The death of Bryn Jones in January 1999 has done nothing to stop his output, with close to 100 releases under his belt since '82. There will still be a cavalcade of Muslimgauze CDs to come--the man was prolific. While there's the usual Arabic undertow (singing, chants, prayers), his fervent pro-radical-Islam stance is pretty toned down on Hussein Mahmood Jeeb Tehar Gass. The broken, choppy beat, throbbing bass, bouncy melodica, and fade-ins and fade outs are more like Augustus Pablo dub than a Hamas communiqué or a Rai groove. At first it seems pretty repetitive, until you listen hard--Jones keeps the mix dense with all kinds of layered noise and radio beeps and buzzes. Definitely not as mainstream as his press would tell you, but the slamming hip-hop beats that creep in (and the scratchy record samples) are welcome additions to his crazed vision, which is not quite Mad Professor but something that On-U Sound would be proud of. --Jason Gross
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