Sep 25, 2016

Sundaze 1639

Hello, the 4th post on Muslimgauze and though i'm not even halfway thru my Muslimgauze collection, for the moment i'll halt the posting, remind me in 6 months or so. I just want to keep the Sundaze surprising.....

About today's artist, a music project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts in the Muslim world, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With dozens of albums released under the Muslimgauze name, Jones was prolific, but his mainstream success was limited due in part to his work being issued mostly in limited editions on small record labels. His music was described by one critic as "among the most startling and unique in the noise underground."... N'Joy

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Jones first released music in 1982 as E.g Oblique Graph on Kinematograph, his own imprint, and the independent co-op label Recloose, run by Simon Crab. E.g Oblique Graph came from the do-it-yourself (DIY) ethos of the time and was musically composed of electronic/experimental drone with occasional synth-melodic hooks and use of radio broadcast samples. Track titles were sometimes politicised such as "Murders linked to Gaullist Clique" on Extended Play (1982) and "Castro Regime" on Triptych (1982).

After operation Peace of the Galilee, the first Muslimgauze album, Hammer & Sickle (1983) appeared on another of Jones's label monikers, Hessian. Under the Muslimgauze alias, music switched from emphasis on pure synthesis to percussion textures, which grew to encompass acoustic drum kits, drum machines, assorted ethnic hand percussion, and even rudimentary objects like pots and pans. Synthesis and tape loop samples were often relegated to accompaniment.

Releases at the time were occasionally on cassette, more often vinyl EPs and LPs; the longest running of Jones' label monikers, Limited Editions, started with Hunting Out with an Aerial Eye (1984) followed by Buddhist on Fire, put out by Recloose the same year. Since then, Jones roughly released an album a year, given scarce financial resources until 1988, when he began making inroads with then-emerging labels Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, and Extreme Records. In 1988, Staalplaat released the first Muslimgauze CD, Iran, the subsequent catalogue migrated to mostly that format.

By the late 1980s, Jones ran out of funding to self release, and other labels that did put out Muslimgauze releases such as Recloose and Permis De Construire (which put out Coup D'État) did not pay promised royalties. Recloose head Simon Crab cited lack of sales and damaged records from fire bombing as his reason.

The neighbouring Thomas a Becket pub run by East End gangsters—common-or-garden low-level vicious thugs (years before the species was romanticized by Lock Stock and Mona Lisa)—unable to control our unlicensed trade in alcohol and other illicits, firebombed the building one night and attacked the crew on a regular basis (ironically, many of the new pressings of Muslimgauze's Buddhist on Fire stored in the Recloose offices were destroyed during this attack).

The deal with Recloose was that we paid 50 percent of the profits to the artist and 50 percent went to the label, which was a pretty good deal, especially since we didn't sell that much. We put a lot of energy into marketing, and most of the artists signed to the label sold off the back of Bourbonese Qualk anyway. He assumed we sold loads of albums but we didn't even cover the costs.

At this time distributors Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, and Extreme Records transitioned to a label proper with the advent of the compact disc format, which became less expensive to produce and ship than vinyl over time and gradually took on the Muslimgauze catalogue. After a positive experience with the release of Intifaxa (1990) with Extreme, Jones remained with the label until his final release with it, Citadel, in 1994.

It was with the release of United States of Islam (1991) a formalised agreement was reached with Extreme Records, which helped fund professional studio recordings, designed attractive packaging, and used a more extensive distribution network. Though pleased at first, Jones was frustrated with Extreme's one-release-a-year policy and in 1993 signed with then-sibling labels Soleilmoon and Staalplaat, which offered a more frequent release schedule. 1993 saw the release of Vote Hezbollah, Veiled Sisters and a re-release of Iran on Soleilmoon and Hamas Arc, Satyajit Eye and Betrayal on Staalplaat.

As someone who always had more musical supply than demand[according to whom?], Jones additionally released material on nearly any small label that approached him, including Parade Amoureuse, Minus Habens Records, Concrete Productions, Daft, and Jara. A drawback with releasing on so many labels was gratuitous editing by producers and, through design or circumstance, no royalties. Extreme cited betrayal by distribution networks that were unscrupulous or filed for bankruptcy and could not pay—though they also claimed to have eventually remunerated Jones. Lack of due royalties was a source of ongoing stress throughout Jones's career.

In 1995, he had six releases; in 1996, 15; in 1997, nine; in 1998, 16. After his death, the many record companies with which he had associated released unreleased material and re-pressed older, out-of-print material. In 1999, the year of his death, 22 new (and old) albums and EPs on several media were released.

As frequency of releases increased, Jones was able to musically respond to events in the Muslim world as they occurred. Cases in point were the 1993 Oslo Accords, which surfaced as Betrayal and 1994's Hebron Massacre (also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre) released under the same name just months after the tragedy.

Toward the end of his life, Jones involved himself in more collaborative efforts in projects like the Rootsman, Apollon, and Systemwide. Jones also made arrangements to release with other labels in addition to his mainstays (something done throughout his career, more so toward the end) such as D.O.R., Third Eye, BSI, Klanggalerie, and DAFT. In addition, the frequency of live shows increased, some recorded such as at on Air West in Japan, Mort Aux Vaches for VPRO Dutch Radio, and aboard the ship, the Stubnitz. It seemed no combination of labels, collaborations, or live performances could exhaust his musical output. Media scrutiny increased too (albeit mostly on independent publications) with a total of eight interviews in 1998.

He always stated that he never had time to listen to other people's music, although in a 1992 interview with Impulse Magazine, he mentioned that he enjoyed traditional music of Japan, the Middle East, and India, as well as the works of artists such as Can, Throbbing Gristle, Wire, and Faust. However, despite a few collaborations, Jones didn't trust anyone when it came to remixing his music. Instead, he took pieces of music sent to him and remixed them to his own liking. On Wednesday, 30 December 1998, Bryn was rushed to the hospital in Manchester with a rare fungal infection in his bloodstream, for which he had to be heavily sedated. His body eventually shut down, and he died on 14 January 1999.

Jones claimed Muslimgauze was formed in response to Operation Peace of the Galilee, Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon to stem attacks from Palestinian Liberation Organization guerrillas stationed in South Lebanon. This event inspired Jones to research the conflict's origins, which grew into a lifelong artistic focal point, and he became a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, and often dedicated recordings to the Palestinian Liberation Organization or a free Palestine. Jones's research further grew to encompass other conflict-ridden, predominantly Muslim countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, Iran, and Iraq. He concluded that Western interests for natural resources and strategic-political gain were root causes for many of these conflicts and should Western meddling halt, said regions would stabilise.

When asked what he would do if conflicts in the Muslim world were peaceably resolved, Jones replied his music would champion other conflict regions such as China's occupation of Tibet. He also admitted Muslimgauze music could be appreciated outside a political context as the majority of it is instrumental; politicised only by track and album titles as well as occasional newscast and ethnic music samples. It was his hope that listeners would read album and track title references and verify for themselves the meanings through independent research and thought.

The name Muslimgauze is a play on the word muslin (a type of gauze) combined with Muslim, referring to Bryn Jones' preoccupation with conflicts throughout the Muslim world..

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Tandoori Dog is a 4x12" vinyl box set by Muslimgauze. Part of the subscription series. Hand numbered limited edition of 300. Contains an insert with information about the subscription and the copy number. Each LP has its own title and vinyl color: Tandoori Dog (red), Jaagheed Zarb (black), Libya Tour Guide (green) and Jerusalaam (blue).

In 1998 Staalplaat and Muslimgauze were on a conquering spirit. Bryn Jones (1961-1999), the man behind Muslimgauze delivered new works, almost on a weekly basis and was more than happy to see them released straight away. Unlike others, Staalplaat was never shy to release larger works, lumping various works together, such as the 9CD “Box Of Silk & Dogs”. Allowing free reign in editing, the 4LP box set ‘Tandoori Dog”, contained the LP of the same name, Muslimgauze didn’t fail in this highly productive period. Peaking as never before, his music here carries all that makes Muslimgauze the unique artist he is. Taking his influences from what can be loosely called the Middle East, but extending that to as far as Pakistan, Jones samples freely percussion, instruments and voices and adds these to his own sequences and instruments, such as the tabla. The melting pot that is the studio blends this together, in hypnotic pieces of music. Captivating, minimal, groovy, but rather than being slick and commercial, this is the roughly shaped electronic world of Bryn Jones. All of this motivated and inspired by events in the Middle East, as reflected through the titles Jones picked for his work. A strong pre-occupation with the fate of the occupied people in the Palestinian lands and an unashamed love for such controversial groups as Hezbollah.



Muslimgauze - Tandoori Dog  (flac  166mb)

01 Aurum Franc Insense Ul Myrrh 5:58
02 Girl Who Lived Inside A Sitar 3:43
03 Invisable Hands Of Revenge 3:40
04 Low On Qat 2:30
05 Turkish Cypriot 4:49
06 Under The Burka 3:47
07 Correct Use Of Sharia 3:20
08 Salt Caravan 2:24

     (ogg  mb)

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Jaagheed Zarb introducrs almost funky hip-hop beats, interspersed with vocal snippets, and on the first track a static-y loop and eerie nay (a Middle Eastern flute) whispering through it all. In case you forgot about his signature terrifying low-end, it permeates both albums in abundance, especially on the minimal bowel-rumbling "Fazal Mahmood on Juke," the Prodigy on a broken spring track "Turn Left for Jabaliya," and amid the laidback, rhythmic assassin, call-to-arms "Iranian Silkworm." A few more surprises lurk on this album including the space at the end of "Fazal Mahmood" -- escaping from the tape hiss is a tinny, straightforward bazaar jam, as if recorded through a boombox in a crowded market -- and the last part of "Hafeez Kardar," where extended seconds of radio fuzz oscillate from subtle noise to crystallized tabla and percussion, filtering through like sand. It skitters into the last track, electronics gobbed onto background noise and monolithic electronics.

Muslimgauze - Jaagheed Zarb  (flac  305mb)

01 Jaagheed Zarb 6:35
02 Fazal Mahmood On Jute 5:11
03 Sari Of Human Hair 5:28
04 Iranian Silkworm 3:49
05 Turn Right For Jabaliya 3:25
06 Sari Of Dog Hair 4:35
07 Zingiber 3:24
08 Vinoo Mankad Option 8:39
09 Hafeez Kardar 7:54  

Muslimgauze - Jaagheed Zarb    (ogg  138mb)

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Libya Tour Guide is most notable for featuring some of the most prominent use of Roland 303 acid baselines in Muslimgauze’s peerless oeuvre, as much as its fractal diversity and atmospheric range explored over 19 tracks. As with most of his other equipment, it’s almost a given that Bryn Jones would use the 303 uniquely, and we’d wager you’ve rarely, if ever, heard it wrenched quite like he does in the parched bogle of Tubrug Sand Bank or paired with acoustic strings in Benzedrine Effendi and rubbed all over saz and bouncing drums in the opener, Lalique Gadaffi Jar. If you’ve got anything approaching a taste for Muslimgauze gear, this one is a total no brainer.


Muslimgauze - Libya Tour Guide  (flac  286mb)

01 Lalique Gadaffi Jar 4:18
02 Mouth Piece Of... 0:47
03 Benghazi Hotel 1:08
04 Gadaffi Inc. 1:49
05 Green Book 1:34
06 Saef Edge 2:46
07 Marzuq 2:38
08 Moving Further In Land 2:34
09 Ag Sidrah 0:40
10 Benzedrine, Effendi 3:16
11 No, Benzedrine, Effendi 1:44
12 Tarabulus 2:24
13 East Of Tarabulus 4:28
14 A Guard Of Females 3:12
15 Great Satan Shadow 4:22
16 Down Chad 1:32
17 Eyes Of... 2:25
18 Kurnel 4:48
19 Goodbye And Never Come Back 2:09

Muslimgauze - Libya Tour Guide   (ogg  131mb)

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Jerusalaam fits in with much of Bryn Jones's classic work, with a heavy emphasis on hand percussion, bass-heavy distortion, sharply clipped loops, and the seething hiss of static. All tracks written, played and recorded by Muslimgauze.

Muslimgauze - Jerusalaam  (flac  318mb)

01 Istanbul Liqueur 6:37
02 All The Stolen Land Of Palestine 5:57
03 Lozenji Of Pure Gold 2:37
04 The Zion Terrorist 1:58
05 Outside Night 2:32
06 Girl Of The Sahara 2:16
07 Tanger Blanc Return 3:33
08 Under The Burka 3:47
09 Sufiq Gulf Breeze 1-2 2:46
10 Sufiq Gulf Breeze 3 3:04
11 Hessian Bag Of Camel Parts 3:39
12 Sawhand Dafinda 8:33
13 Lime Green Turban Gang 3:22

Muslimgauze - Jerusalaam    (ogg  142mb)

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1 comment:

  1. Dear M. Rho, could you please reup those albums? Many thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete