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Many assorted vocal snippets, from anguished exclamations to persuasive Middle Eastern politispeak, are expertly woven into the straightforwardly ethnic rhythms of State of Palestine. Darker, and infused with various whispers, In Turkish Quarters receives extra punch from a throbbing bassline.
More whispered words, sinuous strings (actually, the same guitar riff as heard in Thief of Sand from the Azure Deux collection) and multiple basslines are peppered with scattershot drumming and exotic cymbalism in Delicate Prey Desend.
Fluctuating volume and distortion levels affect Murmur you support the Arabs, a slow guitar tune backed by a steady drumming. Bagel of Poison is topped with a distortedly dubby bass and spirited metallic clanging, as well as cut-and-paste Arabic language bits. Featuring extremely muffled percussive effects and a distant shimmer, Bitter years is a very quiet three-minute piece, to be followed by...
50 Bitter years; a longer, louder version of the same in which everything is clearer, including meandering strings and more conversation (with a few English words even, concerning "freedom fighters").
Submerged beneath Abou Hamza on cassette tape's stop-and-go percussion barrage, another dub-flavored bass steadfastly churns.
The sultry Middle Eastern-style drum-and-bass of Djerba (11:22) is injected with male and female ethnic speech patterns (and even some war cry whooping a'la sterotypical American Indians) and less often, odd electronic waves.
The starker percussion of Daughter of the Crescent Moon is backed by a buzzing haze and dub rhythms, somewhat disintigrating toward its end, revealing a familiar string riff. Strutting briefly down the dancier side, the beats of Muslim of America (1:21) are funkier and the air is sliced by distortions. Softer and about three minutes shorter, Djerba reappears in an altered, buzzier form. Basslines thread between steadily pattering beats and electrogrunge. The music fades prematurely, leaving behing cryptic whispers.
If you didn't already know, the place to learn more about the enigmatic musician is at the Muslimgauze site (by Terry Allen Bennett).
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