Ribbons

From his solo debut with 2001's Desert Road through to his production work with Tinariwen, collaborations with Robert Plant and Lo’Jo and his fine series of albums with Gambian griot Juldeh Camara, there's not much on Justin Adams’ well-travelled CV that hasn’t earned the Songlines stamp of approval. Inspired by the work of visual artists such as Joan Miró and Jackson Pollock, Ribbons is an endlessly captivating set of ‘sound paintings’ that eschew conventional rock dynamics in favour of slowly shifting abstract patterns in which Adams’ filigree guitar is filtered through a prism of loping Tinariwen grooves, Steve Reich pulses, Gnawa trance rhythms and droning raga loops. Anneli Drecker, whom Adams met more than 20 years ago when they were both part of Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, is best known as the singer with Norwegian dream-poppers Bel Canto and Röyksopp. Currently researching a PhD on ancient and traditional singing styles at Tromsø's Arctic University, she adds texture to the canvas with wordless vocals that evoke Björk at her most audacious and draw on global influences from Native American chants to Tuvan throat singing. Another pleasingly bold adventure.