muslimgauze: kabul

Limited edition of 200. Standalone edition of Vinyl-on-Demand's expanded reissue of Kabul by Muslimgauze, included in its 2014 Chasing the Shadow of Bryn Jones 1983-1988 box set and originally released as an LP on Product Kinematograph in 1983. The set focuses on the early output of the Manchester, England-based Bryn Jones, who produced nearly 200 albums between 1982 and 1998, before he passed away in 1999 at age 37. An anti-colonialist at heart, Jones dedicated most of his music to Muslim-world struggles during his lifetime, such as Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, the Iran/Iraq war, and the Lebanon civil war, to name a few, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jones was pro-Palestine, often evidenced on album and track titles as well as dedications. Muslimgauze music can be considered a sonic treatise on Muslim-world conflicts in the form of exotic soundscape narratives, driving musical protest and rhythmic assertion. As a side-effect of being prolific, Jones worked in a variety of styles and successfully melded traditional ethnic music of places he championed with Western urban stylings such as techno, breakbeat, and dub. Some credit him as being the "Godfather of Dubstep." Perhaps Jones's musical brilliance shone brightest as an audio editor who deftly juxtaposed unlikely sounds in ways that now cannot be envisioned otherwise. In 1992 Jones wrote a manifesto about his music and influence; decades later, his vision is more relevant than ever. "The Principle Influence behind Muslimgauze is the political facts of the middle-east, though support of the PLO is the main Backbone. There are no musical influences, only political facts and figureheads e.g. Arafat, Gaddafi, Bhutto, Khaled etc. Such things are the starting point from which Muslimgauze music is taken. We have just (Gulf War) had a small skirmish in the middle-east, this area of the world is the most important quiet soon. Every countries going to have to choose which side it is on, to help free the people of Palestine. . . . There is a lot more to Muslimgauze than just a few pieces of music on a record or CD. There are no Bands around who I go out of my way to hear/see, the main-music I listen to is authentic and unable to be pigeonholed, people seem to buy what there told to, also they hear what other people have decided is good. Go Out and Discover." --Bryn Jones, February 29, 1992, Manchester