CD - Staalplaat
From the endless catalogue of Muslimgauze recordings, Staalplaat is still able to release an unpublished work in a limited edition of only 700 copies. 'Sycophant of Purdah' was originally conceived to be published in 1994, and then was put aside, thus complying with the intentions of the artist, in order to print another work. Bryn Jones, the real name of the Mancunian artist, accustomed to an indomitable pro-Palestine activism and deceased in January 1999, seems to use groove and dub modalities in this piece, which, together with an ethnic soulfulness, create a very urban sound marked with a characteristic mixture of drum machines and exotic textures. Broken beats, synth and orientalizing percussion, strange loops and inserts, are rendered in his own well-formed style. It's also worth noting the absence of special 'dark' sounds and melodies in this work - instead a hypnotic sound gait is preferred that is perhaps more 'mild' but comes from the same consolidated sonic wisdom.
Aurelio Cianciotta