Can you combine naturally the music tags #industrial , #tribal, #arabic ?.. The easy answer is: Muslimgauze! For this week of #threetunestuesday challenge I continue sharing my fave tracks from this artist. Today's selection has meditative taste of desert, camels caravans and endless dunes...
Muslimgauze - Arabskin
1994-95 in my opinion was a great transitional period in Muslimgauze creative activity, a lot of my fave albums from this artist fit into it, including the 'Zealot'. He had been constantly adjusting and improving his sound, adding to his beat more and more authentic Arabic instruments, radiobroadcasts inserts, etc. (i.e. to keep it simple: the Arabic aroma of his stuff increased greatly).
'Zealot' LP at the time of initial release attracted attention with a production fault (the second disc of this 2CD release was manufactured with a light distortion). The artist 'called a halt' to further pressings which turned 'Zealot' into a rare limited edition artifact. Original DAT cassette already had been taped over by the artist, thus it was not an easy option to correct this error.
With years passed and more releases popped up, 'Zealot' is seen today as a great release not for its limited-edition-rarity, but for music qualities. This is how All Music Guide puts it:
... a solid double-disc effort in which Muslimgauze begins to more
fully embrace rougher, hip-hop related rhythms, still mixed with an ear for the power of dub's echo and mysteriousness, as well as the predominant flow of Arabic and Muslim musical traditions throughout. The lengthy opening track "Baksheesh" sets the stage well on this front, with its minimal, deep bass-lines and sudden interruptions in the shuffling beat. Other songs worthy of note in this vein include "Dacoit of Sin," with its bird song samples and sitar-like drone over a loping drum loop; "X-Tract," anchored by a curious, compelling rhythm that sounds partially like a breath being taken; and the slow-as-it-goes but still sharp "Arabskin." Briefer, more ambient-skewed tracks like "Poona Eunuch," the droney, mysterious "Thar," and "Pyre of Female," with a shimmering series of string melodies performed over a straightforward rhythm, help leaven Zealot excellently. What distortion there is on the second disc is relatively unnoticeable to a casual listener, outside of a general tinniness on a number of the tracks (though this could easily be intentional) and a general spikiness in a few songs toward the end of the disc, such as the otherwise quite wonderful "Sansi."
Muslimgauze - Minaret Above All Others
The year of 1996 saw a dozen original releases, not including reissues and remixes, of the stuff recorded in previous years, and among them a very intresting and attractive 'Fatah Guerrilla' 3 discs compilation. CD#2 was provided with a separate title of 'Tajik and Persian blind'. A rough rhyme which some dark drama in it, definitely would fit well to any thriller or war action in Middle East movie.
Muslimgauze - Sand is a Problem for Bedouin Mercedes
This nice tune is full of desert aroma, sand, space, spices, maybe a caravan of camels moving thru the dunes towards horizon all day long - and everything else what your imagination may tell you. By Muslimgauze standards, this is rather ordinary, not an outstanding track. But it has a memorable title :) He obviously liked this title himself, as he used it twice (there also exists a track named 'Bedouin mercedes'). I am in love with his humor! How much does 'Visa office in Karakorum' song's title give to your mind. Check the location or this ancient city - and guess how crowdy said office can be, with Mongolian tourists getting overseas visas. 😉 This track is not on YouTube, so I will postpone presenting it to you until better times. I also should note, this music is great as an unobtrusive background for long monotonous work (such as book layout), when you do not want to spend hours in silence, but also do not want to be distracted by songs lyrics.
Это симпатичная мелодия, полная аромата пустыни, песка, простора, движущегося уже второй месяц каравана верблюдов - и всего остального, что вам подскажет ваша фантазия. По стандартам Муслимгаузе, это не выдающийся, обычный трек. Но он имеет выдающееся название :) кстати, такое название явно сильно понравилось ему самому - он даже дважды использовал его (существует также трек названный 'Bedouin mercedes') Я обожаю его юмор! как много дает вашему уму например 'Visa office in Karakorum'. (Этот трек отсутствует в ютюбе, поэтому я отложу ваше знакомство с ним до лучших времен). Эта музыка, кстати, отлично подходит в качестве ненадоедливого фона для долгой монотонной работы (какой является например верстка книг), если вы не хотите сидеть в тишине, но также и против того чтобы вас отвлекали слова песен.
I hope you enjoyed today's music selection and travelling around the globe without leaving the Hive, maybe even learned some intresting artists names new to you. 😎 The post goes for Three Tune Tuesday challenge run by 
