Exclaim Chris Twomey
Muslimgauze is the very over-achieving Bryn Jones from Manchester. Not
content with having all these new/recent CDs out there, he also has remix
clashes with Sonar and the Rootsman in the import stores and is giving
away special MP3 albums, Fedayeen and Melt, via two web sites (who had
to cease the downloads when they found out just how expensive being that
generous was). Jones' inspiration for all this production is the Palestinian
cause which he has been promoting since Israel invaded Lebanon in the
early '80s. His instrumental music features titles named after Arab political
figures and samples media broadcasts, but it can be enjoyed on another
level for its Middle Eastern sounds, which have come a long way since
his early influence from Cabaret Voltaire. . . . . . . .......And for
something completely different there is the Muslimgauze collaboration
with Apollon, (aka fellow Brit Martin Lee-Stephenson), who is found on
Law & Auder label compilations as Doppler 20:20 and other names. There
and on Doppler 20:20's Klangfarbenmelodie CD, Stephenson is mostly into
the breaks, but with Muslimgauze he's produced a 79-minute journey through
industrial electronics. This takes Muslimgauze back to his early '80s
roots (when he was known as Eg Oblique Graph) or his one-off non-rhythmic
electronic release Azzazin (excerpted on Law & Auder's Minimalism comp.)
The trademark Muslimgauze beats and voice bytes do appear amidst some
of Apollon's isolationist tones and machine noise but overall the 23 tracks
combine for a new context for his unique Middle Eastern sounds.
