Justin Adams

Justin Adams works as a guitarist, producer, and composer who counts among Britain’s foremost blues musicians while also ranking as a primary figure in African crossover music. Breakthrough recognition arrived for him in 1990 via Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart, after which he established his career by serving as a respected sideman. Credits accumulated with globally recognized names such as Sinéad O’Connor and Damien Dempsey, among others. His engagement with North African music first appeared plainly through the 2001 release of his debut solo album. Desert Road examined the African lineage behind blues melodic ideas, linking twentieth-century American forms with the ageless Sahara. That same year Adams joined the rising world-music act Tinariwen to produce its first album, The Radio Tisdas Sessions. Collaboration with rock figure Robert Plant began in 2002 when Adams contributed to the Grammy-nominated record Dreamland. The partnership expanded across subsequent years, placing Adams inside the Strange Sensation band and listing him as co-writer on the 2005 release Mighty Rearranger. Growing renown as an Afro-crossover super-producer sharpened his capacity to identify and advance new artists. He formed a partnership with Gambian musician Juldeh Camara, who had already appeared on Tinariwen and Robert Plant projects. Their work resulted in the 2007 joint album Soul Science, which earned a BBC World Music Awards nomination for Best Album and sustained a presence on World Music Charts Europe. Adams also produced Tinariwen’s award-winning third album, Aman Iman, issued in 2007. Two years later the Adams and Camara follow-up Tell No Lies appeared on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label.