Juju - Juju

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"JuJu is an album of sweepingly melodic music that still retains a strange kind of intimacy.... along comes an artist who resets the co-ordinates and makes the past seem startling new again." - The Quietus 

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JuJu is the incarnation of Sicily-based Gioele Valenti (Lay Llamas, Herself). Used to designate objects, such as amulets, and spells used ceremoniously in West Africa, Valenti broadens the scope of ‘juju’ to encompass a mix of rhythmic psychedelia, ancient myths and Mediterranean neo-paganism. Through the music, JuJu tells the story of an ongoing exodus from Africa that more often than not ends in ignored tragedies at sea, ‘a total defeat for humanity.’ Inspired by sources of Earth magic and soil secrets, JuJu strives to turn that defeat into a celebration of spirit and modern psychedelia.

“I wanted to develop some themes [from] the previous experience with Llamas… the link with Mother Earth, the theme of lysergic trip, symbols of Black Magic and a strange ancient grammelot that I call Ramanna. JuJu, besides being my personal point of view on the current Mediterranean exodus tragedy, of people and culture lost at sea, is even more of a solid tribute to the music I’ve always loved… Joy Division, Can, Neu!, Mercury Rev and many others.”