The new album In Trance was recorded live to capture the spirit of JuJu's ecstatic, trance-like performances on stage - channelling hypnotic rhythms from traditional Africa, leftfield jazz and the wilder end of rock.

Not long ago, on a night lit up by a fat golden moon, JuJu took a trip. Fuelled by rocking guitar and one-string swing, by backseat bass and Afro-jazz beats, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara travelled to the place where tradition meets psychedelia - and then teetered, out there, on the edge. Theirs was a journey of rhythmic circles and open spaces, a journey over age-old grooves and along futuristic highways: a journey where the destination - with its whirling spirals and other kaleidoscopic motifs - counted as much as the journey.
"We just came together, plugged in and played," says Adams of In Trance, a one-take marvel that begs repeated listening. "We played it exactly as we play it live. It was a bit like controlling a runaway horse - that is completely spooked!"

If JuJu's chemistry was evident on their acclaimed 2007 debut Soul Science and its equally praised follow up Tell No Lies, it is almost palpable here. In Trance is precisely that: an album that sees Adams' Les Paul goldtop vying and blending with Camara's keening bittersweet vocals and fiery ritti playing, and embracing dub reggae and avant-garde jazz en route. Tracks build and circle, layer and knit. Melodies interlock, rhythms cross and the drone guitar builds a web of sound with an African aesthetic and heavy rock fervour.

The two men's spooky musical empathy is evident to anyone who has ever seen them tear the roof off live. "Justin's playing gets inside my body, and I can hear the music in his head," insists Camara. "Justin plays African style." It's no secret that the roots of rock (and indeed, blues and reggae) are earthed firmly in the Motherland. Calling on the griot skills he honed in childhood Camara peels off riffs on his ritti .......
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The new album In Trance was recorded live to capture the spirit of JuJu's ecstatic, trance-like performances on stage - channelling hypnotic rhythms from traditional Africa, leftfield jazz and the wilder end of rock.

Not long ago, on a night lit up by a fat golden moon, JuJu took a trip. Fuelled by rocking guitar and one-string swing, by backseat bass and Afro-jazz beats, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara travelled to the place where tradition meets psychedelia - and then teetered, out there, on the edge. Theirs was a journey of rhythmic circles and open spaces, a journey over age-old grooves and along futuristic highways: a journey where the destination - with its whirling spirals and other kaleidoscopic motifs - counted as much as the journey.
"We just came together, plugged in and played," says Adams of In Trance, a one-take marvel that begs repeated listening. "We played it exactly as we play it live. It was a bit like controlling a runaway horse - that is completely spooked!"

If JuJu's chemistry was evident on their acclaimed 2007 debut Soul Science and its equally praised follow up Tell No Lies, it is almost palpable here. In Trance is precisely that: an album that sees Adams' Les Paul goldtop vying and blending with Camara's keening bittersweet vocals and fiery ritti playing, and embracing dub reggae and avant-garde jazz en route. Tracks build and circle, layer and knit. Melodies interlock, rhythms cross and the drone guitar builds a web of sound with an African aesthetic and heavy rock fervour.

The two men's spooky musical empathy is evident to anyone who has ever seen them tear the roof off live. "Justin's playing gets inside my body, and I can hear the music in his head," insists Camara. "Justin plays African style." It's no secret that the roots of rock (and indeed, blues and reggae) are earthed firmly in the Motherland. Calling on the griot skills he honed in childhood Camara peels off riffs on his ritti .......
more