Frontman with one of Britain’s biggest modern rock bands, Yannis Philippakis recently launched Yannis & The Yaw – not so much a solo project, more of an experiment in collaboration. Dial back seven years and Yannis spent time writing songs with one of his heroes, the iconic drummer Tony Allen – godfather of Afrobeat and distinguished collaborator with everyone from Damon Albarn to Air to Fela Kuti. The result is a posthumous project – Allen died in 2020 – titled Lagos Paris London released in August 2024.

Yannis goes deep with me about his “cross generational” bond with Allen, and the other legendary artists he’d love write with for Yannis & The Yaw. Plus, he discusses the evolving future of his band Foals, chats about his passion for gardening and why he’s writing music for some contemporary theatre productions.

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