MUSLIMGAUZE – Mullah Said (1998)

Muslimgauze was the primary musical project of British electronic musician Bryn Jones (1961–1999), renowned for his prolific and politically charged body of work. Operating from Manchester, Jones produced an extensive discography that fused ambient, dub, tribal rhythms, and experimental electronica, often incorporating Middle Eastern motifs and themes. His music was deeply influenced by geopolitical conflicts, particularly those involving the Muslim world.

Jones began his musical journey in the early 1980s under the alias E.g Oblique Graph, releasing experimental cassettes. The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon profoundly impacted him, leading to the creation of Muslimgauze in 1983. The name is a play on “muslin gauze,” reflecting his focus on Middle Eastern issues. His DIY approach was evident from his first LP, Kabul (1983), which he self-released alongside a zine featuring his collage artwork.

Muslimgauze’s sound is characterized by its dense layering of percussion, ambient textures, and the use of found sounds and vocal samples. Jones eschewed modern digital tools, preferring analog equipment and tape loops to craft his compositions. His work often blurs the lines between music and political commentary, with album titles like United States of Islam, Gun Aramaic, and Hebron Massacre underscoring his thematic focus.

Among his extensive catalog, Mullah Said (1998) stands out as a definitive work, blending ambient dub with tribal rhythms and Middle Eastern samples. Other significant albums include Hamas Cinema Gaza Strip, noted for its accessible yet powerful percussion and Arabic influences, and Zul’m, which juxtaposes urban soundscapes with digitized rhythms.

Mullah Said displays two aspects of the work of Muslimgauze. Firstly, musically, it is in the delightful drifting ambient vein. The percussion is mainly acoustic hand drums – providing a rhythm of aural features – the trademark shimmering string sound heard on a number of releases is much in evidence, rhythms are generally slower, there are lots of samples of people speaking in conversation, markets wherever. ‘Mullah said’ opens the disc with the lovely mix of these sounds. ‘Every grain of Palestine sand’ continues the mood, with a slightly faster tempo, and more emphasis on the beat. But it soon locks into a mesmeric lassitude as various effects echo or smear the sounds, drums come in for short moments, different string sounds enjoin the play. ‘Muslims die India’ follows the mood though the voices seem darker, sadder, and then comes ‘Every grain of Palestinian sand’ followed by ‘Muslims die India’. Yes – not a typo, these tracks are repeated. This is the second Muslimgauze trend – to remix himself.

On a number of releases there are tracks with the same title, sometimes called part 1 and 2, and usually they are about the same length and listening indicates they are versions of the same song. With the two here, the samples occur at about the same time, the instrumentation is similar, and what we get is subtle variations – different effects, placement of instruments in the mix etc. This leaves us with a 50 minute suite of prime Muslimgauze middle eastern ambience – if you like that side you will love this album. The final track is short and different, a crackling ground over which a singer chants a song interrupted by machine-gun percussive bursts – ‘An end’. For those who have difficulty getting the limited editions, Staalplaat will be releasing ‘Observe with Sadiq Bey’ which is said to be in the same style.