HVW8 + Tony Allen - Love Is A Natural Thing

This past Sunday we were privileged to have Tyler Gibney, one third of HVW8, come up to Idyllwild Arts to do a live painting and speak about the work that he and his collective have done over the course of the past ten years. Tyler had just finished installing and opening the Kevin Lyons exhibition at his gallery just off Melrose in Hollywood, which if you're in the area you should really go and see. Massive thanks to Tyler and his missus, Kim, for making the long trek south to come and give out a healthy dose of education and influence.


Tyler telling the students about his work.


Tyler painting.


About an hour in.


About 2 and a half hours in, Leonard Cohen on the left and Donny Hathaway on the right.


Some more work by HVW8.


James Brown painting by DSTRBO at the HVW8 event in Atlanta.


Our kings of merch Axel and Joey sold just about everything on the table.


I haven't had a DJ gig since I moved to the States, mostly due to a lack of contacts and living 3 hours from anything resembling a nightlife in addition to government restrictions as I'm waiting for my green card, so yesterday when I got to play a couple I got that undeniable buzz that you get when you play a few, which was a bit sad in truth as I wasn't really playing to a dancefloor but the standout track for me out of the four or five that I played was Tony Allen's amazing Love Is A Natural Thing. The track was on the fairly recently compilation album, Afro Disco Beat, which featured cuts from Tony's first four albums - Jealousy, Progress, No Accomodation for Lagos and No Discrimination - of which the first three were produced by my hero, Fela Kuti and the latter featured Tony's band, The Messengers. Tony of course was Fela's drummer throughout the 70s and those trademark horns and grooves are present here but with Tony being given center stage the drums are that much more pronounced and, dare I say it, a bit funkier. This one of those records that you play from start to finish and the only thing going through your head is, "Should I play it again?" It is a great contribution to the Afrobeat cannon and one that is best played as loud as humanly possible.

Tony Allen - Love Is A Natural Thing