Justin Adams http://virb.com/justinadams Virb 2.0 (@justinadams) en Videos of Robert Plant w/ Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara at WOMAD http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/2756565 here of Justin Adams and Soul Science collaborator Juldeh Camara at WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2009, with guest performer Robert Plant!]]> Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:50:34 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/2756565 Justin Adams at WOMAD Abu Dhabi w/ guest Robert Plant! http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/2699082 ]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:13:15 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/2699082 Win My Train Fare Home http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286467 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:00:19 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286467 Wayward http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286459 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:37:02 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286459 Hummingbird http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286458 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:36:25 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286458 Ya Ta Kaaya http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286368 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:02:26 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286368 Yerro Mama http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286367 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:01:51 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286367 Sanakubay http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286366 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:01:13 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/audio/286366 Camara, Adams and Salah Dawson http://virb.com/justinadams/photos/1626541

Camara, Adams and Salah Dawson of "Soul Science"

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By Gavin Matheson

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By Gavin Matheson, with Juldeh Camara and Salah Dawson Miller

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with Juldeh Camara and Salah Dawson Miller, at BBC Radio

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Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara by Gavin Matheson

]]> Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:04:48 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/photos/1595416 "Soul Science" sweeps Best of 2008 lists! http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/983784 Soul Science so far: #8 on NPR's Best African Music of 2008 #1 on Downbeat Magazine's Best CDs of 2008 #1 on Popmatters' Best World Music of 2008 #57 on Popmatters' Best Albums of 2008 #6 on KEXP's Jon Kertzer's Top 10 Albums of 2008]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:00:39 -0800 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/983784 "Soul Science" is #1 in Downbeat's Best of 2008 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/966593 Downbeat Magazine lists Justin Adams' and Juldeh Camara's Soul Science as No. 1 on their Best Albums of 2008 list!]]> Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:50:12 -0800 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/966593 "Soul Science" in Dirty Linen: "an exciting record" http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/807279 Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara Soul Science World Village 468076 The links between North African music and punk have never been more clear than on Soul Science, the noisy new collaboration between journeyman guitarist Justin Adams and Gambian multi-instrumentalist Juldeh Camara. The first notes of Billy Fuller's heavily distorted, syncopated bass on the opening track, "Yourra Mama", set the mood for the wild ride that follows. Camara's amazingly fluid playing on the ritti (single-stringed fiddle) spars with Salah Dawson Miller's inventive and supple hand percussion. With "Ya Ta Kaaya", Adams' bristling electric guitar brings the late Bo Diddley's trademark beat back to its North African roots. Camara handles all of the vocals in his native tongue, and much of the material he learned over the years. Adams, who has worked with artists as diverse as Tinariwen, 3 Mustaphas 3, and Robert Plant (for whom he served as lead guitarist for a couple of years), is equally at home cranking out John Lee Hooker riffs on "Naafigi," sparring with Camara's vocals on acoustic slide guitar on "Ngamen", or playing the tahardant (an African lute) on "Blue Man Returns", which he also embellishes with a Captain Beefheart-style vocal. Soul Science is not one of those polite cross-cultural collaborations, but rather an exciting record of two master musicians using their whole arsenal of styles and techniques to create something entirely new. - Michael Parrish (link)]]> Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:03:28 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/807279 "Soul Science" in WOMEX's Top 20 CDs of the Year http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/803203 Top-20 World Music CDs of the year ...* Sa Dingding: Alive (Wrasse, UK) * Toumani Diabate: The Mande Variations (World Circuit, UK) * Melingo: Maldito Tango (Naïve, France) * Manu Chao: La Radiolina (Because, France) * Watcha Clan: Diaspora Hi-Fi (Piranha, Germany) * Taksim Trio: Taksim Trio (Doublemoon, Turkey) * Les Amazones de Guineé: Wamato (Sterns, UK) * Rokia Traore: Tchamantche (Universal) * Various Artists: Desert Blues 3 (Network Medien, Germany) * Justin Adams & Juldeh Camera: Soul Science (Wayward, UK) * Neco Novellas: New Dawn - Ku Khata (World Connection, The Netherlands) (link)]]> Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:57:13 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/803203 CD Review of the Week in FolkWorks: "Wild stuff" http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/786017 "Soul Science is what happens when you mix a British electric blues guitar dude, best known for pop/rock work with Robert Plant's post-Led Zep solo band, with a Gambian riti (one-string fiddle) hotshot who's a griot from Africa but clearly conversant with mainstream Western tunes. Unobtrusive bass and percussion fills in the picture. The vibe is African, yet the supporting undercurrent is easily accessible Western-familiar pop blues. Nice stuff, well worth a listen... One thing I can certainly say about the fusion of Soul Science is that these guys clearly know their stuff. So often, the difference between making this kind of thing work and falling disastrously on your face is how well the musicians appreciate the musical traditions they're melding together. It's beautifully obvious that Adams and Camara know whereof they jam, with deep roots in their various musical cultures. I had a great time teasing apart the various influences that Adams and Camara draw on. The Soul Science schtick is that Adams backs up Camara's African framework with his encyclopedic familiarity with the full range of Western urban blues. It's fun seeing what pops up. For example, just try listening to their tune Naafigi without being reminded of the blues classic Baby Please Don't Go. Another example is Adams' brilliant backing of Yo Ta Kaaya with the kind of guitar riffing Bo Diddley made famous. It comes off kind of like Buddy Holly singing Not Fade Away in Mandinkan. Wild stuff... Adams' brilliant blues-infused guitar, and Camara's rifti riffs often hauntingly reminiscent of Papa John Creech wailing with the Airplane, have together created something unique and really quite lovely...check these guys out. Good stuff." Barry Smiler (link) "This album crosses continents and time like humanity was still walking among the mountains of Panea, making devotional tunes for the dark and vast waters beyond." - Derek Beres]]> Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:25:59 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/786017 Downbeat & The Independent: "spews sparks like a downed power line" http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/767909 "Their sensational Bo Diddley homage, 'Ya Ta Kaaye,' spews sparks like a downed, dangerous power line, with fiddler Camara as wild as Cajun Doug Kershaw and Adams as passionate as Johnny Ramone." - 4 Stars, Frank John-Hadley(link) Preview: Proms On Four - World Music Celebration, BBC4 There's magic in the music of Morocco By Tim Cumming Monday, 11 August 2008 "Guitarist and producer Justin Adams is walking along the main shopping street in Essaouira on the first evening of Festival Gnawa, a free annual event that transforms this beautiful port into Morocco's biggest musical gathering, with half a million people attending last year's 10th anniversary celebrations. He's here with Faluni master musician Juldeh Camara and English percussionist Dawson Miller to perform music from their album Soul Science, winner of the best crossover album at this year's BBC World Music Awards. They've gigged everywhere from Mexico to Glastonbury to the award-winners' Proms concert - but an invite to Festival Gnawa is special..." (link)]]> Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:37:50 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/767909 "Soul Science" on Soundstage: "clear some room for dancing" http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/757657 Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara - Soul Science World Village 468076 Format: CD Released: 2008 by Shannon Holliday 4 Stars Soul Science is the collaborative effort of guitarist and producer Justin Adams and Gambian musician Juldeh Camara. Fusing Afro-blues and rock, the pair blend musical styles that cross cultural space and time. The flavor of traditional Gambian music is ever-present, accented by Camara's griot vocals and instruments ranging from the ritti (one-string fiddle), gologo (West African banjo), and tehardant (Tamashek lute), but Adams' rootsy guitar and a driving percussion accompaniment constantly remind the listener that this is music for modern times. The lyrics address topics such as lineage, labor, dancing, women, ne'r-do-wells, fallen warriors, and other day-to-day issues of African life, but the spirit of the music is cross-cultural and all-encompassing. The style is reminiscent of Ali Farka Touré and other traditional Afro-beat artists, but Adams (who has toured extensively with Robert Plant) puts a groove and spin on each track that extend the breadth into citified nightclub realms. Camara's incessant fiddling is tinged with a tribal rhythmic quality that is especially pleasing, and Adams' guitar fits snuggly in between all other instruments, content to contribute rather than require a spotlight. The sound on Soul Science is evenly balanced and up front, perfect as sophisticated background or as loud as the volume will go, but if the latter is the case, be sure to clear some room for dancing. (link)]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:01:55 -0700 http://virb.com/justinadams/posts/text/757657