A Man Called Adam

All Music Guide:

From acid-jazz collective to mellow Ibizan house masterminds, A Man Called Adam have pursued much the same fusion of gentle jazz/house rhythms with classic pop songwriting despite the progression of stylistic identifiers used to describe their sound. Comprised of Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones, the group has not only courted the middle-aged coffee-table crowd with a sophisticated sense of pop songcraft, but also kept a close connection to the dance community, courtesy of their ownership of Other Records, a jazz-house label with releases from Coco Steel & Lovebomb, Rosie Gaines, and Maria Naylor. A Man Called Adam's ethereal female vocals and inspirations from jazz as well as house make for easy comparisons with Everything But the Girl, though Rodgers and Jones gradually became more pop-slanted during the '90s, as EBTG leaned closer and closer to the dancefloor.

A Man Called Adam was originally founded as a jazz band, led by Sally Rodgers, Steve Jones, and Paul Daley (later to form Leftfield). Signed to the pioneering Acid Jazz Records enabled the group to find more gigs, and debut with a pair of singles. These early recordings, "A.P.B." and "Earthly Powers," reflected more recent influences -- namely the acid-house explosion which had rocked British clubs and charts during the late '80s. Winnowed down to a threesome of Rodgers/Jones/Daley, A Man Called Adam signed to Big Life in 1990 and just missed the British Top 40 that year with "Barefoot in the Head." After Daley left the fold, Rodgers and Jones followed with their first LP, The Apple. Unhappy with their treatment by Big Life (a sentiment echoed by the Orb at the same time), Rodgers and Jones decided to form their own label, Other Records, with design artist and longtime friend Steve "Jaffa" Gribbin.

Perhaps due to their new interests in label management, Rodgers and Jones didn't release much A Man Called Adam material during the mid-'90s. (They did have some input on the Fear of Flying LP released by Other act Sensory Productions, and released singles on Other as Beachflea). By the end of the decade, the brand of uptempo yet slightly melancholy jazz-house pioneered by the duo became incredibly popular as a soundtrack for British club-kids vacationing in the dancefloor paradise known as Ibiza. The singles "Easter Song," "Estelle," and "All My Favourite People (Stay with Me)" became Ibiza anthems, and A Man Called Adam made appearances on many club compilations. The pair's second album, Duende, finally appeared in 1998.

Wikipedia:

A Man Called Adam (sometimes abbreviated to AMCA) are the British electronic music artists Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones.

Recording for DJ Gilles Peterson’s fledgling Acid Jazz Records label, A Man Called Adam found that it was the remixed B-sides, "Techno Powers" and "Amoeba" - electronic versions of the A-side tracks, that became cult records, bridging the divide between the jazz, rare groove and acid house scenes.

AMCA later moved to Big Life Records and released "Barefoot In the Head". Produced by Sally Rodgers, Steve Jones, Paul Daley and sound engineer Mat Clark, the track features choral pads and strings coupled with bouncing Roland 909 and 727 rhythm tracks. For the lyrics Rodgers cribbed the pagan poetry translations of Robert Graves, and explored her own experiments with ecstasy. The track peaked at #60 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1990.

The Channel 4 documentary A Short film about Chillin' featured the band along with The Farm, DJs Andrew Weatherall, Danny Rampling, Terry Farley and Rocky and Diesel, and charted their journey to Ibiza with club promoter Charlie Chester, and a couple of hundred British ravers on the first organized clubbing holiday of its kind. The vocal sample, of American actor Rod McKuen intoning 'I put a seashell to my ear' to the sound of waves lapping the shore, meant the track would ever be associated with sun-drenched beaches and the term 'Balearic House' came into use.

Although chart success eluded the band, they are regarded as pivotal in the development of the electronic music genres, acid jazz and Balearic House. Paul Daley left the band to form Leftfield, while Rodgers and Jones contributed to The Café del Mar series of compilation albums.

A Man Called Adam released two albums, The Apple (Big Life, 1991) and Duende (Other Records, 1998).

Apart from "Barefoot In The Head" (which took its title from a novel by Brian Aldiss), their other singles included "Easter Song" and the US release "Que Tal America?". Another track, "Estelle", appeared on many compilation albums, although it was never released as a single.

These days Rodgers is conducting doctoral research in modern poetics at the University of St Andrews and Jones recently gained an MSc in sound design from the University of Edinburgh. Together they continue to work as sound designers on museum, film and theatrical commissions, notably the BME (British Music Experience) - a museum charting the history of British music from the end of World War II, and The British Museum's major new exhibition Journey to the afterlife: The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Their music continues to be licensed all over the world for film, television and release.