Biography
Muslimgauze was the main musical project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts and history in the Muslim world, often with an emphasis on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. With dozens of albums released under the Muslimgauze name, Jones was prolific, but he never achieved mainstream success. His music, categorized as an example of ethnic electronica, has been described by one critic as “among the most startling and unique in the noise underground”.
Despite his project name, Jones was not a Muslim. The name Muslimgauze is a play on the word muslin (a type of gauze) combined with Muslim, referring to Jones' preoccupation with conflicts throughout the Muslim world.
Early musical career
Jones first released music in 1982 as E.g Oblique Graph on Kinematograph, his own imprint, and the independent co-op label Recloose, run by Simon Crab. E.g Oblique Graph came from the do-it-yourself (DIY) ethos of the time and was musically composed of electronic/experimental drone with occasional synth-melodic… hooks and use of radio broadcast samples.
Releases at the time were occasionally on cassette, more often vinyl EPs and LPs; the longest-running of Jones' label monikers, Limited Editions, started with Hunting Out with an Aerial Eye (1984) followed by Buddhist on Fire, put out by Recloose the same year. Since then, Jones roughly released an album a year, given scarce financial resources until 1988, when he began making inroads with then-emerging labels Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, and Extreme Records.
By the late 1980s, Jones ran out of funding to self-release, and other labels that did put out Muslimgauze releases such as Recloose and Permis De Construire (which put out Coup d'Etat) did not pay promised royalties. Recloose head Simon Crab cited lack of sales and damaged records from firebombing as his reason.
At this time, distributors Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, and Extreme Records transitioned to becoming labels with the advent of the compact disc format, which became less expensive to produce and ship than vinyl over time and gradually became a physical staple of the Muslimgauze catalogue.
Later musical career
It was with the release of United States of Islam (1991) a formalised agreement was reached with Extreme Records, which helped fund professional studio recordings, designed attractive packaging, and used a more extensive distribution network. Though pleased at first, Jones was frustrated with Extreme's one-release-a-year policy and in 1993 signed with then-sibling labels Soleilmoon and Staalplaat, which offered a more frequent release schedule. 1993 saw the release of Vote Hezbollah, Veiled Sisters and a re-release of Iran on Soleilmoon and Hamas Arc, Satyajit Eye and Betrayal on Staalplaat. His 1998 record Mullah Said on the label has been critically acclaimed.
Jones additionally released material on nearly any small label that approached him. A drawback with releasing on so many labels was gratuitous editing by producers and, through design or circumstance, no royalties. Extreme cited betrayal by distribution networks that were unscrupulous or filed for bankruptcy and could not pay—though they also claimed to have eventually remunerated Jones. Lack of due royalties was a source of ongoing stress throughout Jones's career.
Jones once stated that he never had time to listen to other people's music, although in a 1992 interview with Impulse Magazine, he mentioned that he enjoyed traditional music of Japan, the Middle East, and India, as well as the works of artists such as Can, Throbbing Gristle, Wire, and Faust.
Death
On 30 December 1998, Jones was rushed to A&E in Manchester with a rare fungal infection in his bloodstream, for which he had to be heavily sedated. He contracted pneumonia and died on 14 January 1999.
1Discography
| Artist | Title | Year | Format | Classification | Gem, favourite, must-listen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Muslimgauze | Observe With Sadiq Bey | © & ℗1999 | CD Album | Zouk / Soukous / Tribal / Africa |
11Songs
| Song | Year | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Bitter Years | 1999 |
|
| Abou Hamza On Cassette Tape | 1999 |
|
| Bagel Of Poison | 1999 |
|
| Bitter Years | 1999 |
|
| Daughter Of The Crescent Moon | 1999 |
|
| Delicate Prey Descend | 1999 |
|
| Djerba | 1999 |
|
| In Turkish Quarters | 1999 |
|
| Murmur You Support The Arabs | 1999 |
|
| Muslim Of America | 1999 |
|
| State Of Palestine | 1999 |
|
