Muslimgauze

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 Palestinian crisis set to breakbeats and marmalade-thick bass lines; the forward to another sonic treatise on struggles of the Muslim world. Tracks that follow are more consistent with Industrial stylings of the Muslimgauze oeuvre including Zealot, Blue Mosque, Silknoose and Izlamaphobia. Industrial, in the context of Muslimgauze, is often characterized by tightly woven percussion loops with scant variance while melodies hover. Additionally, tracks like “Radif Avaz and Dastgah” and “Mossad Evil” are another facet of Industrial, Industrial in the classic sense of the word meaning, ‘mechanical’, ‘machine like’, with little in the way of melodic overtones.

The commonality is rigorous, dogmatic structure that are nonetheless hypnotic and engaging. Because the above albums vary, despite being of the same sub-genre, Sycophant could be considered a ‘missing link’ that ties them together—with ethno-breaks added for variance. None of the track listings, handwritten by Jones, are repeated on any other release hence Sycophant of Purdah is a ‘must have’ for fans and collectors.