony Allen Special

We were absolutely gutted to hear about Tony Allen’s passing. Ben Davis wrote a lovely post post (see below) and dedicated a Paper Wave Radio Show to him. There are interviews, his influences, knockout music and the finest drumming the world has ever heard.

It was with a heavy heart that I learned of Tony Allen‘s passing. He has long been one of my musical heroes and its interesting how upset you can feel about somebody you never met. As I write this, I’m looking at a picture of him right next to my desk that has been up for many years as a creative and musical guiding light. Only this morning his brilliant new album dropped through my letterbox.

We approached his management to make a film of his life four years ago and shook hands on it in Paris, which was one of the most exciting days of my life. Unfortunately it never happened but as we developed and researched the project, my admiration for him just kept growing. How many people can claim to have invented a musical genre?

Through post-colonial Africa, Fela, lost years in Europe and the late blooming of creativity pushing musical boundaries, it is an incredible life and career. Just in the last 5 years he has been involved in projects that touched on techno, dub, jazz, hip hop (the list goes on) and all alchemised by his afromagic. I managed to see him live a couple of times and he blew me away on each occasion. Read “Tony Allen : An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat” for the whole, incredible story.

He will be looked back on, rightly as one of the greats.
A huge loss for music.
RIP Tony Allen

Ben Davis

Stevie Wonder vs. 2 Billion Beats – FREE DOWNLOAD

To celebrate Stevie’s 70th birthday, 2 Billion Beats took him in to the lab and this piece of magic is the result. 7 minutes of dancefloor heaven.

 

 

Paper Recommends – Swimming

Paper Vision have just started filming a new documentary on the Yorkshire wild swimming spot, Gaddings Dam. We have come across some brilliant stuff whilst researching it so here are two shorts that we especially loved.
Follow the production on @papervisionfilms
 

10 Meter Tower

It couldn’t be simpler, put people at the top of a 30 metre diving board and film them. The result is brilliant as they all confront their fear and overcome it…or not.
My Big White Thighs & Me
Our film will be a large part about mental health and people using outdoor swimming to help manage it. This is a wonderful short film as a woman overcomes negative body image, a miscarriage and her mental health through cold water. Funny, inspiring and moving in equal measure.