Muslimgauze

2024 stock. Bryn Jones, AKA Muslimgauze, recorded this album in December 1995, just three years before his early and unexpected death at the age of 38. In the last years of his life Bryn acquired as much of the latest technology for his home studio as he could lay his hands on, and the advances and developments in his music reflected his growing proficiency with his new equipment. “Alms for Iraq” therefore has many of the hallmark sounds of the late-era Muslimgauze recordings already released, with abrupt starts and stops, swooping transitions and layer upon layer of samples and rhythms. There are nevertheless still plenty of surprises. Ever the groundbreaker, Bryn never recorded the same album twice.

The packaging for this CD is a 6-panel 5.5-by-8 inch tall folder, with a cover photograph by Susilo Hadi, licensed from Getty Images for a cool $690.00. It shows a pair of feet poised above a pair of flip-flops bearing the words “ISRAEL” and “USA” printed on the soles. The inside panels include a number of pictures, some with strong or disturbing content, collected from various websites dedicated to publicizing the conflicts in Iraq and Palestine.