The Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra rose out of a trip Tony Allen took to Haiti in 2014. Organised by the director of the French Institute in Haiti, Corinne Micaelli, and the singer, dancer, voodoo priest and director of the Haitian National Bureau of Ethnology, Erol Josué, Allen collaborated with local singers and percussionists, including those from groups Racine Mapou de Azor, Erol's own band RAM, Yizra'El and Sanba Zao's Lakou Mizik. The musicians had five days to rehearse for a performance in Port-au-Prince, which was broadcast live throughout the country.

“Putting it together was complete chaos,” recalls Glasgow-born and previous Port-au-Prince resident Mark Mulholland, who worked as the Orchestra’s guitarist. “Madness. We were all in this tiny room playing. We had ten percussionists from all of Haiti’s top bands. Then there was Tony, Olaf Hund on keyboards, and Jean-Philippe Dary, an old friend of Tony’s, on bass. He became the de facto musical director. The sound was overwhelming. 

“I’d find a riff and a few notes for the songs, but I tried to keep it simple,” Mulholland says.

“Honestly, I don’t think any of us knew what to expect when we began […] When we played in public after those five days together we just hoped it would work,” he continues. “The gig was a big festival, La Fête de la Musique, and a few bands had been on before us, so everything was running late and we were tense. Then, just before our set, someone set off a tear gas grenade in front of the stage.

“I think the album captures the spirit of all of us together in that room. It’s anarchic and energetic. And I really believe it’s good, it’s honest, it’s new. It’s different. It was an experiment that worked.”

Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra is released by Glitterbeat Records on 24 June.