In de loop der jaren veel cd’tjes van Muslimgauze, a.k.a. Bryn Jones, in m’n handen gehad: kleine oplage, soms van nog geen 100 en genummerd. Eén van de weinige muzikanten, waar ik al jaren, haast 20 jaar, fan van ben. Ondanks dat hij eind vorige eeuw leefde, zijn er weinig live-opnamen van hem bekend. Dit is één van de weinigen met geluid:
Muslimgauze was a music project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a prolific British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts in the Muslim world, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With dozens of albums released under the Muslimgauze name, Jones was remarkably prolific, but his mainstream success was limited due in part to his work being issued mostly in limited editions on small record labels. Nonetheless, as critic John Bush[1]wrote, “Jones’ blend of found-sound Middle Eastern atmospheres with heavily phased drones and colliding rhythm programs were among the most startling and unique in the noise underground.”
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I would never go to an occupied land, others shouldn’t. Zionists living off Arab land and water is not a tourist attraction. To have been in a place is not important. So you can’t be against apartheid unless you have been in South Africa? You cannot be against the Serbs killing Muslims in Bosnia unless you have been there? I think not.
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Interviewer: Do you believe it is absolutely necessary, to take these political aspects into account? Or can one also uncouple the politics and music from each other?
Jones: Yes, one can do that. It is music. Music with serious political facts behind it. There are no lyrics, because that would be preaching. It is music. It is up to you, to find out more. If you don’t want that, it is up to you. You can listen to only the music or you can preoccupy yourself more with it.……
On Wednesday, 30 December 1998, Bryn was rushed to the hospital in Manchester with a rare fungal infection in his bloodstream, for which he had to be heavily sedated. His body eventually shut down, and he died on 14 January 1999.
Was er pakweg 10 jaar geleden nog nauwelijks iets over Muslimgauze op Youtube te vinden, dat is veranderd. Hier de Muslimgauze Files:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhgl0OxUYv