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JUSTIN ADAMS / JULDEH CAMARA
“SOUL SCIENCE”

News:
voted Number 6 in Froots/BBC poll of Best CDs of 2007
+ Top 10 of 2007 - Songlines
+ Top 5 of 2007 – Independent

“One of the most exhilarating albums of the year comes from a British guitarist and a Gambian exponent of the ritti, the one-stringed fiddle. Adams plays with Robert Plant’s band (when Plant isn’t reviving Led Zeppelin) and produces Tinariwen. Here, rock and Africa come together in a rousing, urgent fashion” Robin Denselow, Guardian

“…one of the best albums in a year already crowded with best albums.” Charlie Gillett, BBC Radio

“The ritti’s fluid, near hysterical sound functions as the perfect foil to Adams’s chugging, prowling riffs which pay homage to everyone from Bo Diddley via the Clash to Captain Beefheart.” Songlines, 5/5

“ Justin Adams is one of the most intriguing, enthusiastic musicians in Britain. …he appreciates rhythm, urgency and excitement, and the best tracks here mix pounding percussion and driving guitar with equally stirring and virtuoso fiddle solos and rousing vocals. On some songs, the duo match echoes of ancient African blues or a reworking of the Bo Diddley riff against guitar rock, then they switch to acoustic pieces, making use of the West African banjo or lute, but always with the same rhythmic attack. If you enjoy Tinariwen, check this out.” ” **** (4/5 stars) The Guardian

“So convincing is this tribute to the original rock star (Bo Diddley) that it is difficult not to imagine Bo himself playing Ya Ta Kaaya or Sanakubay on some 1950s package tour. The difference comes in Camara’s squealing solos.. and more complex percussion than would have passed for rock’n’roll half a century ago. It might be a minority view but this sounds more exciting to me than a Led Zeppelin reunion” **** (4/5 stars) The Times
“There have been plenty of albums exploring the connections between West African music and the blues, but none as raw and gutsy as British guitarist Justin Adams’ meeting with Gambian one-string fiddler Juldeh Camara. While such affairs tend to be folksy and slightly academic, Adams – best known for his work with Robert Plant and Tinariwen – pitches in on a reverb-laden Les Paul with rhythmic attack worthy of Bo Diddley, while Camara’s singing and squawking ritti playing have a fierce, hypnotic intensity. Recorded in Somerset and Wiltshire, this puts considerable artistry into evoking the raucous, rough-and-ready feel of an African pirate cassette” Daily Telegraph

“A fine collaboration…the sound is even earthier than the guitarist’s recent production for Tinariwen… Camara saws away creating a haunting, otherworldly fiddle sound. Admirers of Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré should find this irresistible” Nigel Williamson, UNCUT

“Justin Adams serves up crunchy riffs and bouncy rhythms while the Gambian musicians Juldeh Camara plys the ritti, a single-string fiddle, over the top….The sound is crowded, less immediately accessible than Adam’s work with Tinariwen. “Njatigi” and “ Subuhanalaii”, with its slow growl, give the music most room to breathe” **** (4/5 stars) Financial Times

“Some of the tracks on this British/Gambian collaboration have a Velvet Underground blinding intensity about them. Adams plays Reed, with his chunky workmanlike blues/rock guitar, and Camara’s traditional one-string fiddle is more than a stand-in for Cale’s viola. Camara also takes vocal duties with confident authority. Every song buzzes and growls with contemporary vitality, and the melding of African and western styles is flawless. If you like Tinariwen (who Adams also produces) this may well be up your desert road too. Unquestionably the cross-cultural album of the year” Independent on Sunday

“Guitar supreme Justin Adams, who has collaborated with Robert Plant, Brian Eno and Jah Wobble, joins forces with Gambian master musician Juldeh Camara and percussionist Salah Dawson Miller. Together they offer a gritty fusion of Delta Blues and North African rhythms. These musicians gel and the music sounds natural. The one bum note is Blue Man Returns, the only song sung in English. On the whole however this is no dry experiment but music played with real soul” The Sun
“It takes a brave or foolish man to think they can impose meaty rock power chords on the elegant arabesques of the western African blues, and not only get away with it, but also come up with something more than the sum of disparate parts. But Justin Adams’ lengthy and credible CV means he was always going to be the man for the job… Juldeh Camara’s fluid, near hysterical sound functions as the perfect foil to Adams’ chugging, prowling riffs which pay homage to everyone from Bo Diddley via the Clash to Captain Beefheart. Adams’ exemplary but unobtrusive production has created a sound so physically present that the buzz of drums and the twang of strings seem to be pressing up against the speaker covers, desperate to escape. But the real secret of the album’s success is that subtle but weighty African percussion takes the place of what would have been the easy option of using a rock drummer to complete what is, in many ways, a rock album. Against the odds, this is an exceptional effort”
***** 5/5 Songlines, Top of the World selection. Howard Male

“In world music circles, Adams is probably best known as the producer of
bands Lo’Jo and Tinariwen and creator of the well-received Arabesque-meets-desert-blues album Desert Road.
But he’s also got an interesting side hobby as Robert Plant’s guitarist, and
(the occasional acoustic guitar or tehardant lute appearance apart), that
rockier influence is very apparent on Soul Science as Adams thrashes, picks,
distorts, strums and generally stretches his instrument in all sorts of
interesting blues-based rock guitar directions.

Around all these effects dances the rootsy fiddle work of Juldeh Camara, a
Fulani from Gambia and ex-member of Ifang Bondi (and more latterly guest on
kora player Seckou Keita’s Afro-Mandinka Soul album). But we’ve never heard
Camara quite like this before, his performances ranging from manic
spirit-raising screeches to swift, elaborate melodies (at times it’s hard to
believe are being pulled from such a simple instrument).

His voice is a remarkable surprise as well - rich, confident and assured in
contrast to Adams’s less convincing vocal on ‘Blue Man Returns’ (Camara
handles all the rest of the vocals). And a note too about the musicians whose contributions underpin a consistently engaging sound - Salah Dawson
Miller on drums and Billy Fuller on bass provide a rhythmic drive more than
equal to the thrilling ride on which Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara take the
listener. Thrilling stuff.”