Graduate Research Colloquia: Justin Adams & Mauro Durante

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Abstract

Coming from different countries, cultures and even generations, Justin Adams & Mauro Durante have developed a common musical language which is steeped in reference to tradition but is innovative and outward-looking.To provide insight into their working practice they will each talk about their formative musical lives, Durante as the son and musical heir of Daniele Durante, the Puglian Folk revivalist of Taranta music, Adams, who had lived on four continents by the time he was 16 years old, and has lived a musical life that has taken him from Punk to Rajasthan, via the Sahara Desert.

They will each discuss their approach to tradition, and what attracts them to working outside of their "home" music, as well as the potential pitfalls in working across cultures. Durante's relationship with the Trance healing roots of Taranta are mirrored in Adams' work with Gnawa and West African Griot Masters, and the relevance of these ancient traditions to 21st Century music making will be a central theme.

Biographies

Justin Adams is a guitarist and producer whose distinctive sound carries the mark of his itinerant life. A childhood in the Middle East led to a lifelong passion for the sounds of the Islamic world, while his teenage UK years instilled a devotion to the raw energy of punk and the trance sounds of dub. In recent years he has produced acclaimed albums by fado singer Lina and French-Algerian chanteuse Souad Massi, while his past collaborations with Robert Plant, Tinariwen, Rachid Taha, Sinéad O'Connor, and West African master musician Juldeh Camara have been marked by emotional intensity and a "no borders" approach.

Violinist, percussionist and composer Mauro Durante is a visionary inheritor of the folk roots of his native Salento in Italy's Puglia region. He leads the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (founded in 1975 by Durante's family), playing at all major world music festivals. Durante is considered as a key figure in reinventing pizzica music for today, and making taranta the most vibrant and relevant form of Italian roots music. Mauro Durante toured the world for many years with Ludovico Einaudi, and has collaborated with Piers Faccini, Ibrahim Maalouf, Ballake Sissoko, Jovanotti, Stewart Copeland, Sam Lee, Enzo Avitabile, Nickodemus, and Red Baraat, bringing a contemporary edge along with his deep feel for tradition.