Eye For An Eye
The relationship between Bryn Jones's music as Muslimgauze and the track/album titles he would provide (sometimes right on the tapes he would send in for release, but often determined later, sometimes even giving two different pieces months apart the same title, accidentally or not) has always been a little mysterious. Jones himself can no longer be asked, and as you continue to investigate the swathes of material he provided, you hit sources like the DAT or DATs that make up the contents of the…
Hamas Arc
Originally released in 1993. The reissue contains remixed material from »Shekel Of Israeli Occupation«, which did never appear. Also on there are two remixes from tracks on »Vote Hezbollah«. From the original press release: »For over ten years this solitary voice from Manchester has created a unique sound drawn from a melange of Arabic and European instrumental music. From the very beginning the music has been based on drums and other percussion instruments. Recent advances have been attained th…
Lazhareem Ul Leper
Lazhareem Ul Leper by Muslimgauze certainly qualifies for its range of percussion instruments, atypical electronics, skillful de-construction of ethno-traditional music. In turn, said music is re-assembled with urban stylings with a technical deftness akin to the way a Shao-Lin monk wields weapons. Muslimgauze enthusiasts may recognize sounds from Izlamaphobia on the odd track as they were made roughly the same time, only Lazhareem is arranged differently and with more unique elements to form a …
Sycophant Of Purdah
Part of Staalplaat’s ongoing Muslimgauze archive series, Sycophant of Purdah was submitted in 1994 then “replaced” by another master Bryn Jones felt more fit for release. Sycophant then languished in the vaults until present, nearly a decade after Jones’ passing. It is no secret that Jones was a prolific artist and that numerous labels combined could not keep up with his output and will take several more years more for them to do so.
Sycophant opens with a radio broadcast on the on-going Palesti…
Kashmiri Queens
"Kashmiri Queens" presents a more accessible side of Muslimgauze, featuring a faster tempo and fewer sonic overtones than his previous endeavors. The music's core is rooted in drone and raga samples complemented by a rich array of ethnic percussions. All the standard Muslimgauze elements present here, but this release sees a more steady approach to his sound. Far less of the abrupt cutting in and out he had favoured for a good while, and more of a concentrated approach to the music. He lets the …
Souk Bou Saada
Another Muslimgauze discovery in Staalplaat's reissue series, with eight rare tracks from the mind of Bryn Jones. Hefty slabs of beefy beats are seasoned with spicy South Asian melodies while mouth numbingly hot bass lines are smothered in distortion chutney; Souk Bou Saada was broiled in Machester's finest tandoor and is now served by Staalplaat. If you love East Indian flavors with a neo-bhangra beat, this disc will not disappoint, equally at home on the dancefloors of Bradistan, UK or Mumbai,…
Iranair Inflight Magazine
This is a mostly beat-driven album with little background noise, ambient space, or reverb. There is also no big emphasis on Middle Eastern sounds, which (and you should be figuring this out by now) is a frequently occurring theme in Bryn Jones' politically-driven music. Occasionally, there is some melodic material, or a touch of the Middle East sprinkled in, but it's played down in favor of beats that could best be described as very raw and closer to early Autechre minimalism than something from…
Il Giro Del Mondo In 80 Pezzi
2010 release ** Limited edition of 100 copies. Packaged in an oversize cardboard sleeve. ‘Il Giro Del Mondo In 80 Pezzi’, that is ‘around the world in 80 tracks’. That’s right, 80 tracks here, in seventy-seven minutes. All around a minute or less. A bit of worn out idea if you’d ask me, but to present this like a audio version of Jules Verne, is perhaps nice. Gasparin gets help from one Jacopo Andreini, with whom he has been active in the world of improvised since the early 90s. Together they a …
Heavy Fierce Brightness: Spells Of The Sun
2010 release ** Cardboard sleeve. "Heavy Fierce Brightness is the name of a project by the experimental music artist GOG (Michael Bjella), known for its dark ambient, blackened psychedelic doomdrift, and drone sounds. The project's work, such as the 2008 release Heavy Fierce Brightness - Spells Of The Sun, is part of a larger body of work by GOG that uses source sounds and immersive atmospheres to create "blackened psychedelic doomdrift dronelords."
Prescient / Legend
2019 release ** "The second Search Ensembles artifact sees the return of Cédric Peyronnet (Toy Bizarre, Kaon / Ingeos, Sechres Mound,), Cyril Herry (Ninth Desert, Sechres Mound), Phil Legard (Xenis Emputae Travelling Band, Hawthonn), Michael Northam, Alan Courtis (Anla Courtis, Reynols), Jani Hirvonen (Uton), Slavek Kwi (Artificial Memory Trace), Jon Tulchin and Dale Lloyd (and/OAR, Seattle Phonographers Union, Lucid), plus first time involvement from Eric Lanzillotta (Eye Music, Ri Be Xibalba,…
Light Patterns
Big tip! *2025 repress* An early ‘80s ambient jazz gem from the archive of Manchester’s Kevin McCormick & David Horridge. In 1970, Kevin and David met whilst they were working in the Labour Exchange Office on Aytoun St, Manchester. Both played guitar and had been searching for other musicians who played atmospheric music. Kevin had been playing in small clubs in Manchester and David performed in a few local bands. One evening, they jammed together at Kevin’s family home, and quickly realized tha…
More Golden Slumbers: The Very Best Of Vol 2
Celebrated Norwegian band Fra Lippo Lippi return with a definitive new collection, More Golden Slumbers: The Very Best Of Vol. 2, an album that continues their legacy as one of the most beloved and enduring names in pop history. Following on from the success of *Golden Slumbers: The Very Best Of*, this second volume offers a fresh journey through the band’s timeless works, bringing together carefully curated tracks that capture both their heartfelt lyricism and melodic brilliance. Emerging in th…
1979
"Two years after he first appeared on Balmat with 1977, Mike Paradinas returns with 1979. The sense of continuity between the two records is clear, and not just from their titles. Both capture the Planet Mu head venturing into the wilderness, seeking something—half-formed memories, thoughts caught in midair—in some of the most abstract, searching music he has released. Just like 1977, 1979 surveys a synth-heavy array of ethereal soundscapes, ominous crevasses, and strange, psychedelic fugues. Li…
12" Single One
*300 copies limited edition* At this point the vast swathes of unreleased Muslimgauze material Bryn Jones left behind when he passed away over 25 years ago is as legendary as any of his work. And sure enough, there's still some being unearthed today. The second entry (and only 12”-sized one) is in a series of four (three 7"s and one 12") taken from one of Jones' customary completely unlabelled DATs he sent to labels seemingly as fast as he finished them.
A new series of singles collecting one of…
s/∞ 01
Sound as Infinity (s/∞) is a project that explores the relationship between sound and the infinite, using recordings on endless tapes—continuous loop cassettes that play uninterrupted until manually stopped.
Lucifer Over London
"I was obsessed, am obsessed, by The Groundhogs, so gave C93 a chance to cover their perfect "Sad-Go-Round" from their perfect Solid album. I also loved Black Sabbath, but had listened to them so much that I never wanted to hear them again. So Michael Cashmore's Perfect Playing of their intro to "Paranoid" was Perfect Way To Wave GoodBye to them, and slip into my visions of Lucifer Over London, May G+D damn him again. "The Seven Seals_" I wrote whilst sitting at my desk in my Then House in Aubre…
I Have A Special Plan For This World
"I had become close friends with Thomas Ligotti, the pre-eminent writer of Nights and DeadEnds and Doubled Darknesses. I had written him many fan-letters, and we both wanted to work with each other. I Have A Special Plan For This World was our second work together, after our In A Foreign Town, In A Foreign Land. This album Channels an enormous emotional response from me. Ligotti was, is, and will be a huge influence on my work. No-one has seen the bells tolling, tolling, tolling for us all like …
Imperium
"Recorded at the same time as I and Then C93 were channelling Swastikas For Noddy, Imperium was the BackSide GrimStory to the Bright 'n' Breezy (Locust) SummerTime Whistkes of Swastikas For Noddy. I was very ill whilst making both records, and my main memories (along with Speed And Vodka, ThankYou, ThankYou) were lying sick on a grimy couch at the long-gone IPS Studios in Shepherd's Bush. There was a heavy leak in the kitchen and the water was running over the studio floor and up my distressed, …