Gorillaz deliver ‘How Far?’ in honor of late Tony Allen

Grammy-winning band Gorillaz have been busy rolling out new album singles for their forthcoming project, Song Machine. Thus far, the album is shaping up to be a collaborative playground featuring joint efforts with slowthai and Slaves, Fatoumata Diawara, and Peter Hook and Georgia. The Damian Albarn-led virtual rock band is taking pause from the project releases to release a new tune featuring the late Tony Allen and UK rapper Skepta. Titled “How Far?,” the track is meant to honor the legendary Nigerian drummer and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, who died just days ago, April 30, at the age of 79 from an aortic aneurysm.

Allen has been featured on several Gorillaz tracks over the years. The group’s frontman, Damian Albarn, formed a supergroup with Allen back in 2006 called The Good, the Bad & the Queen. To honor his memory further, Albarn posted a tribute to the late musician on Twitter. The video shows Allen drumming and is captioned with a quote from him saying “There is no end.”

There is no end – Tony Allen pic.twitter.com/a5fHxFgvYm

— Damon Albarn (@Damonalbarn) May 1, 2020

Characterized by skittering percussion, wonky guitar riffs, chilled-out horns, and melancholic verses from both Tony and Skepta, the track could not come at a more opportune time. As the fourth single in Gorillaz’s Song Machine, “How Far?” was written and recorded with Skepta in London just before the coronavirus lockdown began.