Artist Profiles: Justin Adams

Justin Adams is one of the UK’s most original and inspirational guitarists, lending his talents to such artists as Jah Wobble, Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, and Robert Plant’s band The Strange Sensations.

Adams spent his youth living and traveling in the Middle East and North Africa. “My original love when I was young was The Clash and dub reggae,” says Justin. “I like to keep things raw and swinging – so it never gets too pristine or too sweet. I love listening to cassettes of Moroccan music and Algerian music. I like trancey, circular rhythms and voices that are in between pleasure and pain, where it’s bittersweet.”

A restless musical traveler, Adams’ solo debut Desert Road (World Village) created a dub-wise atmospheric soundscape filled with swaying grooves and parched tones that invoke desert landscapes, Arizona or Sahara — an ancient/contemporary Moorish blues with echoes of the call to prayer and African trance.

One of Justin Adam’s most important projects is his collaboration with Gambian musician Juldeh Camara. The connection was sparked by a phone call out of the blue from an excited Camara. “A friend gave me a copy of Justin’s CD and I took it with me in Gambia. When I got there I was playing the riti and trying to follow what he was playing. I was feeling it in my body. When I got to the UK, I got his number and called him. I said, ‘I heard your stuff. This style you play is very, very connected with my spirit.” Then over the phone Camara whipped out a few licks on his riti and the kologo, which he had picked up from Ghanaian musician Atongo Zimba, and Adams “went crazy” on the other end of the line. They were soon jamming and recording together.

Justin and Juldeh have been playing together since 2007, following the release of the critically acclaimed “Soul Science” in 2007 (winner of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award in the Crossing Continents category), touring at festivals in Siberia, Mexico City, Morocco and the WOMAD festival. The touring experience has clearly brought them closer together as musicians and added to the unique nature of their musical style. “At certain soundchecks I’d start playing something and Juldeh would rush over and say ‘…keep playing that! We’ve got to play that tonight!’ Juldeh would record things on his mobile phone – so that’s they way we came up with a lot of material,” explains Justin.

In 2011, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara formed a new band called JuJu. The band is characterized by trance-like rhythms from traditional Africa, jazz and the wilder side of rock.

Sweet Release (2024), the second album from Justin Adams & Mauro Durante, evolved their fusion project into a cohesive and unique unit shaped by three years of global touring. The duo’s sound mixed Durante’s Taranta roots with elements ranging from rockabilly to Sufi music, exploring themes of musical healing and catharsis.

Recorded live, Sweet Release captured spontaneous, magical moments, featuring standout tracks like the title piece “Sweet Release,” which highlights Adams’ guitar and Durante’s tamburello. Collaborations with artists such as Alessia Tondo, Yousra Mansour, and Felice Rosser add depth to the album, with highlights including covers and original compositions that draw on diverse cultural influences, from a Lebanese hymn to a Neapolitan Tammurriata beat. The music invokes a sense of ritual and reflection, culminating in the anthemic instrumental “Ithaca Return” and the poetic “Qui Non Vorrei Morire.”

Sweet Release topped the Transglobal World Music Chart and the World Music Charts Europe in December 2024. Read more at about this album: Sweet Release: A Mesmerizing Project of Hybridization and Taranta Catharsis. More about Justin Adams.

Discography

Desert Road (Wayward, 2001/World Village, 2002)
Soul Science, with Juldeh Camara (Wayward, 2007)
Tell No Lies, with Juldeh Camara (Real World, 2009)
rivermudtwilight (World Village, 2009), with Les Triaboliques
The Trance Sessions (Real World, 2010), with Juldeh Camara
In Trance, with Juju (Real World Records, 2011)
Ribbons (Wayward/DJA Records, 2017), with Anneli Drecker
Still Moving, with Mauro Durante (Ponderosa Music/Rough Trade, 2021)
Sweet Release, with Mauro Durante (Ponderosa Records, 2024)

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.