‘Muslimgauze’ was the alias of Manchester producer and musician Bryn Jones. Jones was not religious. However, he was a very political figure whose sound was heavily influenced by the Middle Eastern world and the conflict within it. Following the recent events in Palestine it is interesting to see how Jones’ work transcends the era it was made. It is still just as relevant (if not more so) today as it was during the latter stages of the nineteenth century. Although holding this obsession for the Middle East, Jones never visited and only ever left the UK with a couple of visits to Germany, Sweden, France and Japan (2013). All his tracks are imaginations of the state and emotion of the region all from within Jones’ consciousness.
Muslimgauze’s production draws with little surprise heavily on that of the Middle East. Jones would use instruments such as the oud, busuq and sitar to use as low drones used to create tension which can be heard in the track ‘Oil Prophets (Pt.1,2,3).’ Jones also took on a unique approach to percussion. In the track ‘Tariq Aziz’ we hear a steady drum loop which gives a feeling of marching. As the track develops, the drum loop has quick snippets of distortion, giving a feeling of a building towards something. Muslimgauze was also an early user of the breakbeat which can be heard on the track ‘Indian Summer of Benzair Bhutto’ (2013). This type of drum loop is one which has become synonyms with jungle and equivalent genres. As well as this, Jones also draws upon sampled Arabic vocals which often times sit in the background of tracks repeating haunting vocal phrases (2016). These reflect strongly the message of Muslimgauze through the wrong doings of the Western World on the Middle East creating a ghost like feel as if coming from the mouths of the dead and voiceless.
Jones passed away in 1999 at 37. Despite his death, new music would continue to be released by him. In his lifetime, Jones released ‘over 2000 tracks, around 100 albums and countless 7”,12” and DAT-only releases (2013). This vast discography is one which is not to be scoffed at. Leath suggests that ‘To a small number of people he is one of the greatest producers / musicians to come out of this country.’
Ultimately, the effect of Muslimgauze is one which has already surpassed the test of time. The conflicts within the Middle East whether that be the current bombing of Gaza or the return of a Taliban led state in Afghanistan are still just as relevant and brutal as ever showing why Muslimgauze’s message is so important.
Bibliography:
Leath, S. (2023) ‘An introduction to… Muslimgauze’, the vinyl factory, 12 June. Available at: https://thevinylfactory.com/features/an-introduction-to-muslimgauze/ (Accessed: 04 December 2023).
Pattison, L. (2016) ‘From Azzazin To Gun Aramaic: Muslimgauze Two Decades On ’, the quietus, 3 May. Available at: https://thequietus.com/articles/20065-muslimgauze (Accessed: 04 December 2023).