Systemwide meets Muslimgauze "At the City of the Dead" 12" EP BSI Records BSI 19991 1999 (19:48)
side one (Systemwide)
Contrapositive (5:54)
Provisional (dub) (4:43)
side two (Muslimgauze)
Smooth Prophet (1:46)
Nommos Descending (4:54)
excerpt from By The West Bank (2:31)
Muslimgauze is Bryn Jones. Systemwide is Tim, Lohr, S-Dub, e.t. and Ezra.
"At the City of the Dead" is a ltd. edition 12" EP (500, pressed in the Czech Republic of all places) that pairs Portland, OR dub group Systemwide with the ever proficient Muslimgauze. Side one has 2 Systemwide tunes and side two has 3 re-mixes by Muslimgauze of tracks by Systemwide, the first 2 of which are from Systemwide's "Sirius" cd and the last an as yet unreleased track. "Contrapositive" and "Provisional" are two slabs of traditional, *live* heavy duty dub. In the mix: vocals, effects, live bass and drums, and tasty reverberated synth and organ lines, etc. Great stuff. Now for the re-mixes. "Smooth Prophet" seems more like Systemwide than Muslimgauze to me: a funky bass line and hi-hat accompanied by twinkly synth and brief interludes of vocals. There's a few cut-ups and effects sections, which are one of the trademarks of Bryn Jones. "Nommos.." is the exact opposite: an abrasive Muslimgauze track which seems to borrow only the background synth from the original track. Plenty of rough cuts, sudden jabs of distorted percussion and a distorted harmonica (?) in combination with an upbeat, repetitive beat and bass line. "excerpt.." is downright funky with a squelchy synth line over a steady beat. This one is also messed about with by jump starts and stops and interludes of percussion, etc. More great stuff, though I find the Muslimgauze tracks a bit arbitrary considering my discovery of Systemwide ... almost makes me wish I lived in Portland so I could see/hear these guys kick it live. The record comes in a sharp looking tan sleeve with a castle storming graphic. Get it if you still can ...
Muslimgauze
Systemwide
BSI Records
Where did I get this 12"? - mail order via Riouxs Records.