Ribbons

Former Tinariwen producer, Brian Eno & Robert Plant collaborator steps into the light with an angelic slice of transcendental experimentalism. Ribbons is the latest installment in the unpredictable, left-of-centre and borderless work of the British producer and guitarist Justin Adams. Inspired by the work of painters such as Rauschenberg, Pollock, Miro and Motherwell, the 11-track album stutters and glides, with trance-inducing guitar motifs from North Africa weaving around the vocals of Norwegian singer and actor Anneli Drecker, best known for her work as singer with Scandinavian electronic duo Royksopp. Adams set out to make music that abandons traditional structure; using a mixture of rhythmic pulses and accidental or spontaneous elements, giving him the kind of freedom modern, experimental composers thrive on and allowing him to recontextualise trance music from Morocco and beyond. The graphic and video elements were realised by visual artist John Minton, creative director of Portishead's live shows. At times Ribbons sounds like Tuareg rockers Tinariwen have switched off their amplifiers for a sunrise desert jam under the guidance of American composer Steve Reich. Yet in reality the solo recording took place in Justin's West Country studio over six months in 2016 with Anneli Drecker's vocals recorded in between her studio in Tromsø and Justin's studio in Bath.