^^^
Beautiful--thanks for this. It's long been one of my favorites.
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by Cordelia » Sun Apr 24, 2016 4:31 pm
by Iamwhomiam » Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:57 pm
by Cordelia » Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:08 am
by backtoiam » Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:23 am
by chump » Sun May 01, 2016 10:59 am
by Iamwhomiam » Sun May 01, 2016 8:41 pm
by IanEye » Mon May 02, 2016 10:54 am
by Iamwhomiam » Mon May 02, 2016 8:18 pm
by backtoiam » Tue May 03, 2016 3:11 am
by IanEye » Tue May 03, 2016 10:59 am
"Part of what continues to keep Muslimgauze interesting is how the records often make you question what’s being presented to you. The music is instrumental, yet loaded with atmosphere and mystery as a result of the powerful imagery that accompanies it. Despite a lack of lyrics which would help to put across some sort of message or give the release’s 'real' political content, you could still tell that Bryn was serious with regards to his viewpoint and there was a fire that fuelled his music. I guess the thing that I contemplate the most with Muslimgauze is just a simple: “Why?” I'm often left wondering what his story was – why a man from Manchester felt compelled to dedicate his entire creative output to conflicts in the Middle East. I recently had a conversation about Coil, wondering why it is that when an artist dies they develop a legacy, and a special kind of respect. It is tragic in a sense because they can't be around to enjoy it. It's as if the very death and absence of the artist itself imbues the body of work with a potency that gets stronger over time."
"He was absolutely not a proselytiser in person. I only met him once when he came to Edinburgh to do a gig that myself and a friend had arranged. We kept trying to turn the conversation to the political but he would always completely avoid the topic and it soon became clear he either had no interest talking about it or preferred to have an air of mystery about it all. He was a very eccentric person; pleasant, very polite, good humoured and perfectly affable to be with, but very quiet and reluctant to talk about any aspect of himself or his work. I think it is impossible to separate the political angle from his work – though just exactly what his angle was exactly is not totally clear. I can totally understand why there is some controversy around his music. I have my own personal theories but it's not really my place to put them forward when Bryn is no longer with us to speak for himself."
"Suddenly everybody was listening to Muslimgauze and his massive output became the soundtrack to the political news of the time – the first Gulf War, the first Intifada, the Oslo Accords, the first bombing of the World Trade Centre. I loved the radical, sensationalist titles and artwork. There was much more room for sarcasm back then: United States Of Islam, what a beautiful title for a very threatening concept for the west. But this is all becoming reality. Maybe Muslimgauze is a bit like Philip K Dick when it comes to predicting the worst-case scenarios for the shape of things to come.
I did meet Bryn on one occasion in the mid ‘90s in Berlin. I introduced myself as a Pali and we talked about Oslo and other topics. At one point an Israeli artist and experimental musician joined in, and Bryn kind of shut off. So I had the feeling that he was being a bit dogmatic about the subject. It did remind me of Norbert Finkelstein’s rhetoric in some ways. The fact that he never visited the Middle East did seem to make it easier for him to follow his more radical approach, which is also an easy way to avoid the political realities on the ground. Of course the Oslo Accords were not ideal, and a huge mistake in retrospect. But the perspective of a Palestinian state made for high hopes, and the first years after the Palestinians’ return seemed to be moving towards the right direction on both sides. The populations seemed to be receptive. Of course that didn’t last, and the situation for Palestinians in Palestine has worsened ever since."
"How can I say it politely? There's nothing 'Arabic' about Muslimgauze's music apart from the fact that he nicked Arabic sounding samples. Arabic music is much, much more complex in harmonic and rhythmic structure. I think what I dislike about Muslimgauze is the loop-based sample formula. I find it lazy, boring and unimaginative – mood music. It sounds to me like a darker version of Enya. There is also a problem with cultural appropriation – nicking stuff to make your work sound cool or complex. I don't want to come across as totally negative. I think his work was at its best, interesting and challenging. Also, just because I’m personally not that impressed doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve a hearing – there is obviously something there whether I like it or not. In general I think he made far too many recordings; he should have slowed down. His work would have been much better if he'd done less and had edited it more critically."
by backtoiam » Tue May 03, 2016 12:08 pm
by chump » Tue May 03, 2016 5:14 pm
by Iamwhomiam » Wed May 04, 2016 8:52 am
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