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 | Muslimgauze:Blue Mosque (Staalplaat - 1994) I'd read about the Middle Eastern flavors and politically influenced industrial/ambient beats of the ultra-prolific Muslimgauze, but never actually heard anything until I happened across the double-CD, Blue Mosque |
| I hope to never use another blinkie in my web page designing career, but I feel justifiably compelled to do so now... Man, this Muslimgauze stuff is
From the first track of the first disk, the rhythm dominates all. Middle Eastern sounds and textures abound, political sentiments stir in the track titles and packaging, modern electronics contribute, but the rhythm rules. My reviews will be short because the tracks are all mostly just variations of similar elements, but don't take that as a sign of apathy on my part. Despite the repetition, I find this to be fascinating, flavorful stuff! Muzzel of deceit starts it all with its crunchy, distorted electro-ethnicity. It's Disk One's shortest track, at under 3 minutes. Yusef takes a more "traditional" stance, producing a more natural ethnic beat. Bir zeit mixes a whispered voice and sound samples (locking and loading arms?) over an electronic rhythm. Rattan kiss happens to be a favorite of mine. Over 12 minutes long, it weaves Arabic voices and instruments into the dominant and repetitive percussion (Normally I bristle at overt repetition, but this piece just creates such an irresistably hot, dusty atmosphere). Bitter Citrus is a somehow lighter, sportier rhythm with patches of quiet (reed?) instruments playing in the distance. Qiblah is darker, with a deep, quiet drone behind its sputtering rhythm. Strange swampy noises and unusual instrumentation accomapny the pulsing rhythmic elements of Futile arad search. A strong drumming carries the title track, Blue Mosque (we're still on Disk One... Disk Two has one also). Very faint sounds emanate from behind this rhythmic layer. Disk One closes with voice and sound samples mixed with the predominant percussives of Fadhaa which fuzzes out in a beatless wash of distortion. The spirited Bandit queen opens Disk Two, mixing a pounding drumbeat with something that sounds like an Arabic accordian. Freedom fighter is even more aggresive, its fuzzy, electronic rhythm beating along with acoustic percussion. Kirpan is more subdued than its predecessors, yet still very driving, with a bit of some bowed string instrument in the background. Galbanum tingktyur (and don't ask me what that means!) is, not surprisingly, another exercise in drumbeats; some steel, some cymbal, some snare-type of drum also. Disk Two's long runner at over 10 minutes, Pakistani nuclear box is ominous, with a deep menacing drone beneath militaristic drum patterns. Muilah rockets features harsher electronics than most, is more blatantly repetitive and is quite close to annoying. Zingari returns to a more natural, less processed rhythm method, tossing in some odd beats and pinging rubber band noises (?), and what appears to be the occasional squawl of electric guitar. Disk Two's Blue Mosque is an entirely different composition that that of Disk One and appears to have no similarity other than name. It's a fine bit of beat though. The two closing tracks share the same name, I am Khafid al Istanbul and the same rhythm. The first is more natural and over 6 minutes long, while the second is just over a minute and a half and is a highly distorted version of its former. |
| One hearty rhythmic thumb up. If for some reason, you don't like Middle Eastern percussion, stay away. Sometimes it seems like it's nothing but beating, beating, beating ethnicity and sparse electronics, but I think it creates a fascinatingly foreign ambience. |  |
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