To Soothe Your Skull By

Muslimgauze has come to represent so much of what great music should be about. Endlessly experimental and on the cusp of modern music, Bryn Jones achieved (relative) commercial and (great) critical success without ever compromising his music or his message. A white Brit, he was a devout Palestinian sympathizer without having ever gone to the Middle East. Nevertheless, his music was consistently political not through the use of words but instead textures, beats, and samples (as well as the beautiful art work on so many of his highly limited productions). Whether you agree with the message or not, it's hard not to become engaged with music of this magnitude. More often then not there aren't more than three or four samples being used, yet Jones is so competent at his craft that he is able to maintain interest by merely pulling them in and out of the mix. This album, "Syrinjia," was originally packaged in an edition of 518 wrapped in variously colored silk bags. Beautiful. The album was a response to a DJ who asked him to make something more accessible for the dance floors. Never one to sell out, Jones decided instead to point his direction towards Jamaica and produce an extraordinary dub album. Great stuff from a man who died far too early to see the greater impact of his work.